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ACQUIRED BY EXCHANGE

SACRED HISTORY:
O R T H E
'HISTORICAL PART
OF THE
HOLY SCRIPTURES OF THE
Old and New Teftaments ;
Digefted into due Method,

WITH RESPECT TO
ORDER of TIME and PLACE.
WITH
OBSERVATIONS,
Tending to ILLUSTRATE fome PAS S A G E S ttieksn.
By THOMAS ELLWOOD.
The F O U R T H EDITION.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
PRINTED AND SOLD BY JAMES PHILLIPS,
IN GEORGE-YARD, LOMBARD-STREET. ,
M.DCCLXXVIII.

SACRED H ISTORYj
0 R
THE HISTORICAL PART OF THE
HOLY SCRIPTURES OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT.
PART III.

The fecond Book of S a M U E t ; including
the firft Book of Chronicles; and
containing an Hiftory of 40 Years.
ALTHOUGH Saul was flaih, and three
of his fons with him * ; yet he had another fon
living, whofe name was Ifhbolheth, arid a va
liant general, named Abner h : and whom the people
would fet up for king, was very uncertain. David,
therefore, being yet at Ziklag, and not knowing whe
ther he might venture into any of the cities of Judah ;
that he might acl: fafely, having the prieft and the
ephod with him, he enquired of the Lord; and the
Lord direfting him to go to Hebron, he went, thither,
taking with him his two wives Ahinoam and Abigail,
" A. M. 2949. b 2 Sam. ii.
Vol. II. B and

2 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and all his men, whom he placed every man with his
houfhold in the cities of Hebron.
Long he had not been in Hebron before the men of
Judah came to congratulate his return, and to offer
him the crown c. And before they left him, they
anointed him king over Judah ; which was as far as
they could go>
* Dayid underftandirtg by them, that the men of
Jabefh-Gilead had buried Saul, he fent mefiengers to
them ; and together with giving them thanks for
performing that kind office to his father-in-law, he
took occafion to let them know, that he was now king
of Judah, and would requite that kindnefs to them ;
which was a fair invitation to them alfo to proclaim
him king there.
But Abner, who was general of all the forces that
had been Saul's, took Ifhbofheth, the fon of Saul,
who was then forty years of age ; and bringing him to
Mahanaim (which was the place where Jacob, return
ing from Laban, was met by the angels of God, Gen.
xxxii. i> 2.) he made him king over all Ifrael.
Thus was this new kingdom quickly divided, Judah
Following David, and Ifrael flicking to Saul's fon Ifh
bofheth. But this rent, being but of man's making,
lafted not long, ere God found means to make it up
again. Yet, in the mean time, fome bickerings happened
between the forces of thefe rival kings ; for Abner,
drawing out king Ifhbofheth's forces, mafched them
from Mahanaim to Gibeon ; which Joab, captain-
general of king David's forces (and fon to Zeruiah,
David's fifter) underftanding, he alfo led forth David's
men : and at the pool of Gibeon, the two armies
meeting, fat down in fight of one another, having the
pool between them.
After a while, Abner provoked Joab to fend forth
a party to fkirmiih ; which Joab agreeing to, twelve
of a fide ifiued forth of each camp : thefe fighting not

* 2 Sam. if.

in.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 3
in bodies, but fingle-handed, man to man, every one
caught his fellow by the head, and thrufting each
other through the body, they all fell down together.
From which bold and refolute action, that place was
called Helkath-Hazzurim, that is, The field of ftrong
men. This defperate refolution of thefe forlorn hopes, fo
heated the fpirits of the foldiers on either fide^that,
the armies prefently joining, a fharp battle was fought
between them ; wherein David's men at length pre
vailing, Abner was beaten and forced to fly.
Ifhbofheth's men thus routed, Afahel (Joab's young
er brother, a very nimble-footed youth) in the purfuit
took after Abner, and followed him fo clofe, that Abner
finding he could not efcape him by running, turned
again, and made a Hand, to fee what he was that fol
lowed him fo hard ; and obferving him to be but a
youth, and underftanding withal that he was Joab's
brother, he wifhed him to give over purfuing him,
and take fome other prifoner for his prey ; but Afahel
would not turn afide from following him.
Abner went a little further ; but finding that Afahel
ftill prefied upon him, he fpake to him again, defiling
him to turn from him and leave hirn : " For why,
faid he, fhouldft thou provoke me to kill thee ? And
how fhall I look upon thy brother Joab when I have
done it ?"
But young Afahel, ambitious of the honour of taking
the general prifoner, would by no in treaty be perfuaded
to leave him, but ftill prefied harder on him ; which
when Abner faw, and that unlefs he would be his pri
foner, there was no way but to kill or be killed, he
fmo^e him with the hinder end of his fpear under the
fifth rib, fo that the fpear came out behind him, and
down he fell dead in the place. %
His falling and lying there gave opportunity to
Abner to efcape : for though Joab and Abifhai (his
¦other brother) with many others, purfued Abner alfo ;
yet when they came to the place where Afahel lay
dead, they all ftood ftill : fo that Abner got time to
B 2 «; rally

4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
rally what he could of his fcattered forces, and having
drawn them Up together into one troop, made a ftand^
with therri on the top of an hilld.
Then founding a parley, he called to Joab, and
putting him in mind that they were all brethren, both
by nation and religion, he afked hiiri if he intended
the fword fhould devour for ever, and did not confi-
der that it would be bitternefs in the latter end, that
he was fo backward to found a retreat ? Whereupon
Joab, letting him know that the. people (if he had not
fpoken) would have given over the purfuit in the
morning, founded a retreat ; and fo Abner with his
men travelling all night through the plain and over
Jordan, got back to Mahanaim ; and Joab with his
men marching all night alfo, reached Hebron by
break of day. And although they had fought fa
fiercely, yet the number of the flain was not great On
either fide ; for Abtier loft" but three hundred and
fixty men, and Joab but nineteen, befide his brothei'
Afahel. But though they parted thus now, yet hoftilities did
not ceafe between the two kings and their fubjects j
for the war continued long between the two houfes c i
wherein though Abner ftrengthened himfelf as much
as he could for the houfe of Saul ; yet the houfe of
David grew ftronger and ftronger, and the houfe of
Saul grew weaker and weaker. And yet Ifhbofheth
might probably have held it out longer5 had it not
been for an accident which his own indifcretion brought
upon him ; by which he loft Abner from his intereft,
and with him all ftrength and courage. It happeried
thus :
Saul had a concubine whofe name Was Rizpah,
whom Ifhbofheth charged Abner with having lain with.
Abner, a man of high ftomach, took this for a great
'affront; and in high difpleafure faid to king Ifhbo
fheth, " Am I a dog's head (that is, Am I as con
temptible with thee as a dog) I who have ftiewed thus
A 2 Sam. ii. e z Sam. iif. much.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 5
much kindnefs unto the houfe of Saul thy father, to
his brethren, and to his friends, againft Judah, and
have not delivered thee into the hand of David, that
•thou chargeft me with a fault concerning this woman ?
So do God to Abner, and more alfo, except as the
Lord hath fworn to David, even fo I do to him ; to
tranflate the kingdom from the houfe of Saul, and to
fet up the throne of David over Ifrael and over Judah^
from one end of the land to the other."
Whether the charge- was true or no, Ifhbofheth, a
poor low-fpirited prince, was fo ftruck with this lofty
language of Abner, that he could not anfwer him a
word. And Abner, being in good earneft, fent agents
to David, to tranfacl the matter on his behalf; giving
them in charge to acknowledge David's title, and to
allure him, that if he would make a league with him,
he would ufe his intereft to bring over all Ifrael to
him. David confented on thofe terms to make fuch a
league with him. But one thing he required of him
previous thereunto ; which was, that he fhould bring
with him his wife Michal, the daughter of Saul :
otherwife, he let him know he would not fo much as
fee him. '
David fent alfo ambafTadors to Ifhbofheth, to de
mand of him his wife Michal. Whereupon Ifhbofheth
fent and took her from her hufband Phaltiel, and fent
her to David ; the poor man her hufband following
her weeping as far as to Bahurim, where Abner meeting
with him turned him back,
Abner mean while practifed with the elders of Ifrael,
to bring them over to David ; thus difcourfing with
them, " Ye fought for David in times paft to be king
over you. Now> therefore, feeing Dayid is the man,
by whom the Lord hath faid, he will faye his people
Ifrael out of the hand of the Fhiliftines, and from all
their enemies, purfue your former defire, and make
him your king f" f 2 Sain. iii.
B ¦? Neither

6 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Neither did he tamper only with the Ifraelites in
general; but particularly with the elders of Benjamin,
who were more immediately concerned for the houfe
of Saul. And when he found he had gained his point
upon them, he then went to Hebron, taking only
twenty men with him, and prefented himfelf to David.
David received Abner and his men courteoufly : and
to fhew the regard he had to him, he made a feaft for
them ; after which, Abner taking his leave of Dayid,
told him, " He would go and gather all Ifrael to him,
that they might make a league with him ; and that
he might reign over them all, according to his heart's
defire." Abner was but newly gone from Hebron, when
Joab (David's general, who, during the tim.e that
Abner had been with David, had been out with a party
upon an expedition againft the Philiftines) returned
with a great fpoil to Hebron ; and being quickly
told, by fome of his creatures, that Abner had been
there, and that the king had received and entertained
him kindly, and difmified him peaceably, he was
much difturbed at it : for Joab hated Abner for more
caufes than one ; not only becaufe he had flain his
brother Afahel ; but for that he doubted, if Abner.
fhould bring over Ifrael to David, and by that means
ingratiate himfelf with the king, he himfelf might be
in danger of being fupplanted by him : for Abner was
a man of great courage and conduct, and had withal .
great intereft in the people.
Joab therefore haftening to king David, in a rough
and foldierly manner, afked him, " What he had done ?
It feems, faid he, Abner came unto thee ; how is it
that thou haft fent him away,' and he is quite gone ?"
Then fuggcfting to David, that Abner came only as a
, fpy, to fee his ftrength, and obferve the ftate of his
affairs, that he might deceive him ; he went out from
David, and fent mefiengers after Abner to bring him
back again (as if David had fomething further to
fay to him) ; whereas David knew nothing of it. Abner

Part III. SACRED. HISTORY. 7
Abner thinking no harm, nor fufpecting any danger,
returned ; and as foon as he was come to Hebron,
Joab, who waited for that purpofe, took him afide in
the gate in a fliew of friendfhip, and under pretence
of fome private bufinefs, there bafely ftabbed him to
death ; . pretending that he did it in revenge of the
death of Afahel his brother, whom Abner in his own
defence had flain in battle.
When David heard of this barbarous murder, he
cried out, " I and my kingdom are guiltlefs before
the Lord for ever, from the blood of Abner. Let it
reft on the head of Joab, and of all his father's houfe :
and let the houfe of Joab never be without one
that hath an iffue, or that is a leper, (and fo is legally
unclean) or that (through weaknefs or infirmity) lean-
etn upon a ftaff, or that wanteth bread."
Then commanding Joab and all the people that
-were with him to rend their clothes, and girding
t.hemfelves with fackcloth to mourn before Abner,
king David himfelf following the bier, they buried
Abner in Hebron. At which the king, lifting up his
yoice, wept at the grave pf Abner, and all the people
wept alfo : but the king more efpecially lamented
over Abner, faying, " Died Abner as a fool dieth !
Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put into
fetters ; but as a man falleth before wicked men, fo
felleft thou :" and witfr'that all the people wept again
over him. And when (according to the cuftom they
then had of feafting at burials) they came to invite
David to eat, he utterly refufed, folemnly binding
himfelf not to tafte of any food until the fun was fet £.
This carriage of David's the people took great no
tice of; and (as they , generally liked what he did)
they were much pleafed with this : for from hence all
concluded that David was nqt co^ifenting, nor any
way privy to Abner's death.
But to his domeftick fervants the king complained
more particularly ; and bewailing his own condition,
s 2 Sam. iii.
B 4 faic^

8 SACRED HISTORY, Part III.
faid, " Know ye not that a prince, and a great man,
is fallen this day in Ifrael ? And I, though anointed
king, am yet but weak, and not well fettled in my
kingdom : and thefe men, the fons of Zeruiah, (to.
wit, Joab and Ahifhai ; for Abifhai alfo was in the
plot againft Abner, 2 Sam. iii. 30.) are too hard for
me," Therefore I cannot now call them to account
for it ; but muft leave them to the Lord, who will
reward the doer of evil according to his wickednefs.
And, indeed, befides the bafenefs of this murder,
which fuch a man as David could not abhor, he had
great caufe to lament this untimely death of Abner,
with refpect to his own affairs : for it robbed him of a
moft ferviceable and beneficial friend, broke all the
meafures they had taken for uniting the two kingdoms,
and was likely to endanger his lafing the Ilraelitifh,
crown, had Ifhbofheth, who then wore it, lived
longer. But this murder of Abner was followed by another^
not lefs treacherous nor inhuman. For Ifhbofheth,.
Saul's fon (whom Abner had let upon the throne of
Ifrael) was greatly dejected, and even difpirited,
when he heard of Abner's death ; and the Ifraelites in
general were much troubled for the lofs of their capT
tain-general : fb that Ifhbofheth their king was little
regarded, and lefs guarded,
This gave encouragement to two ruffians to confpire
his death h ; to which they might probably be the
more emboldened, from a cpnfideration, that of Saul's
legitimate flock there was none left whq were in a
condition to revenge his death upon them. For Me-.
phibofheth, Jonathan's fon, was but a child of feven
years old, and lame too of his feet, by a fall which
his nurfe let him take when fhe fled in hafte with him,
upon the report that his father and grandfather were
flain. Thefe two regicides, whofe names were Baanah and
Re.chab, were brothers, fons of Rimmon a Beerothite,
h z Sam. iv. belonging

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 9
belonging to Benjamin, and were captains of bands $
but fome think of rovers, that lived by fpoil and
pillage. Thefe coming to Ifhbofheth's houfe, about
the middle of the day, under pretence of fetching
wheat (fo little odds, it feems, there was between
the palace and the granary) went dire&ly into his
bed-chamber ; where finding the king lying on a bed,
becaufe it was the heat of the day, they flew him, and
cut off his head, in the fecond year of his reign *,
Then, taking the head with them, they went out
again undifcovered, and travelled all night through
the plain towards Hebron ; conceiving high hopes
that they fhould be welcome guefts to David, bring
ing with them fuch a prefent. In expectation whereof,
being come to Hebron, they prefented the head to
David, with this fhort fpeech ; " Behold the head of
Ifhbofheth, the fon of Saul thine enemy, which fought
thy life : and the Lord hath avenged my lord the king
this day of Saul, and of his feed,"
But David, filled with horror and indignation at the
fight of the murdered king's head, faid to thefe bloody
regicides, " As the Lord liveth^ who hath redeemed
my foul put of all adyerfity, when one came and
brought me tidings of Saul's death, fuppofing he had
brought me acceptable news ; nay, and brought me
alfo the crown and bracelet which Saul wore, expect
ing I would have given him a reward; yet, when I
underftood by him, that he had a hand in his death,
J caufed him to be feized on, and flain in Ziklag,
How much more then, when fuch wicked men as ye
are, have flain a righteous perfon (one that had done.
you no wrong) in his own houfe (where he ought to
have been fafe) and upon his bed (where he could
not defend himfelf) ? Shall I not therefore now require
his blood of your hand, and cut you off from the
earth k ? Then commanding his guards to fall upon
them, they flew them ; and having cut off their hands
and feet, hanged them up over the pool in Hebron ;'
* A? M. 2951. k 2 Sam. iv. but

io SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
but the head of Ifhbofheth they buried in the fepulchre
pf Abner in Hebron.
This murder of Ifhbofheth made way for the uniting
the kingdoms of Ifrael and Judah into one again '.
For upon his death, all the tribes of Ifrael (that is,
the elders, or heads of the tribes) came unto David at
Hebron ; and having, as an introduction, told him,
they were of his bone and flefh ; and in times paft,
even when Saul was their king, he was their captain
that led them out and in ; and that- it was of him
that the Lord had faid, " Thou fhalt feed my people
Ifrael, and fhalt be a captain over them >" David
thereupon making a league with them, they anointed
him king over Ifrael, and at Hebron they were feafted
three days together.
David had lived now about two years in Hebron,
and fiye years more he lived there : for he is faid to
have rejgned feyen years in Hebron. And having
now the united forces of Ifrael and Judah under his
command, he led forth his men to Jerufalem, againft
the Jebufites, the inhabitants of the land ; who, truft-
ing too much to the ftrength of the place, told David
in derifion, " Except he took away the blind and the
lame, he fhould npt come in thither." Implying, the
place was fo ftrong, that if there were none but blind
and lame to defend it, he with all his forces could noe
take it.
David, refolving to correct their infolence, caufed
proclamation to be made, that whofoever fhould fcale
the fort, by getting up into the gutter, and fhould
finite the Jebufites with their lame and their blind,
who had made themfelyes hateful to. David, he fhould
be captain-gener-al of all his forces.
This Joab, David's filler's fon, who. had command
before of the forces pf Judah, performed. By which
means David took the ftrong hold of Zion, in which
he afterwards dwelt : and when he had built it round
1 2 Sam. v. about

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. it
about from Millo (or the fortrefs) and' inward," it was,
called, " The city of David."
Now began David's affairs to profper, and his fame
to fpread : for the Lord God of Hofts was with him j
and he perceived that the Lord had eftablifhed him
king over Ifrael. Which his neighbours alfo took
notice of ; and thereupon Hiram, king of Tyre, fent
ambafiadors to David, to congratulate his acceffion to
the crown, and to make him a prefent of cedar trees,
and workmen to build him a palace.
On the other hand, when the Philiftines heard that
the Ifraelites had anointed D*avid for their king, they
came up to feek him, fpreading themfelyes in the
valley of Rephaim ; whereupon David went down tq
the hold. Bitit before he would go forth againft them,
he enquired of the Lord if he fhould go, and if the
Lord would deliver them into his hand ? And the
Lord bidding him go, and affuring him that he would
deliver them to him, he marched forth againft them,
and fmote them, and put them to the rout : fo that
they fled, and for hafle left their images behind them,
which David and his men burnt. The place wher?
this battle was fought, David called Baal-perazim,
that is, The plain of breaches, or divifions ; giving
this reafon for the name, tc The Lord hath broken
Torth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of
waters m."
Yet long it was not ere the Philiftines, having
levied new forces, came up again ; and fpreading
themfelves in the valley of Rephaim, offered David
battle. David would not prefume upon his late fuccefs ;
but enquired of the Lord again. And now the Lord
commanded him not tp go up, that is, directly to
engage them ; but fetch a comp.afs behind them, ancl
come upon them oyer- againft the mulberry-trees :
and when he fhould hear the found of a going in the
tops pf the mulberry-trees, then he fhould bef^ir hira-
« 2 Sam. y, felf'j

li SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
felf ; for then "the Lord would go out before him, to
finite the^hoft of the Philiftines. And David doing
fo, as the Lord had commanded him., he fmote the
Philiftines with a great flavghter.
Having by this means now gotten a time of quiet
and refpite from war, David confulting his captains
and chief leaders, faid to all the congregation of
Ifrael, " If it ftem good unto you, and that if it be
of the Lord our God, let us fend abroad unto our
brethren every where, that are left'" in the land of
Ifrael, and with them alfo to the priefts and Levites,
in their cities and fuburbs, that they may gather them-
felves unto us. And let us bring again the ark of
our God to us i for we enquired not at it in the days
of Saul"."
To this propofal the whole congregation affenting,
as a- thing that all the people approved, David ga
thering the people together, went up with them to.
Baalah (otherwise called Kirjath-jearim) belonging to
Judath, to bring up from thence the ark of God,
whole- name is called by the name of the Lord or
Hofts, that dwelleth between the cherubims,
The ark is faid to have been twenty years in the
houfe of Abinadab at Kirjath-jearim, i Sam, vii. i,
i. But that twenty years muft be referred to the timg
of the fingle adminiftration of Samuel in the govern
ment.: for the ark was taken in the laft year of Eli,
and the Philiftines kept it but feyen months, i Sam,
vi. i . Samuel fucceeding to Eli in the government, is
reckoned to have judged Ifrael by himfelf twenty
years before there was a king, and twenty years more
are allotted to Samuel and Saul together, and to Saul
by himfelf after Samuel. So that from the death of
Eli, when the ark was £aken4 to the death of Saul,
muft be forty years. And though feven months of
thaj: time it was with the Philiftines ; yet David having,
after Saul's death, reigned feven years and fix months
in Hebron, and fome time after that in Jerufalerr^
" I Chron. xiii, j, 2, 3. before

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 13
before he went to fetch up the ark, it could not be
much lefs than fifty years that the ark had been at
Kirjath-jearim, in the houfe of Abinadab.
Thither went David and the Ifraelites to fetch it
from thence, and bring it to Jerufalem. But not mind
ing the law, which required them to carry the ark
upon their fhoulders, Numb. vii. 9. they, following
the example of the Philiftines, put it into a cart, ap
pointing Uzzah and Ahio, the fons of Abinadab, to
drive the cart. And in this manner fetting forward,
David with all the houfe of Ifrael followed it, playing
before the Lord upon divers forts of mufical inftru-
ments, as harps, pfalteries, timbrels, cornets, and
cymbals. Thus they went on till they came to a place called
Nachon's Threfhing-floor, where the oxen ftumbling,
fhook the cart ; which made Uzzah ojficioufly put forth
his hand and lay hold of the ark, left it fhould fall °.
Uzzah's intention, no doubt, was good in doing this.
But it being contrary to the law, which forbad all but
the priefls, even the Levites themfelves, to touch the
holy things, Numb. iv. 15. the Lord fmote Uzzah
for his rafhnefs ; fo that he died there by the ark.
This breach which the Lord had made upon poor
Uzzah, flruck David with great fear p; and miftaking
it for,a fign that God was not pleafed the ark fhould
come to him, he would not bring it into his city ; but
carried it afide into the houfe of Obed-Edom the
Gittite, who was a Levite : where it continued three
months, and the Lord bleffed Obed-Edom, and all
that he had.
In which time David perceiving their error, which
had provoked the Lord to anger, and occafioned Uz
zah's death, and underftanding that the Lord had
bleffed the houfe of Obed-Edom fince the ark had
been with him j he took heart now to remove it from
thence, and bring it into his own city'1.
• A. M. 2959. r 1 Chron. xiji. 1 2 Sam. vi. 1 Chron. xiii.
But

i4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
But that he might do it regularly (having firft pre
pared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a
tent, and declared that none ought to carry the ark of
God but the Levites) he called for Zadok and Abiathar
the priefts, and for the chief of the Levites ; and put
ting them in mind that they were the chief of the
fathers of the Levites, bid them fanctify themfelves,
they and their brethren, that they might bring up the
ark of the Lord God of Ifrael unto the place which
he had prepared for it : " For, faid he, becaufe ye did
not fo at the firft> therefore the Lord our God made
this breach upon us ; for that we fought him not after
the due order."
The priefts and Levites thus admonifhed of their
duty, fanctified themfelves ; and the Levites took up
the ark of God, With the Haves thereof, and bare it
upon their fhoulders, as Mofes, according to the word
of the Lord, had commanded. And the Levites, by
David's direction, appointed fome of their brethren to
fing, and to play upon inftruments of mufick. And
when all things were thus difpofed in a due order,
king David, with the elders of Ifrael, and the captains
over thoufands, fet forward to bring up the ark of the
covenant of the Lord from the houfe of Obed-Edom
with joy. And when they that did bear the ark of
the Lord had advanced fix paces, he facrificed oxen
and fatlings, to wit, feven bullocks and feven rams.
King David had dreffed himfelf that day, fomewhat
like the Levites and fingers, in a linen ephod, in which
he danced before the ark with all his might ' : and fo
brought up the ark with fhouting, and with the found
of the trumpet, and with feveral other forts of mufical
inftruments. And as they entered the city, Michal,
the daughter of Saul, looking through a window, faw
her hufband, king David, leaping and dancing before
the Lord : and either not underftanding, or not duly
confidering the reafon upon which he did it, fhe de-
fpifed him in her heart. ' A. M. 2959,
Now

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 15
Now when they had brought in the ark of the Lord,
and had fet it in its place, in the. midft of the taber^
nacle that king David had pitched for it, he offered
burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord.*
And then blefiing the people in the name of the Lord
of Hofts, he diftributed to every one of Ifrael, as well
to the women as the men, a cake (or loaf) of bread,
and a good piece of flefh, and a flagon of wine, and
fo difmiffed them.
Then having appointed certain Levites to minifter
before the ark of the Lord, to record what was done,
and to thank and praife the Lord God of Ifrael, king
David delivered unto Afaph, the chief of the fingers,
a pfalm of thankfgiving unto the Lord ; which as de
livered in 1 Chron. xvi. from ver. 8 to 37. contains
the cvth pfalm to ver. 16. with little variation ; and
then takes in the xcvith pfalm.
Matters being thus difpofed, as the people returned
every one to his houfe, fo David returned to his alfo,
to tilefs his houfhold s. And now out comes his wife,
Michal to meet him, and (for want of a right confi-
deration and fenfe of the fervice he had been engaged
in) thus in an ironical upbraiding way received him ;
" How glorious, faid fhe, was the king of Ifrael to
day, who uncovered himfelf in the fight of the hand
maids of his fervants, as one of the vain fellows.
uncovereth himfelf !"
King David not brooking this reproach from his
wife, told her, " It was before the Lord he had fo
humbled himfelf, who had chofen him before her
father, and before all his houfe, and had appointed
him ruler over his people Ifrael." Then he. let her
know, that for all her taunting, he would play before
the Lord, .and would be yet more vile in this fenfe,
and debafe himfelf more in his own fight ; and that
though fhe defpifed him, thofe very maid-fervants
whom fhe twitted him with, would honour him for it.
• 2 Sam. vi. Michal's

i6 SACRED HISTORY. Part lit.
Michal's offence in this matter was threefold ; againft
her hufband} againft her king* and againft God ; for
whofe fake, and in honour of whom, her royal hufband
had done that which fhe reproached him for. And
for this offencei her punifhment was, that fhe fhould
be cKildlefs all the reft of her life, as, for aught ap
pears, fhe had been hitherto.
By this time David's houfe, which Hiram, i Sam.
v. n. i Chron. xiv. i. had fent him timber and
workmen to build, was finifhed, and he peaceably
fettled in it; the Lord having given him reft for a
while from all his enemies round about \ Upon which
occafion he is thought to have compofed the thirtieth
pfalm, which the title -thereof feems to import : though
fome think that pfalm was made upon David's return
after Abfalom's rebellion, and his purging his houfe
frorn Abfaloms's pollutions.
And now a religious concern poffeffed his mind, to
build a temple to the Lord. Wherefore having Na
than the prophet one day with him, he faid to the
prophet, " See now, I dwell in an houfe of cedar ;
but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains " which
is a periphrafis of the tabernacle.
Nathan readily underftood him ; and concluding Co
fair a motion deferved encouragement, replied, " Go,
do all that is in thine heart : for God is with thee."
But herein the good prophet miffed, judging from his
own apprehenfion of the goodnefs of the thing, without
confulting God*; who will have all his work done in
his own time and way, and by fuch only as he appoints
thereunto. The fame night therefore, the word of the Lord
came to Nathan the prophet, faying, " Go, tell David
my fervant, thus faith the Lord, Thou fhalt not build
me an houfe t® dwell in : for I have not dwelt in an
houfe fince the day that I brought up Ifrael unto this
day j but have gone from tent to tent, and from one
tabernacle to another. In all the places wherein I
[ 2 Sam. vii. i Chron. xvii, have

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 17
have walked with all Ifrael, have I blamed any of the
judges of Ifrael (whom I commanded to feed my
people) for not building me an houfe of cedar ? that
tho'u fhouldeft prefume to take fuch a work upon thee
without my order."
Then charging the prophet to remind DavidTfrom
how low a condition the Lord had taken him, and to
what an height of greatnefs he had raifed him, he bid
him tell David that he would provide a place of reft
and fafety for his people in general, and in particular
would ertablifh David's family : and that after his
death, he would fet up one of his fons upon his
throne ; which fon fhould build an houfe for him ; and
he would eftablifh the kingdom unto him for ever, and
would be a father to him, and would take him for a
fon, and wo*ild deal by him as a fon u : fo that if he
fhould commit iniquity, he would not take his mercy
wholly from him, to cut him off, as he had done Saul ;
but would chaftife him with the rod of men, that is,
tenderly, as parents do their own children.
This meffage Nathan delivered to David ; arid,
without doubt, then gave him the reafon alfo, why
the Lord would not let him build an houfe ; which was
becaufe he had made great wars, and had fhed much
blood ; as himfelf afterwards told his fon Solomon,
1 Chron. xxii. 8.
When David had received this meffage, that he
might fhew his fubjection to the will of God, and
exprefs his thankfulnefs to the Lord, he went in and
fat before the Lord ; and debafing himfelf, that he
might the more fully acknowledge the goodnefs and
munificence of God unto him, in raifing him to what
he was, he returned moft hearty thanks to the Lord
for his manifold favours conferred on him, and for his
gracious promife to fettle his fon upon t^e throne, and
eftablifh his family in the government ; concluding'
with earnefl fupplication, that the bleffing of the Lord
might reft upon him and his houfe for ever. Which.
* 2 Sam. vii. 1 Chron. xvii.
. Vol. II. C read

is SACRED HISTORY. Part III*
read more at large in i Sam. vii. from ver. 18. to the
end. David, now fenfible that he had miftaken his work,
in deflgning to build an houfe for God, applied
himfelf to his proper fetvice for which the Lord had
raifed him up ; which was> to fubdue the enemies of
Ifraeli and enlarge the kingdom which he was to leave
to his peaceable fuccefforwi
Firftj therefore, falling Upon the Philiftines, he took
from them the royal city Gath, with the towns belong
ing to it, ahd brought the Philiftines into fubjedtion.
This city Gath was called Methegammah, or the Bridle
of Bondage, becaufe it kept the country in bondage.
Then turning his forces upon Moabj he reduced the
Moabites to that conditio^ that, demolifhing their
forts, he put to death whom he pleafed, and whom he
pleafed he faved alive, making them his fervants and
tributaries. From thence going on to fettle the borders of the
country* at the river Euphrates, Hadadezer (called
alfo Hadarezer, i Chron. xviii. 3.) the fon of Rehob,
king of Zobahj opppfing him* he put Hadadezer to
the worft, and took from him a thoufand chariots, and
feven thoufand horfemen, and twenty thoufand foot
men ; and referving horfes for an hundred chariots
onlyj he houghed (or cut the hamftrings) of the reft
of the chariot horfes.
The Syrians of Damafcus, hearing how hard it went
with Hadadezer, came forth to fuccour him ; and of
them David flew two and twenty thoufand. This lofs
fo weakened them, that David put garrifons in Syria
of Damafcus, and rr^ade the Syrians his fervants and
tributaries. In his return from fmiting the Syrians, the Edomites
encountered him in a place called the valley of Salt ;
of whom he flew eighteen thoufand men, and thereby
fubdued Edom too j and putting garrifons upon them,
made the Edomites alfo his fervants. And upon this
* 2 Sam. viii. 1 Chron. xviii. occafion!

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i9
occafion he is thought to have compofed the fixtieth
pfalm. From this expedition he brought with him to Jeru-
falem good ftore of gold and of brafs ; for from Ha*
dadezer's foldiers he took fhields of gold; and from
Bevah and Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, he took a
great deal of brafs.
Thus came David fafe back, the Lord having pre-
ferved him whkherfoever he went, and given him
renoWn for his great atchievements. And now reign
ing over all Ifrael, and being at reft from war, he
applied himfelf to execute judgment and juftice unto
all his people, having Joab (his filler Zeruiah's fon)
for his general ; Jehofhaphat for recorder ; Zadok, the
fon of Ahitub (of the ftock of Eleazer, i Chron. vi.
4. and 8.) and Ahimelech, the fon of Abiathar, of the
line of Ithamar, for priefts (grandfon to that Ahime
lech of Nob, whom Saul flew by the hand of Doeg,
1 Sam. xxii.) ; Serajah for fecretary of ftate ; and Bena-
jah, the fon of Jehoiadah, for captain of the guards ;
which confifted of Cherethites (who Were of Ifrael)
and PeLethkes (who' were of Judah) ; veteran foldiers
all. And David's fons, which were many (for he had
fix born in Hebron, while he lived there, and thirteen
after he came to Jerufalem, befides the fons of his
concubinesj 1 Chron. iii. ver. 1. to- 10.) were all
princes. Hadadezer, it feerriSi had had wars with Toi (called
alfo Tou, 1 Chron. xviii. 9.) Jcing of Hamath (a city
of Canaan, Numb. xiii. 21. which fell to the lot of
Naphthali, Jofh. xix. 32. 35.) Wherefore king Toi,
hearing how David had beaten Hadadezer, fent his fon
Joram to falute king David, and congratulate his good
fuccefs,, Joram brought David a prefent from his
father, of veffels of filver, gold, and brafs ; all which,
with the filver and gold that he had taken from all the
nations that he had fubdued, king David did dedicate
unto the Lord, for the- fervke of the; temple that was
to be built.' C 2 And

ao SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
And now, fettled in peace and profperity, David
remembered the former kindnefs of his true friend and
brother Jonathan1. And enquiring if there was any
of Saul's family unto .whom he might fhew kindnefs
for" Jonathan's fake, Ziba, an old fervant of Saul's,
was called, as one that could beft give an account of
his matter's family. He acquainted David, that Jona
than had a fon yet living* named Mephibofheth-, who
was lame of his feet. Whereupon David, underftand-
ing by Ziba where he was, fent and fetched him to
him ; and receiving him very courteoufly, bid him
Not fear ; for he would certainly fheW him kindnefs
for his father Jonathan's fake, and would reftore him
all the lands of his grandfather Saul, and he fhould
always eat at his table. Mephibofheth thereupon
bowing, and abafing himfelf, expreffed the fenfe he
had of the king's goodnefs, in taking notice of fo mean
a perfon as he was.
But David calling for Ziba, faid tP him, " I have
given unto Mephibofheth, thy matter's fon, all that
did appertain unto Saul, and to all his houfe. Thou,
therefore, with thy fons and thy fervants, fhall till the
land for him ; and thou fhalt bring in the fruits for thy
matter Mephibofheth's fon (for Mephibofheth had a
young fon, named Micho). But as for Mephibofheth
himfelf, he fhall always eat at my table." Ziba un
dertaking the charge, he and his family, fifteen fons
and twenty fervants, were all fervants unto Mephibo
fheth ; who himfelf, dwelling at Jerufalem, did eat
continually at the king's table, as one of the king's
fons. Some time after thisy, David having heard that
Nahafh, king of Ammon, was dead, and that Hanun
his fon fucceeded him ; and gratefully remembering
fome kindnefs, which it feems Nahafh had formerly
fhewed him (probably in the. time of his troubles
under Saul, though I find, po particular mention of it
in the ftory) in return of kindnefs, fent an ambaffyof
* 2 Sam. ix. y 2 Sam. x. i Chron. xix. condolence

Part III. SACRED HTSTORY. 21
condolence to Hanun, to comfort him for the death
of his father, and congratulate his acceffion to the
crown. When thefe ambafiadors were come to the Ammo-
nitifh court, the princes of Ammon perfuaded their
king, that David had not fent them in honour to his
father, or to comfort him ; but that, under that pre
tence, he had fent them as fpies, to fearch out the
ftrength-of the city, that he might invade it*.
Hanun thereupon feizing on the ambaffadors, fhaved
off one half of their beards, and cut off their garments
in the middle to their buttocks, and in that reproach
ful manner font them away.
The men, thus bafely expofed to contempt, were fo
afhamed, they knew not how to return home. Where
fore David, being advertifed of the abufe, fent fome
to meet them* arid bid them tarry at Jericho until their
beards were grown again.
This violation of the. law of nations, which gives
protection to ambaffadorsj the Ammonites afterwards
(but too late) confidered it was not likely king David
would put up. Wherefore expecting to be called to
account for it, they fent and hired men out of Syr;a
and other neighbouring parts to the number of three
and thirty thoufand : and drawing out alfo their own
men from their feveral cities, they made all the provi-
fion they could for their defence. And David, not
bearing to let fuch an infolent affront go unpunifhed,
fent Joab with all the hoft of the mighty men againft
them. The Ammonites expecting them, had ranged their .
battle before their own city, at the entrance of the
gate, having their mercenary forces in a body by them
felves in the field ; which when Joab faw, he alfo
divided" his army into two parts ; and picking out all
the choice men of Ifra.el, he himfelf led them up, againft
the mercenaries, leaving the reft of his forces with his
brother Abifhai, to engage the Ammonites. Then he
15 A. M. 2966^
C 3 anc|

22 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and his brother agreeing to relieve each other as need
fliould require, Joab exhorted all his men to be of
good courage, and to behave themfelves valiantly for
their people, and for the cities of their God, and leave
the fuccefs to the Lord.
Joab having thus encouraged his men, made a fierce
charge upon the Syrians, and foon put them to flight.
The fight of which fo difcouraged the Ammonites,
that they fled alfo, and got into the city. And thus,
with a victory eafily obtained, Joab returned with his
army to Jerufalem.
But it was not long ere he was obliged to draw forth
his men again. For the Syrians, to recover their late
lofs, raifed a new army; and Hadarezer fent and
brought over the Syrians that were beyond the river,(
who all came to Helam, having Shobach, the captain
of Hadarezer's hoft, at the head of them,
As foon as David heard of this, he gathered all his,
forces together, and paffing over Jordan^ marched
himfelf with them to Helam, The Syrians, as fopn as
they faw him come, putting themfelves in order, gave
him battle. In which David prevailing, the Syrians
fled, having loft Shobach their general, and about
feven and forty thoufand men; whereof fome were
horfemen, fome foot, and fome that fought in chariots.
And when the petty kings, who were tributaries to
Hadarezer, faw that they were fmitten before Ifrael,
they made peace with Ifrael, and ferved them : for
having fmarted fo deeply for their kindnefs to the
Ammonites, they were afraid to help them any more.
But David, refolving to chaftife the Ammonites yet
more fharply for their late infolence, fent Joab forth,
the next campaign with a very great army againft
them ; who haying ravaged the country^ and deftroyed
the Ammonites wherever he could come at them, lai4
fiege at length to their royal city Rabbah, the metro^
polis of the Animonjtes.
But David, who had better have been at the head
of his army, lay loitering now at home ; and having
taken his eafe upon his bed one afternoon (as the
manner.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 2 3
manner of great perfons in thofe hot countries was) he
arofe in the evening, and to enjoy the benefit of a cool
air walked upon the roof of his houfe, which (accord
ing to the appointment in the law, Deut. xxii. 8.)
was built flat, with battlements round about the roof,
to prevent any one's falling off.
From thence his roving eye happened to efpy a very
beautiful woman bathing and wafhing herfelf ' privately
in her garden, probably for purification-fake, accord
ing to the law, Lev. xv \ And enquiring who fhe
was, he was told her name was Bathfheba (called alfo
Bathfhua, 1 Chron. iii. 5.) the daughter of Eliam
(called there alfo Ammiel) and wife of Uriah ; who,
though an Hittite by nation,, was profelyted to the
Jewifh religion, and fo marrying this Ifraelitifh woman,
Kyed in Jerufalem ; but was at that time with the army
at the fiege of Rabbah.
David* taken with the woman's beauty, fent for her,
and lay with her ; and fhe thereupon conceiving, fent
him word that fhe was with child b. Now though
David feemed not to be fenfible of the evil he had
done, yet he was of the fhame that might come upoii
him by it ; and therefore contriving how to hide it>
he fent to Joah to fend home Uriah the Hittite to
him, as if he had fome particular bufinefs with him.
When Uriah was come to. the king, after fome ge-<
peral enquiries^ how Joab did, and how the people
fared, and how the war proceeded ? David, in feeming
kindnefs to Uriah, as pne that might be weary after
his journey, bid him go down to his houfe and Wafh
his feet (that is, reft and refrefh himfelf) ; and- withal
fent a mefs of meat after him. But Providence fo
difpofed, that Uriah, though he took his leave of the
king, did not go down to his houfe ; but, falling in
with the yepmen of the guard, flept at the dopr of the
king's houfe.
When David underftood next morning that Uriah
had not gone home, he called, him to him^ and afked,
*" A, M. 2970. ¦! 2 Sam. xi,
€ 4 hjm

24 SACRED HISTORY. Part 111.
him what the matter was that he did not go home,
feeing he came off from a journey ? Uriah bluntly and
foldier-like. made him anfwer, " That inafmuch as
the ark, with Ifrael and Judah, abode in tents, and
his lord general Joab, with the reft of the king's fer
vants, were encamped in the open fields, he would
not indulge himfelf fo far- as to go to his houfe, to eat
and to drink, and to lie with his wife."
When David found he could not work upon him
fober, he refolved to try what he could do with him
when he was drunk. Wherefore, keeping him another
day, he feafted him highly, and plied him fo with
ftrong liquors that he made him drunk ; hoping that
then he would go home to his wife : but neither fober
nor drunk could Uriah be drawn to it. But at even
ing, going forth from the king's prefence, he clapt
himfelf down in the guard-chamber, and there flept.
This put David upon a worfe courfe : for now he
refolved Uriah fhould die ; that, fince he would not
cover, he might not difcover, nor revenge his offence.
Wherefore difmiffing Uriah, he fent by him a letter
to Joab, wherein he ordered Joab to fet Uriah in the
fore front of the battle, and in the moft dangerous
place ; and then retire from him, that he might be
fmitten and die.
Accordingly, Joab obferving what part of the city
was beft defended, affigned Uriah to a place where he
knew there were valiant men ; and when the befieged
made a fally, they flew fome of the befiegers, and
amongft them Uriah.
Joab foon fent an exprefs to David, to give him an
account of the fuccefs of the war ; bidding him, if he
found the king difpleafed that things were no better,
and that he fhould blame them for approaching fo
near, within danger of the wall, he fhould then tell
him of Uriah's death; which (by the letter he had
' received) he knew would pleafe him, though perhaps
he might not then know why.
The meffenger thus inftrudted went to David, and
having given him an account of the battle ; how
daringly

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 25
daringly the enemy fallied forth againft them"; how
they beat them back to the. very entrance of the gate ;
and how the archers, fhooting from the wall, had flain
fome of the king's fervants, and among the reft, Uriah
the Hittite. David, having what he aimed at, fent
back the meffenger, bidding him encourage Joab t.o
go forward, and not to be troubled at the lofs ; but
confider that the fword makes no difference, but de
vours one as well as another ; and that therefore he
fhould make his battle ftronger, renew his affaultswith
greater vigour, and batter the city until he had over-!
thrown it.
Now when Bathfheba heard that her hufband Uriah
was dead, fhe made a formal mourning for him ; and
when that was over, David fent and fetched her to his
houfe, and fhe became his wife, and bare him a fon :
but the thing that David had done was evil in the fight
of the Lord.
Mean while Joab having ftraitened Rabbah, and by
affault taken that part of the city wherein the fprings
and conduits of water were c (whence he forefaw the
city could not long hold it) he difpatched a meffenger
to David, to acquaint him what progrefs he had made,
and to intreat him to come with the reft of his forces,
and be prefent in perfon at the taking of the city, left,
otherwife, if Joab fhould take it without him (or in
his abfence) it fhould thenceforth be called by Joab's
name. David thereupon,- gathering his people together,
went to Rabbah, and fighting againft it,, took it.
And befides the fpoil of the city, which he brought
away in great abundance, he took their king's crown
from off his head, and had it fet upon his own head :
which crown, weighing a talent of gold, was worth
four thoufand and five hundred pounds fterling (ac
cording to Godwyn's Mofes and Aaron, 1. vi. c. x.)
befides the precious ftones that were on it.
f 2 Sam, xii.
As

$6 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
As for the people that were in Rabbah, they having
exafperated him by a double offence ; firft, in the
abufe put upon him in the perfons pf his ambaffadors,
2 Sam. x. 4. which gave the occafion for this war ;
and now, in holding out to the laft extremity till die
place was taken by ftorm, he gave them no quarter :
but, putting them to the extremeft torments, made
them fuffer under faws and axes of iron, and under
harrows, and caufed them to pafs through the brick
kiln. And having dealt in like manner with the in
habitants of the other cities of the Ammonites, he
returned in triumph with his people to Jerufalem.
Now king David thought himfelf fafe in the poffef-
fion of Bathfheba (whom he had brought to his. bed
through the difhonour and blood of her hufband) j
when GocJ fent his prophet Nathan to him, to roufu
him out pf his adulterous lethargy* and make him,
unwittingly his own judge.
This the prophet did by propofing to him the fol
lowing parable, as demanding juftjce of him for an
oppreffed poor man againft a rich oppreffor.
" There were, faid Nathan to the king, two men in
one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The
rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds ; but
the poor man had nothing, faye one little ewe-lamb^
which he had bought and brought up among his
children, fo that it did eat and drink as he eat and
drank, and lay in his bofom, and was unto him as a
daughter. And there coming a traveller to vifit the
rich man, he fpared to take of his own flock and of
his own herd, to drefs for the ftranger that was come
to him ; but took the poor man's lamb and dreffed it^
{o entertain his gueft.H
David's, anger was greatly kindled againft this rich
plan; and prefently palling fentence on him, faid to
Nathan, " As the Lord liveth, the man that hath
done this thing is worthy to die : and he fhall alfo
reftore the lamb four-fold, becaufe he did this thing,
and had no pity." Little

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 27
Little thought David that he had fentenced himfelf,
till the prophet turning quick upon him, faid, " Thou
art the man." That was an home-ftroke, Yet to fet
it more home, and leave David without defence or
excufe, the prophet went on, and by way of aggrava
tion added : " Thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, I
anointed thee king over Ifrael, and I delivered thee
out of the hand of Saul, and I gave thee thy matter's
houfe, and thy matter's wives into thy bofom, I gave
thee alfo the houfe of Ifrael and Judah ; and if that
had been too little, I would moreover have given thee
fuch and fuch things. Wherefore then haft thou de-
fpifed the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in hi$
fight ? For thou haft killed Uriah the Hittite with the
fword, and haft taken his wife to be thy wife (for
though he was flain by the Ammonites, yet inafmuch
as thou didft contrive and appoint his death, thou art
guilty pf his blood) ; and therefore the fword fhall
not depart from thine houfe all thy days. And becaufe
t'hou haft defpifed me, in taking the wife of Uriah the
Hittite to be thy wife, thus faith the Lord, Behold, I
will raife up evil againft thee out of thine own houfe ;
and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give
them unto thy neighbour, and he fhall lie with thy
wives in the fight of the fun : for though thou didft it
fecretly, I will do this thing before all Ifrael, and be
fore the fun in the moft open manner."
Poor David, pricked t,o the heart, and felf-con-
demned, made no excufe ; but fimply faid, " I have
finned againft the Lord." The confeffion was fhort,
but full. And he who knew the integrity of his heart,
commiffioned his prophet thereupon to tell him, he
would not take him ftrictly at his word ; but would
transfer the fentence of death (which he unwittingly
had pronounced upon himfelf) from him unto the
child. <c The Lord alfo, faid Nathan to David, hath
put away thy fin : thou fhalt not die thyfelf for it.
Yet becaufe by this deed thou haft given great occa-
flpn to the enemies of the Lord to bjafphem.e, the
, ' child

23 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
child that is born to thee (of this adulterous congrefs)
fhall furely die."
The prophet Nathan, having thus delivered his mef
fage, departed home : and immediately the Lord ftruck
the child, fo that it was very fick. David therefore
befought God for the child, and, keeping a faft, went
in and lay all night upon the earth : fo that although
the elders of his houfe went to him, and intreated
him to arife and eat, yet he would not.
On the feventh day (from the child's birth, fay
Tremellius and Junius) the child died : and David's
fervants, feeing how he grieved while the child was
alive, were afraid to tell him that it was dead, left he
fliould then afflict himfelf more. But when David by
their whifpering fufpecled, and upon enquiry under-
ftood, that the child was dead, he arofe from the earth,
and wafhed and anointed himfelf, and having changed
his apparel, he went into the houfe of the Lord and
worfhipped. After which, returning to his own houfe,
he did eat.
This made his fervants wonder, that he, who failed
and wept for the child while it was alive, fhould rife
and refrefh himfelf with food when it was dead. But
David removed their wonder, by telling them he failed
and wept while the child was alive, in hopes that God
would be gracioufly pleafed to fpare the child's life.
" But now, faid he, that the child is dead, wherefore
fliould I faft, feeing I cannot bring him back again ?
I fhall go to him, but he will not return to me."
About this time it was, at leaft on this occafion,
that David compofed the one and fiftieth pfalm : which
the reader, before he proceeds further, may do well
to turn to and read.
After this, David comforted Bathfheba his wife, and
fhe bare him another fon. Whereupon the Lord fent
Nathan the prophet to him, to bid him call this fon
Solomon ; which name fignifies peaceable ; and was
therefore given him, becaufe the Lord had promifed,
not only that he himfelf fhould be a man of reft, but
that he would give peace and quietnefs in his days to
Ifraelj,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 29
Ifrael, 1 Chron. xxii. 9. And beaufe the Lord loved
this child, David called him alfo Jedidiah, that is,
Beloved of the Lord.
Although David had many fons, yet we read but of
one daughter that he had d, whofe name was Tamar,
fifter to Abfalom, the king's third fon, whom he had
by Maacha, the daughter of Talmai king of Gefhur.
And now began that judgment which God had fo
lately denounced againft David (viz. " That he would
raife up evil againft him out of his own houfe,"
2 Sam. xii. 11.) For Amnon the king's eldeft fon (which
he had by his wife Ahinoam the Jezreelitefs) fell def-
perately in love with his half-fifter Tamar ; whofe
extraordinary beauty fo captivated the young prince's
affection, that he pined away through an hopelefs de-
fire after her : for fhe, being a young Virgin, was fo
carefully kept within the king's houfe (as the manner
of breeding the Jewifh damfels was, thofe efpecially
that were of the higher rank) that Amnon, though
her brother, knew not how to come at her.
The trouble of Amnon's mind difcovering itfelf in
his countenance, gave occafion to Jonadab, his inti
mate friend and coufin-german (as being the fon of.
Shimeah, David's brother) to enquire of him what
ailed him, that he (who being the king's eldeft fon,
might be-fuppofed to have whatever he defired) looked
fo thin, and wafted daily in his fiefh ? Amnon, at
Jonadab's importunity, told him plainly, he was in
love with Tamar, his brother Abfalom's fifter.
Jonadab thereupon, being a very fubtle man, ad-
vifed his coufin Amnon to feign himfelf fick, and
betake himfelf to his bed ; which would draw his father
to vifit him :' and then he fhould requeft his father to
let his fifter Tamar come anddrefs him fomething to
eat, that he, feeing her do it, might eat it from her
hand. Purfuant to this advice, Amnon took his bed like a
fick man ; which when the king heard of, he quickly
d 2 Sam. xiii. came

2o SACRED HISTORY. Part lit.
came to fee him : and Amnon intreating the king his
father to let his fifter Tamar come and make him a
couple of cakes, the king, fufpecting nothing of a
defign, fent word to Tamarj that fhe fhould go to her
brother Amnon^ houfe, and dreft for him what he
Would have to eat.
Tamar very innocently went ; and finding her bro
ther Amnon on his bed, fhe made him fuch cakes as
he directed, and having baked them, brought them
to him : but his ftomach did not yet ferve him ; nei-» '
ther would he eat while the company was there. But
when all were gone, fo that he only and fhe were left
alone together, he defired her to bring the cakes to
him : which fhe doing, he took hold of her, and faid,
sc Come, lie with me, my fifter-."
The poor princefs, furprifed at fo ftrange a propo-
fition, and hoping to prevail with him by perfuafion,
begged him to let her alone, and not attempt to vio
late her chaftity : laying before him the- guilt he would
bring upon himfelf (by fo pofitive a breach of the law4
Lev. xviii. 9.) the flume he would expofe her to, and
the contempt he would fubject himfelf to5 by com
mitting an act not only very finful, but extremely
foolifh alfo ; when-as, in all probability, if he made
fuit to her father for her, he might have his confent to
marry her : which courfo fhe advifed him to take, per
haps to gain time, and free herfelf from the prefent
danger. But Amnon was not to be anfwered with words.
This was not a fudden heat, but a fettled defire, and
a contrived defign upon her. And,, therefore, having
now gained his opportunity, he was deaf to all her
reafons, counfel, and intreaties ; and being ftronger
than fhe, he forced her.
Having obtained his wicked end, the anfwering of
his luft, Amnon's hot love prefently turned to burning
hatred, He hated Tamar fo exceedingly, that the
hatred wherewith he hated, her, was greater than the
love wherewith he had loved her. And in this hateful
fit, he churiifhly bid her " Arife and be gone." This

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, ;$t
.This troubled Tamar much, not only from the fenfe
of his unkindnefs, but of the danger of difcovering^
(by this means) the guilt and fhame he had brought
upon himfelf and her. Wherefore fhe told him, he
had no caufe to deal thus roughly with her ; and that
the evil of turning her thus out of doors, would be
Worfe (in the confequences of it) than the other that
he had done unto her. But he refufing to hear her,
called his fervant, and bid him put her out of doors,
and bolt the door after her : which accordingly the
fervant did.
Poor Tamar, thus abufed and bafely dealt with,
rent her garment (which was of divers colours, as*
for diftindtion fake, the unmarried daughters of kings
in that age ufed to wear) : and having put afhes upon
her head, fhe laid her hand alfo on her head (in token
of great forrow) and went crying away to her brother"
Abfalom's houfe.
:- As foon as Abfalom faw her in that condition, fuf*
peering what had befallen her, he afked her, " If her
brother Amnon had been with her ? And when fhe had
told him how fhe had been dealt with, he wifhed her
to confider that Amnon was her brother, againft whom
if fhe fliould complain, it was not likely fhe fhould
obtain juftice, he being the king's eldeft fon ; and
that her complaining would but fpread her reproach,
and bring infamy upon their whole family : and there
fore he advifed her to keep her own counfel, and not
lay this injury to heart,
Tamar taking her brother Abfalom's advice, re
mained in his houfe ; but in a defolate condition. As
for Abfalom, he, diffembling his knowledge of the
matter, hid his rejferitment of the injury : and though
he hated Amnon, for having forced his fifter ; yet he
took no notice of it to him.
But when king David heard of it, he was very
Wroth; yet we read not of any punifhment inflicted
On Amnon for it : for David was an indulgent father.
Full two years did Abfalom Wait for an opportunity
to be revenged on his brother Amnon, which at
length

o

1 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.

length he thus contrived : he had a day of fheep-
fhearing' at his country-hoiife, to which he invited all
the kind's fons ; and to colour the matter invited the
king himfelf firft.
The king excufed himfelf from going, upon the ac
count that he would not put him to too great charges ;
and though Abfalom prefied, he refufed to go : yet to
let him fee he was not offended with him, he gave
him his bleffing before he parted with him. Abfalom
then intreated him to let his brother Amnon go with
him ; which David made fome hefitation at : but Ab
falom's importunity prevailed With him, to let not only
Amnon, but all the reft of the king's fons, go with
him to his fheep-fhearing feaft.
Abfalom had g^iven his fervants a ftrict charge before
hand, that when Amnon's heart fhould be merry with
wine, and he fhould bid them finite him, they fhould
fall on courageoufly and kill him, and he would bear
them out. The fervants, obfequious to their mailer's
command, when he gave them the watch-word, fell
upon prince Amnon, though heir apparent to the
crown, and killed him. This put all the reft of the
king's fons in fuch a fright, not knowing where the
affaflination would end, that, not attempting to re
venge their brother's death, they every one mounted
his mule, and fled towards their father's, court.
But report was fpeedier than they. So that ere they
could reach the court, tidings were brought to David,
<c That Abfalom had flain all the reft of the king's
fons, and had not left one of them alive."
At this aftonifhing news, the king tore his garment,
and lay on the ground ; and all his fervants flood by
with their clothes rent : which when Jonadab (David's
brother's fon, the fame who had encouraged and coun-
felled Amnon to take that courfe, for the fatisfying or
his luft, which had brought him to this untimely end)
obferved, he, to mitigate the king's grief, defired
him not to think that all his fons were flain : for he
could affure him, that only Amnon was dead ; and
that

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY.

33

that his death had been determined by Abfalom from
the day that he forced his fitter Tamar.
By that time Jonadab had done fpeakirig, the reft
of the king's -fons came in: and the king and they,
with all the court, wept arid lamented very fore.
Abfalom mean while made his efcape to Talmai,
king of Gefhur, his mother's father, with whom he
lived a voluntary exile three years. In which time,
David having mourned daily for his fon Amnon, and
being now comforted concerning him, feeing he was
dead, began to hone after his fon Abfalom again.
This being obferved by Joab (the king's general,
and coufin-german to Abfalom) he bent his mind to
contrive a way to obtain Abfalom's pardon, and reftore
him to the favour of the king his father. Wherefore
fending to Tekoa (a town about fix miles from Je
rufalem, where the .prophet Amos afterwards lived,
Amos i. i.) he fetched from thence a wife woman;
whom, having told her what fhe fliould fay, he defired
to feign herfelf a mourner, and putting on mourn
ing apparel, to go to the king as one that had a long
time mourned for the dead.
The woman thus inftructed, Went to the king e, and
falling on her fate to the ground, to do obeifance to
him, faid, " Help, O king !" The king thereupon
a'fking her what fhe ailed ? She anfwered, " I am a
widow woman, 2nd my hlifoand is dead : and thy
handmaid had two fons, who ttrove together in the
field ; and there being none to part them, the one
fmote the other, and flew him. And now, faid fhe,
the whole family is rifen up againft thine handmaid,
and would have me deliver up him that fmote his
brother, that they may kill hirft, for the life of his
brother Whom he flew : and fo deftroying the .heir
alfo, they would quench that little fpark of life which
is left to our family, and not leave to my hufband
either name or remainder upon the earth."
c 2 Sam. xiv.
Vol. m. D The

34 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
The king, having heard her complaint and requeft,
bid her go home, and he would give charge concern
ing her. But this being too general an anfwer, the
Woman told him, " If he would protect her fon againft
the avengers of blood, the iniquity (of his having
killed his brother in the fray) fhould be upon her and
her father's houfe ; and the king and his throne fliould
be guiltlefs." Whereupon the king bid her, whofo-
ever fhould moleft her on that occafion, bring him to
hirilj and he would take fuch a courfe with him that
he fhould not trouble her any more. This yet was
not home enough to reach the cafe ; for fhe aimed at
getting a promife from him, that he would pardon her
fon : wherefore, to draw the king ftill further on, fhe
again befpake him thus, " I pray thee, let the king
remember the Lord thy God, that thou fuffer not the
avengers of blood to deftroy any more, left they deftroy
my fon." Upon that the king, to give her affurance,
faid, " As 'the Lord liveth, there fhall not one hair of
thy fori fall to the earth."
The woman now reckoning fhe had faft hold of the
king by his word, opened the matter plainly to him ;
letting him know, that under the parable of a widow,
mourning for the lofs of one fon, and for the danger
of lofing the other, fhe had covertly reprefented to
him the grief of his people for the abfence of his fon
Abfalom, and their earneft defire that he might be
recalled from banifhment.
When the king faw how wilily he had been over
reached, he fufpected Joab to have had an hand in the
contrivance ; and afking the woman, if it were not fo ?
fhe told him, it was ; and that Joab had inftructed
her what fhe fhould fay f . Whereupon the king calling
for Joab, told him, he had granted Abfalom's pardon ;
and bid him go bring him home again. Joab, re
turning humble thanks to the king, for having fo
gracioufly granted his requeft, went joyfully to the
court of king Talrhai at Gefhur ; and from thence
f A. M. 2975; brought

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 35
brought Abfalom to Jerufalem : but when he was
come, the king gave order, that he fhould go to his
own houfe, and not come to court.
This reftraint was uneafy to Abfalom. Wherefore,
when he had dwelt two full years in Jerufalem, and in
all that time had not been admitted to the king's pre-
fence, he fent for Joab, intending to have fent him to
intercede with the king on his behalf: but truly Joab
would not come at him. When therefore he had fent
for him a fecond time, and he had again refufed to
come, Abfalom, remembering that Joab had a field of
barley lying near to his, bid his fervants go fet it on
fire : which when they had done, Joab quickly came
to Abfalom, to expoftulate the cafe with him, and to
know what the reafon was that his Servants had fired
his field.
Abfalom told him he had fent for him that he
might fend him to the king, to intreat that he might
be brought to the king's prefence : and then, if the
king thought him worthy of death, let him kill him ;
for he had rather die, than live under this confine
ment. "V
Joab then going to the king, and acquainting him
how hardly Abfalom took it, to be brought from
Gefhur two years ago, and not to be fuffered in fo
long a time to fee him ; the king thereupon called for
him, who being come, and bowing himfelf on his
face to the ground before the king, was by him re
ceived with a kifs ; a token of forgivenefs and royal
favour. Though Abfalom was David's third fon, in the order
of his birth; Amnon by Ahinoam, and Chileab by
Abigail, being elder than he, 2 Sam. iii. 2, 3. yet
now he feems to be the eldeft; Amnon being flain,
and Chileab (fuppofed to be) dead before. This,
together with the people's affection to him, made him
caft an ambitious eye upon the crown ; which he
thought himfelf worthy enough to wear.
For perfonage he was of fuch incomparable fhape
and beauty, that he had no match in all Ifrael ; for
D a from

36 SACRED HISTORY. Part HI.
from top to toe there was no blemifh to be found in
him. And he had an head of hair of an almoft incre
dible bignefs ; for when he cut his hair (which he did
once a year, that it might not grow top heavy for him)
we read he weighed it at two hundred fliekels after the
king's weight; which Godwyn computes to be four
pound weight and two ounces. Moles and Aaron,
p. 298.
Being reftored to the king's favour, Abfalom had
riow the fairer opportunities to ingratiate himfelf with
the people ; arid he took care to lofe no occafion.
For firft, he put himfelf in an higher equipage of
ftate and grandeur than was ufual g. So that, whereas
the king's fons tifed to ride on mules, as was obferved
before, chap. xiii. 29. he provided for himfelf a cha
riot and horfes, and fifty men to run before him ;
which were of the nature of a life guard.
Then, to oblige the people, he would get up be
times in the morning, and Handing in the way before
the palace-gate, when any one that had a controverfy
with another came to the king for judgment, he would
call him tP him ; and when the man drew nigh to
make obeifance to him, he would take him in his arms
and kifs him, and difcourfe familiarly with him about
his bufinefs, and advife him to look well to it, and
fee that his caufe was rightly ftated : but withal, to
bring them out of conceit with his father's govern*
ment, he would lamentingly fay, " But, alas ! there
is no man deputed of the king to hear thee." Then,
to infinuate himfelf into their good opinion, he would
add, " O that I were made judge in the land, that
every man which hath any fuit or caufe might come
unto me, and I would do him juftice !"
By fuch evil arts as thefe, Abfalom ftole the hearts
of the people from the king his father, and won their
affections to himfelf. And when he had thus ftrength
ened himfelf, he went to the king his father, and afked
leave of him to go to Hebron, to pay a vow which
S 2 Sam. xv. he

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 37
he hadi vowed- tb the Lprd : for he pretended; that
while he was at Gefhur in Syria, he had vowed a vow,
fC TAat if the Lord- would bring him back in fafety to1
Jerufalem, he would then forye the Lord;" that is,
offer a. peace-offering unto him : and the good, king,
not fufpecting his fon of treachery, gave him leave to
go ; bidding him, " Go in peace."
This is faid in the text (2 Sam. xv. 7.) to be after forty
years : but from whence to compute them is not plain.
They, who would' date thefe forty years from the be
ginning of David's reign, are too far out : for David;
who reigned but forty years in all, reigned divers years
after this. Tremellius reads it before, inftead ' of after
\ante finem quadraginta' annorums before the end of
forty years] : but I doubt, he makes too bold with the
text. More likely it is, that thefe forty years fhould1
commence from the time of Abfalom's birth, and fo
denote his age ; and then the fenfe will be, that he was
full -forty years old when he laid this plot againft' his
father. However it was, having obtained the king's leave,
Abfalom took- his journey to Hebron ; and with him
went out of Jerufalem two hundred choice men, whom
he had fingled out and invited to his feaffi, but had
not acquainted them with his defign : fo that' they
went in their fimplicity, not knowing any thing of it,
But he fent agents among all their tribes, to found the
minds of the chief men of' Ifrael, and to direct all fuch
as they could gain to his faction, that when they'
fhould j hear the found of the trumpet; they fhould*
make- proclamation among the people, that Abfalom, •
reigned in Hebron, m order to gather the people-
thither to him. In particular, he fent for AhithopheT"'
the Gilpnite, king David's counfellori from his city
Giloh, in the tribe of Judah, as one whom, for the
opinion they had of his wifdom, many would be likely
to follow ; and, indeed, the confpiracy grew ftrong :
for "the people flocked in continually to Abfalom,
While difloyal Abfalom was thus ftrengthening him
felf in h.is -dnnatural; rebellion, fome loyal fubjects
P 3. baying

3S SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
having got notice of it, came and acquainted king
David with it\ And to make him the more fenfible
of the greatnefs of the danger, he told him, " The
heart (ufing the lingular number) of the men of Ifrael
was gone after Abfalom ;" as much as to fay, The
men of Ifrael are unanimous, or of one heart, in this
defection. This unexpected and furprifing meffage ftruck David
with fo great fear, that his native courage for the
prefent abating, he faid to his fervants that were with
him at Jerufalem, " Arife, and let us flee ; for we
fhall not elfe efcape from Abfalom. Make fpeed to
depart, left he overtake us fuddenly, and bring evil
upon us j and for our fake finite the city with the edge
of the fword." They telling him, they were ready to
obey his commands ; the king (leaving ten women,
who were fome of his concubines, to keep the houfe)
went forth, and all his houfhold after him ; the Che-
rethites, and the Pejethites, and the Gittites (being
fix hundred men that had followed him from Gath)
paffing on before him.
Among thefe David took particular notice of Ittai
thesGittite (whom fome take to be fon to the king of
Gath j and who, it feems, was but lately come to
him) : and David faid tp him, " Wherefore goeft thou
alfo with us ? Return to thy place, and abide with the
king (fo, feeing the people had fet him up, he called
the ufurper his rebellious fon) : for thou, faid he, art
a ftranger (and therefore' not in any danger) and alfo
an exile (whence may be gathered, that he had fled to
David for protection, as David had formerly done to
Achifh). Inafmuch therefore (faid David to him) as
thou art but new come to us, why fhpuld I make thee
wander about with us, we know not whither ? Return
thou, and take back thy brethren ; and mercy and
truth be with thee." But the' noble Gittite foiemnly
protefting to the king, that he would run the fame
adventure with him, whether it were in life or in
* A, IVJ. 2980. deathj

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 39
death, the king bid him then pafs over before him :
which he did with his men and all the little ones that
were with him.
Thus paffed they over the brook Kidrpn (called.
afterwards Cedron, John xviii. 1. a rivulet that ran
between Jerufalem arid the Mount of Olives) and took
their courfe towards the way of the wiJdernefs, both
the king and the people weeping.
Then came Zadok the prieft, and all the Levites
that were with him, bearing the ark of the covenant
of God (which they intended to carry with them, as
hoping for the greater favour from God, having the
ark of his covenant amongft them) : and they fet it
down until the people had done palling out of the city,
Abiathar, the other prieft, Handing by it. But David
bid Zadok carry back the ark of God into the city :
" For, faid he, if I fhall find favour in the eyes of the
Lord, he will bring me again, and fhew me both it
and his habitation (to wit, the tabernacle which I
have raifed for him). But, if he hath no delight in
me, behold, here I am : let him dp tp me as feemeth
good unto him."
But this was not all ; David aimed at fome further
advantage by fending back the priefts to tarry at Jeru
falem. " For, faid he to Zadok, art not thou a feer
(that is, one whofe minifterial function will protect
thee from violence, and render thee acceptable to
Abfalom) ? Return therefore into the city, thou and
Abiathar, and your two fons with, you (Ahtmaaz thy
fon, and Jonathan his fon) and there abide peaceably :
and I will tany in the plain pf the wildernefs, until
there cpme word from you to certify me how things
go-" Zadok therefore, and Abiathar, carrying the ark pf
God again tp Jerufalem, tarried there. But David,
fetting forward again, went up by the afcent of Mount
Olivet, weeping as he. went ; and having his head
cpvered, he went bare-foot : and all the people that
were with him covered eyery man his head, in token
pf extreme forrow (of which, fee inftances in 2 Sam,
D 4 xix.

40 SACRED HISTORY, Part III,
xix. 4. and Either vi. 12.) and wept as they went
up. Being come to the top of the mount, Dayid made a
flop there, and worshipped God. And here fome
conceive he' uttered what is contained in the third
pfalm ; induced fo to think, from the infcription of
that pfalm, which is, " When he fled from Abfalom
his fon." But from fome expreffions in it, efpecially
in the fifth, fixth, and fevpnth verfes, it foems more
likely to have been delivered after Abfalom's defeat ;
unlefs we fhould rather fuppofe the former part of it
to have been uttered at this time while David fled ;
and the latter part at his return after the victory ; and
fo both parts brought afterwards into one pfalm.
While David made this halt on the top of the
mount, Hufhai the Archite, his old friend and cpun-
fellor, came to meet him, v/ith his, coat rent, and
earth upon his head, to fhew he fympathized with his
mafter in his forrow, and tp be a, partaker with him in
his fufferings.
David, willing to make the beft advantage of fq
ufeful a man, told him, " He would be, but a burthen
to, him, if he fhould go along with him : but if he
returned to the city, and infinuated himfelf into Ab
falom's fervice and fecrets, he might then be of grea,t
fervice to him, in defeating, the counfel of Ahithophel."
And to encourage him thereunto, he let him know,,
that he fhould there have Zado^ and Abiathar the
priefts to affift him ; to whom he might communicate
whftfoever he could hear or learn out of Abfalom's
houfe ; and, they might convey it to, him by their two
fons Ahimaaz and Jonathan,
Hufhai thus inftructed, and defirous to ferve his
king where he might do it to the beft advantage, re
turned to Jerufalem, to be there in readinefs againft
Abfalom fhould come thither.
But David, not daring to linger, long, went on his
way ' ;. and being got a little paft the top of the mount,
1 2 Sam. xyi, who

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 4*
who fhould meet him but Ziba, the fervant of Me
phibofheth, with a couple of faddled afles, and upon
t;hem a prefent of two hundred loaves of bread, an
hundred bunches of raifins, with fome fummer-fruits.^
and a bottle of wine.
The king afking him what he meant by thofe things ?
He replied, " The affes are for the king's houfhol'dtQ
ride on, and the bread and the fruits for the young
men to eat, and the wine for a cordial for fuch as
might happen to. faint in the wildernefs."
" But where, faid the king, is thy matter's fon ?"
" O, faid falfe Ziba, he abides at Jerufalem : for he
faid, Now fhall the houfe- of Ifrael reftore me the
kingdom of my father." The too credulous, king,
relying on the falfe information of this treacherous
fycophant, pall an over-hafty fentence againft innocent
Mephibofheth, faying to Ziba, cc Behold, thine are
all that pertained to Mephibofheth." Whereupon
fawning Ziba, bowing himfelf, befought the king to
continue this favour to, him.
David ftill preffing forward* came in a while to
Bahurim, a city in the tribe of Benjamin, where he
met with a very rude reception : for from thence came
forth a man, of the family of the houfe of Saul, whole
name was Shimei, the fon of Gera, Whether this
man had been a perfbn-al fufferer in the fall of Saul's,
family, or what elfe ha,d exafperated him againft David,
doth not appear. ; but a deep offence he had, it feems,
conceived againft the king, and thought now he might
fafely vent his malice without danger. Wherefore he.
cam.ej forth, curling- ftill as he came,;, and with his
curfing, thus he alfo railed at David : " Come out,
come out, faid he, thou bloody man, and thou man
of Belial. The Lord hath returned upon thee all the
blood of the houfe of Saul, in whofe ftead thou haft
reigned : and the Lord hath delivered the kingdom
into the hand of Abfalom thy fon ; and behold, thou
art taken in thy mifchief, becaufe thou art a bloody
man," Thus

+2 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Thus as he went along on the fide of the hill, over
againft David, he continued railing and curfing : nor
only.fo, but call duft, and threw flones alfo at David,
and at all his fervants, as they travelled along the way ;
though all the people, and the mighty men of war,
were on either hand of him,
This fo provoked Abifhai, David's nephew, that he
faid to his uncle, " Why fliould this dog curfe my
Lord the king ? Let me go over, I pray thee, and
take off his head." But David, confcious to himfelf
of his own guilt in the cafe of Uriah, 2 Sam, xi. and
of God's judgment denounced againft him for it,
chap. xii. ver. 11. faw and acknowledged the juft
hand of God in all this ; and fubmitting to it, faid,
in diflike of his coufin Abifhai's offer, " What have I
to do with you, ye fons of Zeruiah ! So let him curfe,
becaufe the Lord hath faid unto him, Curfe David :
who then fhall fay, Wherefore haft thou done fo ?
Alas, faid he to Abifhai, and to all his fervants, ye fee
my fon, who came forth of my bowels, feeketh my
life: how much more then may this Benjamite do
what he hath done ? Let him alone, and let him curfe,
feeing the Lord hath bidden him : it may be the Lord
will look on my affliction, and will requite me good
for his curfing."
While David was thus entertained at Bahurim, Ab
falom and the men of Ifrael that were with him, being
come, with Ahithophel, to Jerufalem, Hufhai pre-
fented himfelf to him, with congratulatory acclama
tions, crying out, " God fave the king ! God fave the
king !" Which ambiguous fpeech might be applied
either way, to Abfalom, or to David.
Abfalom, well knowing Hufhai to have been an in
timate friend, and counfellor to his father, played a
little ironically on him, faying, " Is this thy kindnefs
to thy friend ? Why wenteft thou not with thy friend ?"
Hufhai replied, " Nay, but whom the Lord and this
people, and all the men of Ifrael choofe, his will I be,
and with him will I abide." In which ftill he left
room for an application to David, whom the Lord and all

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 43
all Ifrael had undoubtedly chofen ; which could not be
truly faid of Abfalom. And although, to take from
Abfalom all fufpicion of him, and beget in him a
confidence of his fidelity, he added, " Whom fhould
I ferve ? As I have ferved in thy father's prefence, fo
will I be in thy prefence :" yet he might thereby mean
(and no doubt did) to ferve the father ftill, by -giving
wrong Gounfel to the fon, and by difcovering the
counfels of the fon to the father.
Hufhai having thus wrought himfelf in among them,
Abfalom, that he might not lofe time, faid, " Give
counfel among you what we fhall do." This, though
fpoken to them all, he directed more particularly to
Ahithophel, who had been a prime counfellor to Da
vid, and was of that repute in thofe days, that his
counfel was regarded, as if a man had enquired at the
oracle of God.
Ahithophel, well knowing the danger he fliould be
in, if a reconciliation fhould be made between the
father and the fon, gave fiich politick, but wicked,
counfel, as he concluded would hinder all accommo
dation between them. He advifed Abfalom, therefore,
in the firft place, to take thofe women, his father's
concubines, which he had left to keep the houfe, and
openly lie with them before the people ; alledging,
that when all Ifrael fhould hear how much, by that
means, he had incenfed his father, defpairing of par
don, they would flick clofe to him. This counfel
fuited Abfalom well : and a tent being fpread on the
top of the hpufo (which, as was noted before,- was
fiat-roofed) Abfalom went in unto his father's concu
bines in the fight of all Ifrael.
In the next place, Ahithophel advifed a fpeedy pur-
fuit after David, before he fhould get into any ftrong
place, or have time to raife any confiderable forces *.
," Let me now, faid he unto Abfalom, choofe out
twelve thoufand men ; and I will arife and purfue after
David this night : and I will come upon him while he
k 2 Sam. xvii.

44 SACRED HISTORY. Part IIT.
is weary and weak-handed, and put him and his men
into, fuch a. fright, that all the people that are with
him ffeall ftee ; and I wili finite the king only, and
bring back aJl the people to thee in peace."
This was the moft pernicious counfeli that could have
been, given againft David), and the moft unnatural:
yet this pleafed! graceltefs Abfalom well, and the elders,
too, of Ifoael: that were engaged in his faction. But,
as God would have it, Abfalom, before he would, put
it in action,, bid them, call Hufhai alfo, that he might
hear: likew>iffe»w,haJ; he would: fay.
When Htifliai was. come, Abfalom faid unto him,
ff Ahichophel. hath fpoken after this manner ; fhall we
follow^ his. counfel: ? If not, fpeak thou."- Hufhai,
that he might not feem. to. flight Ahithophel, replied^
*' The counfeli that Ahirhopheli hath, given, (though in
the general he be a very able counfellor). is not good)
at this, time : for, faid Hufhai to Abfalom, thou
k-noweft thy father, and: his men, that they be mighty-
men, andi they> be chafed in. their, minds, as a bear
robbediof her whelps in the field:: fo. that fuch a fmalli
fprce as thou canft now fend will not be able to match.
tfiem.; andi if by that means thou fhouldeft receive but
a, fmall overthrow now at the firft, it would quickly/
be reported abroad, that there is a. flaughter among
the people that follow Abfalom, And if once that
poffefs. the minds of the people, the moft hardy and*
valiant amongft thy followers will be difcouraged : . for
all Ifrael. knoweth that thy father is a mighty man^
and. that they which be with him are valiant men,
Andi whereas Ahithophel propofes to feize thy father in
his quarters by night, and kill him only, he doth not
confider. that thy father, is a man of war, and fo well
acquainted with the policies of war, that he will not
lodge with the people ; and, no doubt, he is hid now
in fome- pit, or other private place. Wherefore, my
counfel is, That all Ifrael be generally gathered toge
ther, from one end of the land to the other ; and that
having raifed an army, like the fands of the fea for
multitude, thou march thyfelf, in thine own perfon^ at;

^artlll. SAC R&D HISTORY; 45
at the head <of them, for their greater encouragement i
fo fhall we come upon -him as the dew upon the
ground $ and of him, and of all the men that are with
him, not leave one. And if he fhould be gotten into
a city, we fhall be enough to draw that city with ropes
into the river."
So well did Hufhai deliver himfelf on this Occafion,
that he won Abfalom and the chief men of his party
to his opinion ; infomuch that they all agreed and
declared, " That the counfel of Hufhai was better
than the counfel of Ahithophel." For, indeed, the
Lord had determined to defeat the counfel of Ahitho
phel, which Abfalom before thought good, and was
moft conducible to his defign ; to the intent that the
Lord might bring evil upon Abfalom.
But Ahithophel, who was not wont to meet with a
repulfe, and could not brook that the counfel of ano
ther fhould be preferred to his, took it fo hardly that
his counfel was not followed, that mounting his afs,
he gat him home ; and having put his houfhold in
order, hanged himfelf.
Mean while, Hufhai, having wifely diverted the
prefent ftorm from his mailer David, took the firft
opportunity to acquaint Zadok and' Abiathar, the
priefts, both what Ahithophel had counfelled, and
what counfel himfelf had given ; defiring them to fend
with all fpeed to David, and advife him not to lodge
that night in the plains of the wildernefs, but fpeedily
pafs over over Jordan, left he fhould have been fwal-
lowed Up, and all the people that were with him.
For though Hufhai had for the prefent put by the
purfuit, which Ahithophel had advifed, yet not know
ing how foon Abfalom's mind might alter, he was not
willing the king fhould run that hazard.
Zadok and Abiathar had -polled their two fons, Jo
nathan and Ahimaaz, at En-rogel, a well or fountain
without Jerufalem. For they thought it not fafe for
them, who were to be the meffengers between Hufhai
and the king, to be within the city ; left they might
be prevented from coming forth. To them, therefore, this

46 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
this meffage being conveyed by a young damfel, they
fpeeded away with it to king David. But it unhappily
happened, that a young lad feeing them go off, went
and told Abfalom, who prefently fent fome after them,
tO feize them, and bring them back.
But they, perceiving they were purfued, made fuch
hafle, that they reached Bahurim ; and going to a
man's houfe there that had a well in his court, they
went down into it. And the woman of the houfe,
that the well might not be feen, took a coverlid, and
fpreading it over the mouth of the well, laid ground
corn thereon, as if it wanted airing. By that time
this was done, came Abfalom's fervants to the houfe,
in queft of them ; and afking the woman where they
were ? She told them, " They were gone over the
brook of water :" whereupon the purfuers went on as
fhe directed them ; but when they had fought and
could not find them, they returned to Jerufalem.
As foon as they had notice that the coaft was clear,
Jonathan and Ahimaaz coming up out of the well,
went on to king David, and acquainted him, both
what counfel Ahithophel had given againft him, and
Hufhai's advice, that he fhould pafs quickly over the
river. Whereupon David, drawing out his men, hailed
away to Jordan ; and by the break of day next morn
ing, he, and all the people that were with him, were
got to the other fide of the river.
Then marching on to Mahanaim (a city in the tribe
of Gad, built in the place where Jacob was met by
the angels of God in his return from his father Laban,
Gen. xxxii. i, 2.) he there made a Hand. And while
he ftaid there, Shobi, the fon of Nahafh of Rabbah,
of the children of Ammon (who probably was a tri
butary prince to David, fince his fubduing the Am
monites, 2 Sam. xii. 26.)' and Machir (the fon of
Ammiel of Lodebar) brother-in-law to king David,
if (as is fuppofed) this Ammiel be the fame that was
father to Bathfheba, David's wife, 1 Chron. iii. 5.)
and Barzillai, the Gileadite of Rogelim, brought in
provifions of feveral forts, to refrefh the king and his
people

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 47
people that were with him, who were hungry and
thirfty, as well as weary.
But it was not long before Abfalom, having raifed
a great army, paffed over Jordan in purfuit of his
father; he and all the men of Ifrael with him, and
pitched in the land of Gilead. And becaufe Joab was
gone along with king David, Abfalom made Amafa
captain of his hoft inftead of Joab, to whom . he was
coufin-german. For Amafa was the fon of one Ithra
(called alfo Jether, an Ifhmaelite by nation, 1 Chron.
ii. 17. but an Ifraelite by profeflion of religion) who
begat Amafa on Abigail, fifter of Zeruiah, Joab's
mother. When king David faw that his fon Abfalom was
come over Jordan againft him, and that there was no
remedy, but that it muft come to a pitched battle
between them, he numbered the people that were with
him ' ; and fetting captains of thoufands, and of hun
dreds, over them, he divided them into three battali
ons. Of thefe he gave to Joab the command of one
to Abifhai, Joab's brother, the command of another
and to Ittai the Gittite the command of the third
intending to go with them himfelf alfo.
But the people would not fuffer that. " For, faid
they, if we be put to flight, they will not care for us ;
neither will they regard it, if half of us be flain : for
they had rather deftroy thee, than ten thoufand of us.
Therefore it is better that thou flay, and relieve us out
of the city."
The king willing, at that time efpecially, to pleafe
his people, and perhaps not very earneft to engage in
perfon againft his fon, anfwered, " He would do what
they thought beft." Then ftanding by the gate as the
people went out by hundreds, and by thoufands, he
gave a great charge to his three generals, and all the
captains, in the hearing of the people, that for his
fake they fhould deal gently with the young man
Abfalom, J 2 Samv xviii, As

*S SACRED HISTORY. Part lit.
As foon as the two armies met, they joined battle
in a Wood belonging to the tribe of Manaffeh (called
here, " The wood of Ephraim," becaufe, as fome
think, the Ephraimites drove their cattle over Jordan,
to feed them in this wood. But others, with more pro
bability, fuppofe it to be called the wood of Ephraim,
from the great flaughter which Jephthah had formerly
made of the Ephraimites in that place, Judg. xii.)
And though Abfalom's army was* in all likelihood*
much fuperior to David's in number ; yet God, who
raifed this florm againft David for his exercife, not for
his deftruction, call the victory on David's fide ; fo
that the people of Ifrael, who followed Abfalom, Were
flain before the fervants of David, to the number of
twenty thoufand men. And more might have fallen*
had not Abfalom himfelf (for whofe fake they engaged)
been taken arid flain. For he, to avoid the foldiefs
of David, rode under the thick boughs of an oak;
and his head being caught in the oak, he was fo en
tangled with his great bufh of hair amongft the boughs*
that his mule which he rode on going away from under
him, he was left hanging there between heaven and
earth, not able to difentangle himfelf.
One that faw him in this pofture, went and told
Joab that he had feen, Abfalom hanging in an oak.
Joab blaming him that he had not killed him, told
him, " If he had, he would have given him ten flie
kels of filver, and a military belt :" which was fome-
times given in war to fuch as atchieved fome honour
able exploit.
The foldier, excufing himfelf upon the king's com
mand, given in the hearing of the Whole army, to
fpare Abfalom,, told Joab, " He would not have put
forth his hand againft the king's fon, though any one
would have laid him a thoufand fhekels in his hand."
Joab, not willing to lofe time, foon brake off the
difcourfe ; and taking three darts in his hand, went to
the place where he underftood Abfalom was'", and
m A. M. 2981; thru ft

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 49
thruft them through his heart while he was yet alive
in the oak. And to make fure work, ten young men,
that bare Joab's armour* compafling Abfalom about,
fmote him and flew him.
This done, Joab immediately, to prevent any fur
ther effufion of blood, founded a retreat. Whereupon
the king's people returning from the purfuit, gave
Abfalom's men opportunity by flight to efcape home.
Then taking the body of Abfalom, they call it into
a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap
of ftones upon him.
Such was the end, fuch the burial, fuch the monument
of this ambitious prince, and rebellious fon ; who, in.
his life-time, Confidering that he had no fon living
(though he had had three, 2 Sam. xiv. 27.) to keep
his name in remembrance, had reared up for himfelf
a pillar, in a place called " The king's dale," not far
from Jerufalem, and had called that pillar after his
own name.
Ahimaaz, fon of Zadok the prieft, was ambitious
to have carried the good news of this victory to king
David ; and therefore defired Joab to let him run and
bear the king tidings, how that the Lord had avenged
him of his enemies. But Joab, out of a kind refpe6l
to the young man, becaufe he knew the news would
not be welcome to David, put him by, with telling
him he fliould bear tidings another time when occa
fion might offer ; but at that time he was not willing
to employ him, becaufe the king's fon was dead.
Then turning to Cufhi, an Ethiopian, but fervant
to David, he bid him, "" Go, tell the king what he
had feen." Whereupon Cufhi, bowing himfelf to
Joab, fet forward.
Ahimaaz, ftill defirous to go on the errand, intreat-
ed Joab to let him run alfo, though it were after
Cufhi. <f Wherefore, faid Joab, wouldeft thou run,
my fon, feeing thou haft no acceptable tidings ?" Yet
upon his prefiing him the third time, Joab gave Ahi
maaz leave to go, who, taking the way by the plain,
out-ran Cufhi, and got in before him.
Vol. II. E Mean

£o SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Mean while David fat between the two gates of the
city Mahanaim, in a doubtful expe&ation of the event
of this battle. And a watchman being on the roof,
over the gate upon the wall, gave notice that he faw
a man coming, running alone. " If he be alone, faid
the king, he brings .tidings."
As they drew near, the watchman cried out that he
faw another man coming, running alfo alone. Him
likewife the king concluded to be a bringer of tidings.
And underftanding by the watchman, that the foremoft
of them did run like Ahimaaz, the fon of Zadok, the
king faid, " He is a good man, and cometh with
good tidings."
As foon as Ahimaaz came within call, he faid aloud
to the king, " All is well." Then drawing nearer,
he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king,
and faid, " Bleffed be the Lord thy God, which hath
delivered up the men that lifted up their hand againft
my lord the king." This was good news in general.
But, faid the king, " Is the young man Abfalom fafe ?"
Ahimaaz, not willing to be the meffenger of that ill
part of the news* told the king, "That when Joab
fent Cufhi and him away, he faw a great tumult, but
he knew not what the particular occafion was."
¦ Prefently upon this came Cufhi in, crying, " Ti
dings, my lord the king : for the Lord hath avenged
thee this day of all them that rofe up againft thee."
But, laid the king to him alfo, " Is the young man
Abfalom fafe ?" " The enemies, anfwered Cufhi, of
my lord the king, and all they that rife up to do thee
hurt, be as that young man is."
That word was enough ; the king underftood it :
and being greatly moved for the death of his fon, he
went up to the chamber over the gate tp weep ; and
as he went, he vented his grief in this mournful ex
clamation, " O my fon Abfalom, my fon, my fon
Abfalom, would God I had died for thee, O Abfalom,
my fon, my fon !" Wherein, it is probable, not only
paternal affection moved, but the fenfe of his fon's
rebellious

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. $i
rebellious fin, and of the quick judgment of God
upon him for it, raifed his paflion to fo high a pitch.
The king's thus mourning for Abfalom, turned the
victory (or the triumph for the victory) into mourn-*
ing unto all the people : for they, hearing how the
king was grieved for his fon, gat them by Health into
the city, as people who are afhamed Ileal away when
they flee in battle n.
This being obferved by Joab, who was a man of
more courage than compaflion, and thought this car
riage of the king's favoured too much of pufiilanimity,
he went into the houfe to the king (who having co
vered his head in token of grief, was ftill crying out
with a loud voice, " O my fon Abfalom, O Abfalom,
my fon, my fon !) and with a foldierly boldnefs, and
freedom of fpeech, told him, " Thou haft fhamed this
day the faces of all thy fervants, who this day, with
the hazard of their own lives, have faved thy life, and
the lives of thy fons, and of thy daughters, of thy
wives, and of thy concubines ; in that thou loveft
thine enemies, and hateft thy friends : for (by this
behaviour of thine) thou haft declared, that thou
regardeft neither princes nor fervants. And I now
perceive, that if Abfalom had lived, and all we had
died this day, it had pleafed thee well. Now, there
fore, arife, go forth, and fpeak comfortably unto thy
fervants : for I fwear by the Lord, if thou goeft not
forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night ;
and that will be worfe unto thee than all the evil thsX
hath befallen thee from thy youth until now."
This bold fpeech (more neceffary, perhaps, than de
cent) rouzed the king out of his bewailing fit. And
being a wife prince, that knew how and when to com
ply with his fubjects, he arofe and went down, and fat
in the gate, as his ufual manner had been, both to
gratify his people with his prefence,, and to hear ane$
redrefs their grievances. And a good effect it had:
for as- foon as the people heard that the. king Was* coma
¦ 2 Sam. xix..
E 2 fo'rth.

p SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
forth in publick again, they all hafted to appear before
him. For the Ifraelites that had fided with Abfalom,-
had (upon the defeat) fled every man to his tent.
But now that they who had driven the king away
might fliew their forwardnefs to bring him back, the
people were at ftrife throughout all the tribes of Ifrael,
faying one to another, " The king hath often faved us
out of the hand of our enemies, and particularly out
of the hand of the Philiftines ; and now he is fled out
of the land becaufe of Abfalom. But feeing Abfalom,
whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle, why,
therefore, do ye not now fpeak a word of bringing the
king back ?"
This return of affection in the people of Ifrael to
wards their king foon came to the king's ear ; which
as it could not choofe but pleafe him, fo, he was not a
little troubled at the backwardnefs of the men of Ju
dah ; from whom, as being his own tribe and family,
he expected more regard. Wherefore, to ftir them
up, he fent to Zadok and Abiathar the priefts, willing
them to fpeak unto the elders of Judah, as from him ;
and fay unto them, " Why are ye the laft to bring the
king back to his houfe ? For the fpeech of all Ifrael is
come to the king about it, before ye fpeak a word of
it; although ye are 'my brethren, my bones, and my
flefh : what is the matter that ye are fo backward to
bring home the king ?"
And to fweeten Amafa, who had been Abfalom's
general, he not only bid them put him in mind of his
near relation tp him, as being his fifter's fon, and fo of
his bone, and of his flefh ; but authorized them alfo
to give him affurance from him, that he would make
him captain of his hoft in the room of Joab.
For though David concealed, as well as he could,
his refentment ; yet Joab had much loft his favour :
for he had divers times not a little difpleafed him ; as
in the murder of Abner formerly, in his killing Abfa
lom now, contrary to the king's exprefs command,
and in his late over-bold reproof of the king. But this
not being a time for the king to exprefs his difpleafure in,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. $3
in, he carried himfelf very obligingly to all his people :
by which means he bowed the heart of all the men of
Judah, (6 that they unanimoufly petitioned him to re
turn, with all his fervants ; and came to meet him at
Gilgal, to conduct him over Jordan.
With thefe came Shimei the. fon of Gera, the Benja-
mite of Bahurim, who had fo railed at and curled
David as he fled ; who feeing the tide now turned,
Abfalom dead, his party routed, and king David re
turning in peace and in triumph, made hafle with the
foremoft to £ome down to meet the king, and to beg
his pardon, having a thoufand men of Benjamin with
him, perhaps to intercede for him.
As foon, therefore, as the king was come over Jor
dan, Shimei fell down before him, and faid, " Let not
my lord impute iniquity unto me ; neither remember
that which thy fervant did peryerfly, in the day that
my lord the king went out of Jerufalem, that the king
fliould take it to heart : for thy fervant doth know that
I have finned. Therefore, behold, I am come down
the firft this day of all the houfe of Jofeph, to meet
my lord the king," Where, by [the houfe of Jofeph]
is underftood the three tribes of Ephraim, Manaffeh,
and Benjamin, which made up the third rank in their
military marchings, and in which Ephraim, Jofeph's
fon, had the firft place, Numb, ii. 18 to 25.
Abifhai, Joab's brother and the king's nephew (who
being prefent when this man reviled the king, would
fain have ftruck off his head then, 2 Sam. xvi. 9.) was
highly offended with Shimei ; and fearing left his
uncle's lenity fhould be wrought upon to grant him
his pardon upon this fubmiflion, interpofed, faying,
"Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, becaufe
he Curfed the Lord's anointed ?"
But David, eying the juft hand of God in what had
befallen him, and refolving to re-ingratiate himfelf
with his pepple by acts of clemency, gave Abifhai
this fharp rebuke ; " What have I to dp with you, ye
fons of Zeruiah, that ye fhould this day be adverfaries
unto me ? Shall there any man be put to deatli this
E 3 <ty

54

SACRED HISTORY. Part III.

day in Ifrael ? For do not I know, that I am this day
king over Ifrael ?" Wherein he feemed to exprefs a
fenfe of the great danger he was fo lately in of glofing
his kingdom, and of the favour of both God arid the
people to him, in reftoring him again to his kingly
dignity ; and therefore, it being a day of gladnefs
and thankfulnefs, it ought not to be ftained with
bloody executions. Then turning to Shimei, he faid?
and confirmed it to him by an oath, " Thou fhalt not
die." Which expreffion (confidering what direction
David gave to his fon Solomon concerning him,
i Kings ii. 9. and his execution thereupon, ver. 46,)
had need be taken with fome limitation ; and perhaps
is beft explained by David's own words in the place
fore-quoted, where reciting the whole paffage of Shi-
mei's curfing him, and coming afterwards to meet him
and beg his pardon, ver. 8. he gives his own words
thus, viz. " I fware to him by the Lord, faying, I
wiH not put thee to death with the fword."
Among thofe that came to congratulate the king's
return, and attend him over Jordan, falfe Ziba was
one, who, fearing his treachery to his mailer Mephi-
boiheth would be difcovered, came very officioufly,
with his fifteen fons and twenty fervants, to wait on
the king, and conduct him homewards.
As for Mephibofheth, he, poor man, had been fa
true a mourner for the king's affliction, that he had
neither drefled his feet (though he was lame of them)
nor trimmed his beard, nor wafhed his clothes, from
day the king departed, until tfie day he came again in
peace. A.nd not being able for lamenefjs to travel, he
was forced to flay till the king came to Jerufalem ;
and then going to welcome him home, the king re-?
membering what Ziba had told him, afked him,
" Wherefore he went not with him?" To which he
replied, ?< My lord, 0 king ! my fervant deceived
me: for I ordered him to faddle me an afs, that
(being unable to walk, becaufe thy fervant is lame) I
might ride thereon, and go to the king, but he failed
me ¦, and not pnly fo, but hath alfo flandered thy fer,
yan$

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 55
vant unto my lord the king. But my lord the king is
as an angel of God to difcern my innocency (and my
fervani's treachery) : do therefore what thou feeft good.
For a* my father's houfhold were but dead men (in
law) before my lord the king ; yet didft thou fet thy
fervant among them that did eat at thine own table :
what right, therefore, have I yet to cry any more unto
the king ?
As David had too creduloufly hearkened to Ziba
when he falfly accufed his matter, and over-haftily
condemning Mephibofheth unheard, gave all his eftate
to his difhoneft fervant Ziba ; fo now, though he ad
mitted of Mephibofheth's excufe, and feemed -well
fatisfied of his innocency, yet he did him right but
by halves. " Why fpeakeft thou, faid he, any more
of thy matters ? I have faid thou and Ziba divide the
land." Thus made he Ziba partner with his mafter,
and rewarded the falfe fervant with half the eftate of
his innocent mafter, who, for falfly accufing his maf
ter, deferved rather punifhment. But good Mephi-
. bofheth was fo far from complaining or repining at this
hard and unequal fentence, that he chearfully replied,
" Yea, let him take all, fince my lord the king is
come home again to his houfe in peace."
We heard before, that Barzillai the Gileadite was
one of thofe that fupplied the king with furniture and
provifions for himfelf and his men, while he was at
Mahanaim. And now that the king was to return, he
came down himfelf from Rogelim, where he dwelt,
though he was a very aged man, to conduct the king
over Jordan. And haying brought him over the river,
the king, in grateful remembrance of his good fervices,
invited him to go along with him to Jerufalem, and
fpend the remainder of his days with him there, that
he might have opportunity to requite his kindnefs.
Barzillai, excufing himfelf by his great age, plea-
fantly anfwered the king, " How long can I expect to
live, that I fhould go up with the king to Jerufalem ?
J am this day fourfcore years old ; and can I difcern
between good- and evil ? . Can thy fervant tafte what I
, E 4. eat,

56 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
eat, or -what I drink ? Can I hear any more the voice
of finging men and of finging women ? Wherefore
then fhould thy fervant be yet a burden to my lord the
king ? Thy fervant will go a little way over Jordan
with the king ; but why fhould the king recompence
it me with fuch a reward ? Let thy fervant, I pray
thee, turn back again, that I may die in mine own
city, and be buried in the grave of my father and
my mother : but behold thy fervant Chimham (my
fon) let him go over with my lord the king; and do
to him what fhall feem good unto thee,"
" That he fhall, replied the king, and I will do tp
him that which fhall feem good unto thee : for what-r-
foever thou fhalt require of me, that will I do for
thee." Then kiffing Barzillai, and blefiing him, he
difmiffed him, to return to his own place ; but Chim
ham his fon went along with the king ; the people of
Judah, and part of the people of Ifrael, conducting
the king from Jordan to Gilgal.
And now arofe an emulatory quarrel between the
men of Ifrael and the men of Judah. For that part
of Ifrael that had followed Abfalom, to redeem their
credit with the king, came to him at Gilgal, with a
complaint againft the men of Judah, faying, " Why
have our brethren, the men of Judah, ftole thee away,
and have brought the king and his houfhpld, and alj
his men with him, over Jordan ?"
The men of Judah anfwered them, " Becaufe the
king is near of kin to us (David, indeed, was fo ; but
the king was no nearer of kin to them than to all the
reft of his faithful fubje&s). "yVherefore then, faid
the men of Judah, be ye angry for this matter ?
Have we eaten at all at the king's coft > Or hath he
given us any gift ?" As much as to fay, we did it not
for felf-interell, or to' get preferment at court ; but
out of affection and duty,
" But, replied' the men' of Jfrael, we being ten
tribes of the twelve, have ten parts in the king, fo.
that we have more right in David than ye. ' Why then
did ye defpife us, that our advice fhould not be firft haq

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 57
had in bringing back our king ?" Thus thV grew hot
one againft the other : but the words of the men of
Judah (as having the better caufe, in that they fluck
to their king when the others left him) were fiercer
than the words of the men of Ifrael.
This difgufted thofe men of Ifrael who were not
well fettled in their allegiance before, and prepared
them to receive any new impreffion ; which being
obferved by a factious fellow, one Sheba, the fon; of
Bichri a Benjamite, who happened to be there at that
time, he took hold of the advantage to raife a fedi-
tion, and blowing a trumpet, cried out, " We have
no part in David; neither have we inheritance in the
fon of Jeffe : every man to his tents, O Ifrael !"
Upon this, thofe malecontents of Ifrael deferted
their king, and followed Sheba ° : but the men of
Judah clave unto their king, and conducted him from
Jordan to Jerufalem. Whither being come, king
Pavid took the ten women, his concubines (whom he
had left to keep the houfe, chap. xv. 16. and whom-
Abfalom had defiled, chap. xvi. 22.) and putting them
in ward, maintained them there, not ufing them any
more as concubines ; but condemning them to perpe
tual widowhood, kept them fhut up to the day of their
death. Then calling for his nephew Amafa (whom he had
made captain of his forces, chap. xix. 13.);. he com
manded him to mufter the men of Judah, and bring
them to him within three days. Amafa forthwith went
about it ; but tarrying longer than the time allowed
him, David, who knew the danger of delay, faid to
Abifhai, " Now will Sheba, the. fon of Bichri, do. us
more harm than did Abfalom. Therefore, take thou,
faid he tp Abifhai, thy lord's fervants, and purfoe
after Sheba ; left he get him fenced cities, and efcape
us." Abifhai thereupon taking to him his brother Joab's
men, with all the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and
• 2 Sam. xx. A, M, 2966. all

5S SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
all the mighty men, led them forth out of Jerufalem
in purfuit of Sheba j and by that time they were come
to the great ftone in Gibeon, Amafa met them, and
led the forces on.
Joab was with his brother Abifhai and the men of
war : and having his fword girded upon his foldier's
coat, as he went along it dropped out of the fcabbard,
fo that he had it naked in his hand; which Amafa,
not fufpecting any treachery or hurt, did not heed.
Coming up then to Amafa, whom, for the lofs of his
place, he had a pique at, he familiarly faluted him,
afking him how he did ; and taking him by the beard
to kifs him, thruft his fword into him, fo that his
bowels fell out upon the ground, and with that one
ftroke killed him. Then, leaving one of his fervants
to direct the people to come after him, he, with his
brother Abifhai, followed the purfuit after Sheba.
But Amafa lying wallowing in his blood in the midfl
of the highway, the people, as they came on thither,
ftood ftill there, ftruck with the fight of fo horrible a
Ipectacle ; which Joab's fervant obferving, he removed
the corpfe out of the highway into the field, and cover
ed it with a cloth. Which done, the people went on
after Joab in purfuit of Sheba.
He, having run through the tribes of Ifrael, had
gathered together the Berites, who Were of his own
tribe, the tribe of Benjamin; and -finding himfejf
purfued, got into Abel (a city in the tribe of Ma-
naffeh, called, for diftinction fake, Abel-Beth-Maachah,
or the Houfe of Maachah, from Maachah the wife of
Machir the father of Gilead, i Chron. vii. 15.)
Thither Joab and Abifhai, with their men, purfued
him, and there befieged him ; and cafting up a bank
againft the city, they battered the wall to throw it
down. Mean while, a wife woman among the befieged cal
ling tp the befiegers from the wall of the city, defired
them to intreat Joab to come near, that fhe might
fpeak to him : when he came, fhe handfamely put him
in mind, that by a long prefcription of time, it had
been

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 59
been a cuftom, drawn from the law of God, Deut. xx,
10. to offer a friendly treaty of peace before they made
war. But that, though fhe and her fellow-citizens
were of Ifrael, and were peaceable and loyal fubjects
to the king of Ifrael ; yet he, forgetting this cuftom
and law, fought to deftroy them, without giving them
a reafon : and thereupon fhe afked him, " Wherefore
he would fwallow up the inheritance of the Lord ?"
Joab, ftartled at this, anfwered, " Far it be from
me, that I fhould fwallow up or deftroy. No, no :
the matter is not fo intended. But a man of mount
Ephraim, Sheba, the fon of Bichri, by. name, hath
taken up arms againft the king, even againft David.
Deliver him only, faid Jpab, and I will depart from
the city."
The woman replied, " If that be all, his head fhall
be thrown to thee over the wall." And forthwith
calling the governors of the city together, fhe, in her
wifdom, fo managed the matter with them, that they
cut off the head of Sheba, and caft it over the wall to
Joab. Whereupon Joab immediately raifed his fiege ;
and founding a retreat, returned to the king at Jeru
falem. And now that thefe two rebellions were quelled,
and the flate reftored to quietnefs again, the court was
new modelled, and the chief minifters and officers
were fettled anew. For Joab having (though treache^-
roufly) removed his competitor Amafa, obtained the
captain-generalfhip over all the hoft of Ifrael ; Bena-
iah, the fon of Jehoiadah, as captain pf the guards,
was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites ; Adoram
was treafurer ; Jehofhaphat, the fon of Ahilud, was
recorder ; Sheva was fecretary of flate ; Zadok and
Abiathar were the priefts ; and one Ira, a Jarite, was
in principal favour with the king.
David had alfo a royal army, confifting of three
hundred thoufand men, who being divided, according
to the number of the months in the year, into twelve
brigades or bands, each confifting of four and twenty
thoufand men, befides officers, were fo difpofed, that in

6o SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
in times of peace each band, according to their fettled
courfes, was a month upon duty, and then was relieved
by the next, till every band, taking its turn, had ferved
a month in the year. But, in time of war, they were
all in a readinefs to be drawn forth, as occafion might
require. Of their order and courfe of forving, with the names
of the principal commanders, account is given in
i Chron. xxvii. whither I refer the reader. There alfo
the names of the chief rulers of the feveral tribes, and
of the king's privy-counfellors, and officers over his
domeftick affairs, are particularly fet down. As are
likewife the names of his principal captains, and moft
renowned warriors ; with brief touches of fome of
their moft memorable exploits, recorded in 2 Sam.
xxiii. and 1 Chron. xi. whither alfo I direct the reader,
that I may fpare the tranfcribing hither all the inftances
there given. Yet one being very extraordinary for
affectionate loyalty, as well as adventurous valour, on
the one hand, and princely piety on the other, I wil
lingly infert here ; which was thus.
While David had war with the Philiftines, their hofl
encamping in the valley of Rephaim, betwixt him and
Bethlehem, where alfo they had a garrifon, David,
being then in an hold at the cave Adullam, longed
for water out of the well that was by the gate of Bethr
khem, and faid, " O that one would give me of that
water to drink !" Which wjfh of his three of his
chief captains hearing, they brake through the hofl of
the Philiftines, and drawing water out of the well of
Bethlehem, brought it to David, But when David
had it, he would not drink of it ; but pouring it out
unto the Lord, he faid, (t Far be it from me, Q Lord !
that I fhould do this : fhall I drink the blood of thefe
men that have put their lives in jeopardy ?" For with
the hazard of their liyes they brQughr. it, 2 Sam. xxiii,
15, 16, 17.
It was not long after this, before another, and' that
more general, calamity befel Ifrael : for there arofe a
famine, which held three years fucceffively. The long
continuance

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 61
continuance of this famine made David take it for a
divine judgment ; and enquiring of the Lord for what
reafon it was fent, the Lord anfwered, " That it was
for Saul, and for his bloody houfe, becaufe he flew
the Gibeonites," 2 Sam. xxi. 1.
Thefe Gibeonites were not of the children of Ifrael,
but of the remnant of the Amorites : yet Jofhua and
the princes of Ifrael, beguiled by their falfe pretences,
had made a league with them, . and confirmed it to
them by oath, whereby they had granted them their
lives. And although this league was fraudulently ob
tained ; yet being made, and folemnly fworn to before
the. Lord, it was not to be broken. And therefore
Jofhua and the princes of Ifrael, though they other-
wife punifhed . the Gibeonites for deceiving them, yet
they kept the league inviolably, and would not fuffer
the Ifraelites to touch them. Neither was this league
violated during the times of the judges that fucceeded
Jofhua, for more than three hundred years^ till Saul's
time, who, it feems, in his zeal for the children of
Ifrael and Judah, flew the poor Gibeonites : though
when, where, how, or why, this flaughter was com
mitted, is not particularly fet down in Scripture, fo
far as I obferve. Neither was this a general flaughter,
or total extirpation of them : for David had recourfe
hereupon to the Gibeonites, to offer them fatisfaction ;
which fhews . they remained a people. But Saul, by,
killing fome of them, had broken the league, and;
violated the oath of God : for which divine vengeance
was come upon Ifrael in a general calamity. For even.
kingdoms fometimes fuffer for the fins which kings,,
in their kingly capacity, commit. Thus forty years
after Manaffeh was dead, Judah fuffered under .Nebu
chadnezzar for the fins of Manaffeh their king, 2 Kings
xxiv. 3.
Now when( David underftood that this famine was,
fent for the fake of thofe Gibeonites whom Saul had,
flain, he afked the chief Of the Gibeonites p, . " What
t 2 Sam, xxi, , .,
h*

62 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
he mould do for them ? And wherewith he fhould
make the atonement, that they might blefs the in
heritance of the Lord ?" For the curfe, even of a
Gibeanite, for injuftice done, or his bleffing for
juftice executed, is of more force than is commonly
apprehended. The Gibeonites anfwered the king, " We will havfl
no filver nor gold of Saul, nor of his houfe ; neither
for us fhalt thou kill any man in Ifrael : but the man
that confumed us, and devifed againft us that we
fhould be deftroyed from remaining in any of the coafts
of Ifrael, let feven men of his fons be delivered unto
us, and we will hang them up before the Lord in
Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did chufe."
The king told them he would give them to them.
And confidering where to take them, he refolved,
however, to fpare Mephibofheth the grandfon of Saul*
becaufe of the Lord's oath that had paffed between
Jonathan and him, and the intire affection and high
friendfhip that had been between them. Wherefore,
having little choice, he took Armoni and another Me
phibofheth, two fons of Saul, which he had by Rizpah
his concubine ; and with them the five fons of Merab,
the elder daughter of Saul (for whom, in ' the text,
Michal, his younger daughter, is fet by miftake) and
delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, who
hanged them all feven together before the Lo|d, in
the hill called Gibeah of Saul.
It Was the beginning of barley-harveft when this
execution was made ; and Rizpah (the mother of two
of them) that fhe might preferve the bodies from being
preyed Upon by the fowls in the day-time, or the
beafts by night, took fackcloth and fpread it for her-
felf upon the rock, from the beginning of the harvefl,
until water dropped upon them out of heaven > whkh
being a token that God was appealed,, the bodies
might then be taken down. *
When David- heard of the pious care which Rizpah
the concubine of Saul had fhewed for preferving the
dead bodies of Saul's fons-, he took the bones of Saul and

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 63
and of Jonathan his fon from the men of Jabefh-
Gilead (who had long before ftolen them from the
ftreet of Bethfhan, where the Philiftines hanged them
after Saul was flain in Gilboa) and caufed them, to
gether with the bones of thofe feven whp were now
hanged, to be buried at Zelah in the country of Ben
jamin, in the fepulchre of Kifh the father, of Saul.
And after that, the Lord was intreated for the land :
and by fending rain, which produced plenty," and re
moved the dearth, which want of the rain had caufed,
declared that he had accepted the atonement which
had been made.
But trials and exercifes ftill attended David ; and
fcarce was he freed from pinching famine, when he was
again engaged in war : for the Philiftines, who of all
the enemies Ifrael then had, feem to have been the
moft reftlefs and unwearied, provoked him to battle.
David therefore drawing forth his forces, joined
battle with them-; and the fight continuing long,
David waxed faint. Which being obferved by Ifhbi-
benob (who was one of the fons of the giant, and
brother to Goliath, whom David in fingle combat had
flain ; a man of that extraordinary ftrength, that the
head of his fpear weighed three hundred fhekels of
brafs) ; he, being girded with a new fword, preffed
upon David to have flain him. But Abifhai, the fon
of Zeruiah, David's neptoew, interpofing, fuccoured
Davie!, and flew the Phiftftine.
David's men obferving'this, were fo fenfible of the
danger the king had been in, that they refolved not to
run the like hazard again. And, therefore, in their
affectionate zeal for his fafety, they plainly told him,
binding it with an oath, that he fhould go no more to
battle with them ; left, (as they exprefied their loyal
affection by an high metaphor) he fliould quench the
light of Ifrael. Whereby they intended to (et forth
what confufion and diforder they fhould be left in,
like men in the dark,- in cafe he fhould be flain i»
the field. The

64 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
The lofs of this giant did not fo difcourage the.
Philiftines, but that they prepared for battle again j
and at a place called Gob, or Gezer, where Sibbichai
the Hufhathite (who was one of David's mighty men,
captain of the eighth divifion or band for the eighth
month, having four and twenty thoufand men under
his command, i Chron. xxvii. n.) flew Saph, or
Sippai, who was of the fons of the giant : whereby
the Philiftines were at that time beaten alfo, i Chron.
xx. 4.
But they quickly rallied, and offered battle again in
the fame place. And then Elhanan a Bethlehemite,
another of David's worthies, flew Lahmi, the brother
of Goliath the Gittite, a man of that exceeding ftature
and ftrength, that the ftaff of his fpear alfo was (as
his brother's had been) like a weaver's beam.
N Yet were not the Philiftines fo fubdued, but that a
while after they joined battle again in Gath, having
in their army another of the giant's fons, who was
not only a man of great ftature, but was monftrous
in his limbs or members ; for he had on each hand fix
fingers, and on each foot fix toes. But when he de
fied Ifrael, a nephew of David's, whofe name was Jona
than (the fon of Shimea, David's brother) flew him.
Thus fell thefe four mighty men for ftature and
ftrength, who were born to the giant in Gath ; by
whofe fall the Philiftines probably were fo weakened
or difmayed, that we hear of no more action from
them during the remainder of David's reign. ¦
And now upon this deliverance, not only of h\&
perfon from the late danger, he had been in, but of his
kingdom alfo from all hoftilities, both civil and fo
reign, David, in a thankful fenfe of the goodnefs and
favour , of God to him, in freeing him at length from
all his enemies, as he had done from Saul long before,
ipake (or fang) unto the. Lord that excellent fong,
compofed of acknowledgments, thankfgivings, and'
praifes,. which is delivered 'in 2 Sam. xxii. and makes
the eighteenth pfalm. But

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 65
But David's troubles were not yet over ; for the
anger of the Lord was again kindled againft Ifrael
through David's means *, and that brought great trou
ble to David. The occafion was this.
Though David was grown old, and the Lord had
given him reft from all his enemies ; yet the reftlefs
enemy to goodnefs, and to all good men, ftirred up
in David a vain curiofity to know the ftrength of his
kingdom ; and in order thereunto moved and provoked
him to number Ifrael. Hereupon David commanded
the general of his forces, and the other captains of his
hofl, to go through all the tribes of Ifrael, from Dan
even to Beerfheba (that is, from one end of the land
to the other) and number, the people ; giving no other
reafon for it, but that he might know the number of
them. The fnare which David did not fee, Joab did ; and
would have diverted the king from it. To which end,
in a more modeft and humble ftrain than was ufual
with him, he expoftulated the matter with the king
thus :
" The Lord thy God make the people, how many
foever they be, an hundred times fo many more as
they be, and that the eyes of my lord the king may
fee. it: bur fince they are all (whether few or many)
my lord the king's fervants, why doth my lord require
this thing ? Why will he be a caufe of trefpafs to
Ifrael ?"
But notwithftanding all that Joab and the reft of
the captains of the hofl urged againft it, the king was
refolutely bent to have it done ; and his word prevail
ed againft them all. About it therefore they went,
though unwillingly ; and having fpent nine months
and twenty days in traverfing the land, from end to
end, and fide to fide, they returned to Jerufalem, and
Joab gave up the fum of the number of the people to
the king. 1 2 Sam. xtiv. 1 Chron. xxi. A. M. 2987.
Vol. II. F But

66 SACRED HISTORY. Part IIL
But the account is differently related. For in 2 Sam.
xxiv. 9. the fum given in, is eight hundred thoufand
valiant men that drew the fword in Ifrael, and five
"hundred thoufand in Judah. Whereas in 1 Chron.
xxi. 5. the fum given in for Ifrael, is eleven hundred
thoufand, and for Judah but four hundred threefcorc
and ten thoufand : fo that this latter account has three
hundred thoufand more than the former in Ifrael, and
thirty thoufand lefs than the former in Judah. But it
may be confide.red, that Joab, through a diflike of the
work, gave over numbering, and left it un finifhed*
1 Chron. xxi. 6. and xxvii. 24. which might occafion
the different accounts, brought in by fome more fully,
by others more fparingly.
No fooner was the account given in, but David was
fenfible of his error. He needed not now, as in the
cafe of Uriah and Bathfheba formerly, be convicted
by a parable j he was convicted in himfelf. His heart
fmote him, and made him break forth into an ac
knowledgment of his fin, and a deprecation of it:
" I have finned greatly, faid he to the Lord, in that
I have done : and now I befeech thee, O Lord 1 take
away the iniquity of thy fervant j for I have done very
foolifhly." The nature of David's fin is not particularly fet
down that I obferve. But befides his prefumption in
defiring to know, that he might glory in the number
and ftrength of his people, and his doing it in an
arbitrary way, without any reafon or caufe, but merely
to gratify his own will, he is fuppofed by fome to have
tranfgrefied in not railing the Lord's tribute upon the
people when they were numbered, according to an
exprefs law, Exod. xxx. 12, 13. whereby it was pro*
vided, that when fhe people were numbered, they
fliould, every man from twenty years old and above,
pay half a fanftuary fhekel (which is valued of our
money fifteen pence) as an atonement and ranfom for
their lives, that there might no plague come among
them j which money was to be appropriated to the
fervice of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 67
the fum raifed thereby, upon the fijrft numbering of
the people in the wildernefs, amounted to an hundred
talents, and a thoufand feven hundred threefcore and
fifteen fhekels of the fandtuary; which (reckoning a
talent at three hundred and feventy-five pounds, and a
fhekel at two fhillings and fixpence) comes to (if I
have not miftaken in the reduction) thirty-feven
thoufand feven hundred twenty-one pounds feventeen
/hillings and fixpence. Yet others, I know, are of
©pinion, that this capitation or poll-tax was not to
be raifed upon every numbering of the people.
But wherein foever the weight of David's fin in this
cafe lay, the punifhment was left to his own choice.
For in the morning, by that time David was up, the
Lord fent his prophet Gad, David's feer, to fay unto
him, " Thus faith the Lord, I offer thee three things ;
chufe thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee (or
bring it upon thee) ; that is, either three years famine
(fo we read in 1 Chron. xxi. 12. though in 2 Satm
xxiv. 13. it is feven years ; which fome think to be
three years more added to the three years famine laft
paft, which, with the fourth year then running, would
make feven ; which yet would be but three years of
new punifhment) : or three months to be deflroyed
before thy foes, while the fword of thine enemies over-
taketh thee : or elfe three days the fword of the Lord,
even the peftilence in the land ; and the angel of the
Lord deftroying throughout all the coafts of Ifrael.
Now, therefore, faid the prophet, advife and confider
well what anfwer I fhall return to him that itnc me."
Here the gradation is by years, months* and days.
Three years famine. Three mon'tirs for the fword to
devour. Three days for tb^eftilence to rage. Which
fhews, that three day of peftilence is equivalent to
three months of aavock by the fword ; and three
months of w"> or deftruction- by the fword, equal to
three y>«'s famine.
^ Though to chufe was a favour, yet the choice was
hard : which made David fay to the prophet, " I am in
,.s grtwt ftrait." Yet having duly weighed all, he con-
F 2 eluded

68 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
eluded, " Let us fall into the hand of the Lord (for
his mercies are great and many) : but let us not fall
into the hand of man." By which he chofe the pefti
lence ; which is here called the Sword of the Lord ;
and wherein the hand of God is more immediately
feen, than in war or famine ; wherein man may have
a hand, efpecially in war.
The choice thus made, the Lord accordingly fent a
peftilence upon Ifrael, which lafted three days ; and
within that time there died of the people feventy
thoufand men.
Thus God fuited the punifhment to the fin (though
not to the perfon finning) ; leffening the number of
them in whofe number he would have gloried, yet
transferring the immediate punifhment from the king
to the people. Which may ftand for another inftance,
that the fubjects fometimes fmart for the fins which
their rulers, in their ruling capacity, commit.
By this time the deftrpying angel, having fcattered
the plague throughout the land, was come to Jerufa
lem, and had ftretched forth his devouring fword over
the city ; which David, and the elders of Ifrael who
were with him, clothed in fackcloth, perceiving, they
fell upon their faces j and David, humbly addreffing
himfelf unto God, faid, " Is it not I that commanded
the people to be numbered ? Even I it is that have
finned, and done evil indeed. But as for thefe fheep,
what have they done ? Let thy hand, I pray thee, 0
Lord my God ! be on me, and on my father's houfe,
but nor^anthy people, that they fhould be plagued."
Now did^v^Lord repent him of the evil, and faid
to the angel that ftcftcoyed the people, " It is enough:
flay now thine hand." "Tke. , angel, when he received
this countermand, flood betw^ the earth and the
heaven, by the threfhing- floor of A*^^ (called alfo
Oman, the Jebufite, who, with his *^jr fonS) was
threfhing wheat, and feeing the angel, hid tha^jyves).
And forthwith the angel •difpatched the feer Gai t0
David, bidding him fay unto him, " Go up, and fet

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 69
up an altar to the Lord, in the threfhing^floor of
Araunah the Jebufite."
•David made no delay. And as he was going, Arau
nah, feeing the king and his fervants coming on towards
him, went out to meet them ; and bowing himfelf
before the king, with his face towards the ground,
afked, " Wherefore is my lord the king come to his
fervant ?" " To buy the threfhingrfloor- of thee, an-
fwered David, to build an altar therein to the Lord,
that the plague may be flayed from the people."
<c Take it to thee, faid Araunah, and let my lord the
king do as he pleafes with it : lo, I give thee, added
he, the oxen alfo for burnt-offerings, and the threfhing
inftruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat
offering; I give it all." (e Nay, replied David, but
I will verily buy it for the full price * for I will not
take that which is thine for the Lord ; nor offer burnt-
offerings unto the Lord my God of that which coft
me nothing." Then coming to a price, David gave
Araunah for the threfhing-floor and the oxen fifty
fhekels of filver. ' So we read it in Samuel ; which, if
fhekels of the fanctuary, makes fix pounds and five
/hillings 5 if common fliekels, but half that money.
But in .Chronicles, it is fix hundred fhekels of gold by
weight ; which, valuing each fhekel at fifteen /hillings,
comes to four hundred and fifty pounds. The differ
ence is great. But to help it, fome think the fifty
fhekels of filver, in Samuel, were for the oxen only,
the price of the land being there omitted : and the fix
hundred fhekels of gold, in Chronicles, for land ancj.
oxen altogether. But the price feems extreme on the
one ha,nd or the other..
If* any, unacquainted with the hufbandry of thofe
rimes, fhould inquire what relation the oxen had to
the threfhing-floor, that they were at it> and were fohi
with it, it may not be amifs, for the information of
fuch, to obferve here, that the ancients ufed oxen for
{he treading or threfhing out their grain ; and fome-
ti'mes with the oxen drew a wheel oyer the corn upon
the floor, whereby the grain was beaten out. The
Fa '^

7® SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
life of the oxen in this work appears in the Mofaick
law, which commanded, that they fhould not muzzle
the ox when he trod (or, as in the margin, threfhed)
out the corn, Deut. xxv. 4. which the apoftle repeats
to another purpofe, 1 Cor. ix. 9. And that they ufed
to get out their corn by turning a wheel about upon
it, the prophet Ifaiah teaches, Ifa. xxviii. 27. where
he fays, " The vetches are not threfhed with a threfh
ing inftrument ; neither is the cart wheel-turned about
upon the cummin ;" implying that the cart-wheel was
turned about upon the grain. Which cuftom is thought
by fome to be alluded to in Proy. xx. 26. where the
wife king is faid to fcatter the wicked by bringing the
wheel over them. The threfhing inftruments alfo,
mentioned here by Araunah, comprehending the yokes
of the oxen, and the wheels, with fuch other imple
ments as were neceffary to fallen the oxen to the wheels,
would afford much more wood for the burnt-offerings
than many flails could do. But to proceed :
The place thus purchafed, David built an altar there,
and offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and
called upon the Lord. And the Lord anfwered him,
from heaven, by fire upon the altar of Durnt-offering ;
and fo was the Lord appeafed for the land, and the
plague was flayed from Ifrael.

The End of the fecond Bodk of Samuei,

THE

THE FIRST BOOK OF THE
K I N G S }
INCLUDING THE FIRST TWENTY CHAPTERS
OF THE SECOND BOOK OF THE
CHRONICLES;
And containing an Hiftory of xi8 Years, from
the Beginning of the Reign of' King Solomon,
over both Ifrael and Judah, to the End of the
Reigns of Ahab King of Ifrael, and of Jeho-
Ihaphat King of Jud,ah.

KING David was now grown old; fo that,
although they covered him with clothes, yet
he wanted heatr. Wherefore fome of -his fer
vants propofed that a young virgin fhould be provided
to wait on the king, that fhe might cheri/h him and
keep him warm. This being approved of, they fought
through all 'the coafts of Ifrael, and at length pitched
upon a fair damfel, whofe name was Abifh,ag, called a
Shunamite, from the place where fhe lived, which was
Shunem, a town in the tribe of Iffachar, Jofh. xix, 18.
and having brought her to the king, fhe miniftered to
him, and gheri/hed him,
? % Kingii i, A. M. 2989,
F 4 The

72 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
The king's eldeft fon now living was Adonijah, a
very goodly man, and one whom the king his father
had been fo indulgent to, that he had not difpleafed
him at any time, fo much as by faying in any cafe,
why haft thou done fo ? He, an ambitious prince,
confidering now his father's age and weaknefs, and
thinking he lived too long to keep him from the throne,
exalted himfelf, and faid, " I will be king." And
having (as his brother Abfalom had done) prepared
himfelf Chariots and horfemen, and fifty men to run
before him, he conferred with Joab his father's general,
and with Abiathar the prieft, who joining with him,
and encouraging him, he made a great feaft, to which
he invited all his brethren, the king's fons (except
Solomon) and the men of Judah, the king's fervants
(except Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, captain of
the king's guards, and the mighty men, whom he did
not call to his feaft). The defign was, that when
they had feafted well, and made the people merry,
they fhould proclaim Adonijah king.
' Of this confpiracy the prophet Nathan having got
knowledge, hafted to queen Bathfheba, the mother of
Solomon, and faid to her, " Haft thou not heard that
Adonijah the fon of Haggith doth reign, and David
our lord knows nothing of it ? Now therefore come,
I pray thee, faid he, and let me give thee counfel;
that thou mayeft fave thine own life, and the life of thy
fon Solomon,"
She liftening to him, " Go get thee, faid he, unto
king David, and fay unto him, Didft' not thou, my
lord, 0 king, fwear unto thine handmaid, faying,
Affuredly, Solomon thy fon fhall reign after me, and
he fhall fit upon my throne ? Why then doth Adonijah
reign ? And, added he, while thou art yet talking with,
the king, I alfo will come in after thee, and confirm,
thy words."
Bathfheba, thus inftructed, went into the king's,
chamber, and bowing did obeifance to the king, who.
afked her, " What fhe would have ?" Whereupon
fhe faid, " My lord, thou fwareft by the Lord thy
God

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 73
God unto thine handmaid, That Solomon thy fon
fhould affuredly reign after me, and fit upon my
throne. And yet now Adonijah reigneth ; and thou,
my lord the king, knowefl it not. And he hath flain
oxen, and fat cattle, and fheep in abundance ; and
hath invited all the reft of the king's fons, with Abia
thar the prieft, and Joab the captain of the hofl : but
Solomon thy fervant hath he not called. And thou,
my lord, O king ! the eyes of all Ifrael are upon thee,
expecting thou fhouldeft tell them who fhall fit on the
throne of my lord the king after him : otherwife it
may come to pafs, that when my lord the king fhall
fleep with his fathers, I and my fon Solomon fhall be
accounted offenders."
While fhe yet talked with the king, Nathan the
prophet came in alfo (upon which, it feems, Bathfheba
withdrew ; for when they had fpoken fhe was called in
again, 1 Kings i. 28.) And when they had told the
king that the prophet was there, he was brought before
him, having bowed himfelf with his face towards the
ground, he faid, " My lord, O king ! haft thou faid
Adonijah fhall reign after me, and he fhall fit upon
my throne ? For he is gone down this day, and hath
flain oxen, and fat cattle, and fheep in abundance ;
and hath called all the king's fons, and the captains of
the hofl, and Abiathar the prieft : and behold they eat
and drink before him, and fay, God fave king Adoni
jah ! But me, even me thy fervant (faid. he, not
¦/ticking' to put himfelf and others alfo before the
prince) and Zadok the prieft, and Benaiah the fon of
Jehoiada, and thy fervant Solomon, hath he not called.
Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou haft
not fhewed unto thy fervant who fhould fit on the
throne of my lord the king after him ?"
Upon this king David faid, ?c Calk me Bathfheba P'
whp coming in, and flanding before the king, he fware
and faid unto her, '< As the Lord liveth, who hath
redeemed my foul out of all diftrefs, even as I fware
unto thee formerly, by the Lord God of Ifrael, faying,
AiTuredly, Solomon thy fon fhall reign after me, and he

74 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
he fhall fit upon my throne in my /lead, even fo will
I certainly do this day,"
At that word Ba,thfheha,_ bowing with her face toward
the earth, did reverence to the king, and faid, " Let
my lord king David live for ever."
Then faid the king, " Call me Zadok the prieft,
and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the fon of
Jehoiada." (For Nathan, it feems, withdrew when
Bathfheba came in the fecond time, as /he had done
before when he came in the firft time). Thefe coming
all three before the king, he faid to them, " Take
with you my fervants, and caufe Solomon my fon to,
ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to
Gihon ,(a brook that ran between the city of David
and the other part of Jerufalem) ; and let Zadok the
prieft, and Nathan the prophet, anoint him there king
over Ifrael : and blow ye with the trumpet, and fay,
God fave king Solomon ! Then fhall ye come up after
him, that he may come and fit upon my throne : for
he fhall be king in my ftead ; and I have appointed
him to be ruler over Ifrael apd over Judah.'' " Amen,
faid Benaiah, and the Lord God of my lord the king
fay fo too. And, added he, as the Lord hath been
with my lord the king, even fo be he with Solomon ;
and make his throne greater than the throne of- my
lord king David,"
Down forthwith went Zadok' the prieft, and Nathan
the prophet, and captain Benaiah, With the king's
guards, the Cherethites and Pelethites ; and caufing
Solomon to ride upon the king his father's mule,
brought him to Gihon, where Zadok the prieft, having
taken with him an horn of oil out of the taberna-s
cle, anointed Solomon ; which done, they blew the
trumpet, and all the people cried out, " God fave
king Solomon ! Then came the people up after him,
piping with pipes, and rejoicing with great joy, fo,
that the earth rang with the found of them."
By this time Adonijah and his guefts, who were at
Enrogel on the other fide of the brook Gihon, had
juft finifhed their feaft. And his party being ready tor
"reclaim

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 75
proclaim him king, they were furprifed and ftartled
with the found of the trumpet, and the fhouts of the
people that attended on Solomon. And while Joab
was mufing what that noife meant, as if the city was
in an uproar, in ftepped Jonathan, the fon of Abiathaf-
the prieft, amongft them ; whom when Adonijah faw,
he faid, " Come in, for thou art a valiant man, and
bringeft good tidings."
But when Adonijah had heard the tidings which
Jonathan now brought, he did not think them good.
For Jonathan told him, " Verily our lord king David
hath made Solomon king. For the king hath fent
with him Zadok the prieft, and Nathan the prophet,
and Benaiah the fon of Jehoiada, with the Cherethites
and the Pelethites his guards, and they have caufed
him to ride upon the king's mule ; and Zadok the
prieft, and Nathan the prophet, have anointed him
king in Gihon, and they are come up from thence
rejoicing, fo that the city rang- again ; and this is the
noife which ye have heard. And now, added he,
Solomon fits on the thrpne of the kingdom j and the
king's fervants coming to blefs our lo^d the king,
faid, God make the name of Solomon better than thy
name, and his throne greater than thy throne. Where
upon the king, bowing himfelf in reverence to God
as he lay upon his bed, faid, Bleffed be the Lord God
pf Ifrael, who hath given me a fuccefibr to fit on
my thrprie this day, even while I myfelf am alive to
fee it."
At this- relation all the guefts that were with Ado
nijah were fo terrified, that they rofe up in a fright,
and fled every man to fhift for himfelf.
As for Adonijah himfelf, he ran for, fear of Solomon,
and caught hold of the horns of the altar, as a place
of refuge for offenders, till he could have affurance
from Solomon, that he would not put him to death.
Which when Solomon heard of, he faid, " If he will
ihew himfelf a worthy man, there /hall not an hair of
his head fall to the earth (he fhall fuffer nothing):
^Ut if hereafter wickednefs fhall be found in him (if
, " he

76 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
he fhall again attempt any thing againft me) he fhall
die." So king Solomon fending this kind meffage to
him, they brought Adonijah from the altar to the
king : and he bowing himfelf to king Solomon, in token
"both of thankfulnefs and fubjection, and to acknow,-
ledge his fovereignty over him, was difmiffed by the
king to go to his houfe without reftraint.
After this, David finding his natural ftrength more
and more to decay, affembled all the princes of Ifrael,
the chief of the tribes, and the captains of the com
panies that attended the king by courfe, and the cap
tains over the thoufands, and over the hundreds, and
the flewards that were over all the fubftance and pof-
feflion of the king and his fons, with the officers, and
all the mighty and valiant men, unto Jerufalem ;
where being all met together attending the king's
pleafure, king David, though weak, flood up upon his
feet, and thus kindly befpake.them s.
" Hear me, my brethren and my people. I had in
mine heart to build an houfe of reft for the ark of the
covenant of the Lord^ and for the footftool of our
God, and I had made ready for the building : but God
faid unto me, Thou fhalt not build an houfe for my
name. Howbeit, the Lord God of Ifrael chofe me,
before all the houfe of my father, to be king«over
Ifrael. For he hath chofen Judah to be the ruler;
and of the houfe of Judah, the houfe of my father;
and among the fons of my father, he liked me, to
make me king over all Ifrael. And of all my fons
(for the Lord hath given me many fons) he hath chofen
Solomon my fon to fit upon the throne of the kingr
dom of the Lord over Ifrael. And he faid unto me,
Solomon thy fon, he fhall build my houfe and my
courts : for I have chofen him to be my fon, and- 1
will be his father. Moreover, I will eftablifh his
kingdom for ever, if he be conftant to do my com7
mandments and my judgments, as at this day. Now,
therefore, faid David to them that were prefent, in th«
* 1 Chron. xxviii. fight

Part III. SACRED HISTORY; 77
fight of all Ifrael, the congregation of the Lord, and
in the audience of our God, feek for and keep all the
commandments of the Lord your God, that ye may
poffefs this good land, and leave it for an inheritance
to your children after you for ever."
Then turning his fpeech to his fon. "And thou,
Solomon my fon, faid he, know thou the God of thy
father, and ferve him with a perfect heart, and with a
willing mind ; for the Lord fearcheth all hearts, and
underftandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts.
If thou feek him, he will be found of thee : but if
thou forfake him, he will caft thee off for ever. Take
heed now, therefore, for the Lord hath chofen thee
to "build an houfe for the fanctuary : be ftrong and do
it." David then gave to Solomon his fon the pattern of
the porch, and of the houfes thereof, and of the trea
furies thereof, and of the upper-chambers thereof, and
of "the inner-parlours thereof, and of the place of the
mercy-feat, even the pattern of all that he had by the
Jpirit, viz. of the courts of the houfe of the Lord, and
of all the chambers round about ; of the treafuries of
the houfe of the Lord, and of the treafuries of the
dedicated things : alfo for the courfes of the priefts,
anclof the Levites, and for all the work of the fervice
of the houfe of the Lord ; and for all the veffels of
fervice in the houfe of the Lord.
Then he delivered unto him by weight the gold and
the filver which he had long been gathering together,
and had laid up for this fervice ; with particular di
rection how, and in what proportion, to apply it to
the feveral ufes and parts of the work, according to
the under/landing God had given him of the pattern
of the houfe, and of the veffels and utenfils thereof.
And then again exhorting him to be ftrong, and of
good courage to do it, he bid him " Not fear, nor be
difmayed ; for the Lord God, faid he, even my God,
will be with thee, and he will not. fail thee, nor for
fake thee, until thou' haft finifhed all the work for the
fervice of the houfe of the Lord." And

7* SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
And further to encourage him, he told him, " The
Courfes of the priefts and Levites fhould be with him
for all the fervice of the houfe of God ; and he fhould
have with him every willing fkilful man for all manner
of workmanfhip and fervice ; and that the princes and
all the people would be at his command'."
Which that they might the more readily be, he ap
plied himfelf again to them, and to the whole congre
gation, wifhing them to confider, " That Solomon
nis fon, whom alone the Lord had chofen to that
work, was yet but young and tender, and the work
was great : for the palace which he was to build was
not for man, but for the Lord God."
- Then recounting to them how he had, at the pub
lick charge, with all his might prepared materials for
the houfe of his God ; as gold, filver, brafs, iron,
wood, precious ftones of divers forts and colours, and
marble in abundance, for their feveral and proper fer-
vices (of which he had given his fon Solomon a parti
cular account) : and that, out of his high affection to
the houfe of his God, he had (over and above all
thofe) given of his own proper goods three thoufand
talents of the gold of Ophir (which accounting each
talent at four thoufand and five hundred pounds,'
amounts, if I mifcaft them not, to thirteen millions
and five hundred thoufand pounds) and feven thoufand
talents of refined filver (which, reckoning each talent
at three hundred feventy-five pounds, makes two mil- _
lions fix hundred and twenty-five thoufand pounds).
He invited the congregation to a voluntary contribu
tion, by faying, <c And who then is willing to confe-
crate his fervice this day unto the Lord ?"
Upon this invitation, the chief of the fathers and
princes of the tribes of Ifrael, and the captains of
thoufands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the
king's wOrk, offered willingly 5 and gave for the fer
vice of the houfe of God, of gold five thoufand talents
and ten thoufand drachms (the five thoufand talents
? I Chron. xxix. coming

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 79
coming to two and twenty millions and five hundred
thoufand pounds j and the ten thoufand drachms, at
fifteen /hillings apiece, coming to /even thoufand and
five hundred pounds : in all two and twenty millions
five hundred and feven thoufand and five hundred
pounds in gold). And of filver they gave ten thoufand
talents (making, at three hundred feventy-five pounds
each, three millions feven hundred and fifty thoufand
pounds in filver). Befides eighteen thoufand talents
of brafs, and an hundred thoufand talents of iron
(which probably went by weight, whatever the gold
and filver did). As many alfo as had precious ftones,
gave them to the treafure of the houfe of the Lord.
And when the offerings were made, the people re
joiced, becaufe they had offered willingly, and with a
perfect heart. And king David alfo rejoicing with
great joy, brake forth into this fong of praifes and
prayer unto the Lord before all the congregation.
" Bleffed be thou, Lord God of Ifrael, our Father,
for ever and ever. Thine, O Lord ! is the greatnefs,
and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and
the majefty : for all that is in the heaven and in the
earth is thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord ! and
thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and
honour come of thee, and thou reigneft over all : for
in thine hand is power and might ; and in thine hand
it is to make great, and to give ftrength unto all.
Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praife
thy glorious name.
But who am I ? and what is my people, that we
fliould be enabled to offer fo willingly after this man
ner ? For all things come of thee, and of thine own
have we given thee. For we are ftrangers before thee,
and fojourners, as all our fathers were : our days on
the earth are (fhort and tranfient) as a fhadow ; and
there is no (certainty of) abiding. O Lord our God I
all this /tore, which we have prepared to build thee an
houfe for thy holy name, cometh from thine hand, and
is all thine own. I know alfo, my God, that thou trieft
the heart, and haft pleafure in uprightnefs. As for
'» , me,

U SACRED HISTORY. Fart in,
me, in the uprightnefs of my heart I have willingly
Offered all thefe things : and now have I feen with joy
thy people, which are prefent here, to offer willingly
unto thee. O Lord God of Abraham,' Ifaac, and
Ifrael, our fathers, keep thy^ people ever in this mind,
and eftablifh their heart unto thee ! and give unto
Solomon my fon a perfect heart, that he may keep thy
commandments, thy teflimonies, and thy flatutes,
and do thy will in building the palace for which I
have made provifion."
Having thus poured forth his foul in praifes and'
prayer to God, king David faid to all the congregation,
*' Now hlefs the Lord your God." Whereupon all
the congregation bleffed the Lord God of their fathers,
and bowing their heads, worfhipped the Lord, and
did reverence to the king. And on the. next day they
offered facrifices and burnt-offerings unto the Lord,
even a thoufand bullocks, a thoufand rams, and a
thoufand lambs, with their drink-offerings, and facri
fices in abundance for all Ifrael ; and did eat and drink
before the Lord on that day with great gladnefs.
And in the midft of this feftivity they proclaimed
Solomon king the fecond time, anointing him unto
the Lord to be the chief governor : and Zadok to be
the chief prieft. Then fat Solomon on the throne of
the Lord, as king in the ftead of David his father (or
rather as co-rex with his father, during the little re
mainder of his father's life : for it does not appear that
David refigned his fceptre until he refigned his laft
breath). And Solomon reigned profperoufly, all Ifrael
obeying ; and all the princes and the mighty men,
yea, and all the fons alfo of king David, fubmitting
themfelves unto Solomon as their king.
Now when king David felt death more nearly ap
proaching, he called his fon Solomon to him, and
giving him his laft charge u, faid, " I go the way of
all the earth (which is a periphrafis of dying) : be
thou ftrong therefore, and fhew thyfelf a man. And
0 i Kings ii. keep;

Part III, SA'CRED HISTORY. 81
keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his
ways, and to keep his ftatutes, his commandments,
his judgments, and his teftimonies, as it is written in
the law of Mofes ; that thou mayft profper in all that
thou doft, and whitherfoever thou turneft thyfelf;
that the Lord may continue his wprd which he fpake
concerning me, when he faid, " If thy children take
heed to their way, to walk before me in truth, with
aH their heart, and with all their foul, there fhall not
fail thee a man on the throne of Ifrael."
. Then coming to fpeak of particular perfons and
things relating to his government, " Thou knoweft,
faid he, what Joab the fon of Zeruiah did to me (re
ferring probably to his killing Abfalom contrary to his
exprefs command, and his fpeaking fo boldly to him
afterwards) : and what he did to the two captains of
the holts (of Ifrael and of Judah) Abner and Amafa,
both whom he flew, and fhed the blood of war in
peace, putting the blood of war upon his belt and in
his fhoes (that is, doing it as openly and daringly as
if it had been done in war). Do thou therefore ac
cording to thy wifdom, and let not his hoary head go
down to the grave in peace. But fhew kindnefs unto
the fons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of
thofe that eat at thy table : for they furnifhed my table
when I fled becaufe of Abfalom thy brother.
And behold, faid he further, thou haft with thee
Shimei the fon of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, who
curfed me with a grievous curfe when I went to Maha-
iiiaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan (in
(my return) and I fware to him by the Lord, faying, I
.will not put thee to death with the fword. Now,
therefore, hold him not guiltlefs ; for thou art a wife
,man, and knoweft what thou oughteft to do to him :
hut his hoary head bring thou down to the grave with
jjblood."!'; If any think this direction of David's to his fon So
lomon, concerning Shimei, was tpo fevere, inafmuch
'is he had before, upon his fubmiflion, granted him
lis life ; fuch may do well to confider, that Shimei's
i,. Vol. II. G offence

82 SACRED HISTORY. Fart m.
offence was two-fold; againft God, as well as againft
David. God's law was exprefs, Exod. xxii. 28. "Thou
/halt not curfe the ruler of thy people." Now David
was not only the ruler of the people, but God's anoint
ed ; a king of his own immediate choice ; whom he
had raifed up to fight his battles, and to execute his
judgment upon Saul and his houfe^br his difobedience
and rebellion. And therefore Shimei, in railing at
and curfing David, calling him a bloody man, and
that with particular refpect to the blood of Saul's houfe,
did blafpheme God, who had taken the kingdom? from
Saul, and given it to David. And although God was
pleafed to give David leave to fhew his own conde-.
fcenfion and clemency, in forgiving Shimei's perfoflal
offence againft him ; yet he would not fo pafs by the
fin againft himfelf : and therefore he both ftirred
up David to commit the punifhment to his fon and
fucceffor Solomon, and gave Solomon wifdom fo to
adjuft the punifhment, that Shimei might yet have
efcaped the fevereft part of it, if he had not brought
it upon himfelf by a new tranfgreffion, in breaking his
oath afterwards, as we fhall fee hereafter.
When David had ended his advice to his fon, he put
up a prayer to God for him, and brake forth withal-
into a kind of prophetick declaration of the flourifhing
greatnefs, profperity, peace,, and juftice of Solomon's
reign ; which in fome refpects was typical of the reign
and kingdom of Chrift. This takes up the place of
the feventy-fecond pfalm, and the laft words thereof
fpeak this to be the laft prayer or pfalm that David
made. And being now ready to yield up the ghoft,/
he breathed out his laft words to this effect :
" David the fon of Jeffe faith, even the man who
was raifed up on high, the. anointed of the God of
Jacob, and the fweet pfalmift (or finger) of Ifrael
faith, The fpirit of the Lord /pake by (or in) me,-
and his word was in. .my. tongue. The God of Ifrael
faid, The rock of Ifrael fpake thus to me, He that"
ruleth over men fhould be juft, ruling in the fear of
God. And fuch. an one will be. .as the light of the
morning

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 83
morning when the fun rifeth ; even as a morning with"
out clouds : as the tender grafs fpringing out of the
earth, by the clear fhining (of the fun) after rain.
And although my houfe be not fo with God (not as 3
morning "without clouds, but has had both clouds and
ftorms) ; yet he hath made me an everlafting covenant,
ordered in all things and fure : for in this is all my
fafety, and this is the fum of my defire, although he
make it not to grow. But the fons of Belial fhall be
all of them as thorns thruft away (becaufe they cannot
be taken hold, of with hands : but the man that fhall
touch them had need be fenced with iron and the ftaff
of a fpear) and they fhall be utterly burnt with fire in
the fame place."
Thus this great king, haying reigned over Ifrael
forty years, feven in Hebron, and three and thirty in
Jerufalem ; and having lived to a good old age of
feventy years, being full of days, riches, and honour,
flept with his fathers, and was buried in his own city,
the city of D*vid w, 1 Chron. xxix. 26, 27, 28.
Although Solomon, who fucceeded his father David
in the kingdom, was but a young man when he came
to the crown ; yet that he was married fome time be
fore, appears by the age of his fon Rehoboam : for
Rejioboam was in his forty-firft year, 2 Chron. xii. 13.
! when he began to reign ; which was immediately after
'his father's death, who reigned but forty years, 1 Kings
'xi'. 42. fo that Solomon had a fon when he began to

J,reign

As foon almoft as he was fettled on his throne, an
foecafion was unhappily offered him to flain his fword
with his brother Adbnijah's blood; which thus hap
pened :
® Adonijah, as was obferved before, being the eldeft
offon to king David then living, had afpired to the crown
i>]n his father's life-time (which haftened Solomon's
nf'icceffion to the throne) ; but, upon his fubmiffion,
H'vas pardoned by Splomon. He now, whether with

w A. M. Z989.

G 2 a defign

S4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
a defign to ftir up new troubles, as was fufpected, or
only taken with the beauty of the perfon, had caft an
amorous eye upon the fair Shunamitifh dame, young
Abifhag, who had been a concubinary wife to his father
David for fome little time before his death. And be
caufe Adonijah knew he might not enjoy her without
the king's content, and had not of himfelf fuch an
intereft in the king, as from thence to promife himfelf
fuccefs, he applied himfelf to the king's mother, the
queen dowager Bathfheba, hoping by her mediation
to prevail.
When firft he addreffed himfelf to Bathfheba, fhe
remembering how he had acted before, and looking
upon him as an enemy to her family, was fome-
what doubtful of his intention ; and therefore afked
him if he came peaceably ? which he affuring her he
didt and withal telling her that he had fomething to
fay to her ; fhe bid him, fay on. Whereupon he thus
befpake her :
" Thou knoweft, faid he, that the kingdom (in the
right line of inheritance) was mine ; and all Ifrael (fo
he pleafed himfelf with thinking) fet their faces on me,
expecting that I fliould reign. Howbeit the kingdom
is turned about, and is become my brother's : for the
Lord hath given it him. And now I afk one peti
tion of thee : deny me not." She bidding him fay
on ; he faid, " Speak, I pray thee, unto Splomon the I
king (for he will not fay thee nay) that he give me
Abifhag the Shunamite to wife." " That I will," re
plied fhe ; and away fhe went to the king about it.
When the king faw her coming, he role up to meet
her, and bowing himfelf unto her, fat down on his
throne : and caufing a feat to be fet for her, fhe fat on
his right-hand. Then telling him fhe had a fmall
petition to- afk of him, which /he defired him not to
deny, he bid her afk on ; and fomewhat too haftily
promifed her that he would not fay her nay. Where
upon fhe faid, '" Let Abifhag the Shunamite be given
to thy brother Adonijah to wife." King"

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 85
King Solomon, ftartled at fuch an unexpected re
queft, anfwered, " And why doft thou afk Abifhag the
Shunamite only for Adonijah ? Afk for him the king
dom alfo (for he is mine elder brother) ; even for him,
and for Abiathar the prieft, and for Joab the fon of
Zeruiah." For Solomon concluded they were all three
combined again, in a new confpiracy againft him.
Wherefore, as before he over-haftily promifed his mo
ther that he would not deny her requeft, fo he now
too jgadily fware by the Lord, " That Adonijah had
fpoken this word againft his own life, and fhould die
for it out of hand." And without more ado, fuch is
the mifchief of arbitrary government, fending Benaiah,
the captain of his guards, he fell upon him and killed
him. Then fending for Abiathar the prieft, he faid to him,
" Thou art worthy of death. Yet I will not at this
time put thee to death, becaufe thou haft borne the
ark of the Lord God before David my father, and be
caufe thou haft had thy fhare in all the afflictions that
have attended my father. Get thee therefore to Ana-
toth, to thy own poffeflions ; and there lead a private
life." So Solomon thruft out Abiathar from being
prieft unto the Lord ; and therein fulfilled the word of
the Lord, which he fpake concerning the houfe of Eli
in Shiloh, and put Zadok in his room.
When Joab heard how Solomon had dealt with
Adonijah and Abiathar, he thought if there was any
fafety for him, it muft be in the tabernacle of the
Lord. Thither therefore he betook himfelf, and caught
hold on the horns of the altar ;' hoping for protection
from the holinefs of the place. But he mifcounted :
• for befides his treafon in fiding with Adpnijah, Joab,
was doubly guilty of wilful murder, in the prpmedi-f
tated affaffinations of Abner and Amafa ; for1 which it
was lawful to take the murderer from God?s altar, "and
flay him, Exod. xxi. 14, Solomon therefore, hearing
that Joab was fled to the altar for refuge, bid Benaiah
go draw him from thence, and fall upon him. " Away
#ent Benaiah, and told him, " The king's command
G ^ was

M SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
was that he /hould come forth". Joab, expecting
.nothing but death, refolutely anfwered, " Nay : bur.
.(if I muft die) I will die here."
Benaiah, unwilling to fhed blood in the tabernacle,
reported Joab's anfwer to the king ; who thereupon
bid him, " Go, do as he hath faid : fall on him there,
and then .bury him ; that, faid he, thou mayft take
away the innocent blood which Joab fhed, from me
and from the houfe of my father : and the Lord fhall
return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon
two men more righteous and better than himfflf (to
wit, Abner, captain of the hoft of Ifrael ; and Amafa,
captain of the hoft of Judah) and flew them treache-
roufly, without my father's knowledge." Benaiah
then going down again, fell upon Joab and flew him ;
and he was buried in his own houfe in the wildernefs ;
and the king made Benaiah general in his room.
Skimei's turn came next; whom the king fending
for, bid him build him an houfe in Jerufalem, and
dwell there, and not go forth from thence any whither,
on pain of death, Shimei, fearing worfe, was glad he
rame off fo ; and therefore approving the fentence of
his confinement to the city, he anfwered, " The fay
ing is good : as my lord the king hath faid, fo will
^thy fervant do ;" and he bound himfelf to it with a
folemn path.
Three years he lived thus, ftrictly obferving the
bounds of his confinement. But at the three years
end, it fo fell out, that two of his fervants ran away
from him, and went to Achifh, king "of Gath : which
when Shimei underftood, forgetting himfelf, he faddled
his afs, and went forth to Gath to feek his fervants ;
and having' fpynd them, he brought them back with
him to Jerufalem.
There wanted not fome informer or other to give
king Solomon an account of this little excurfion that
Shimei had made : whereupon the king fent for Shimeij
and taxing him with difobedience and breach of oath,
faid unto him, " Did I not make thee to fwear by the
Lord, and did not I proteft alfo to thee, faying, Know ,. for

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. $7
for a certain, that on the day thou goeft out,, and
walkeft abroad any whither, thou fhalt furety die ?
And thou confentedft thereuntb, faying, The word
that I have heard is good. Why then haft thou not
kept the oath of the Lord, and the commandment
that I have charged thee with ?"
Then reminding him of his former offence (for
which this confinement had been his punifhment) he
faid to Shimei x, " Thou knoweft all the wickednefs
which thine heart is privy to, that thou didft to David
my father. Therefore the Lord fhall return thy wick
ednefs upon thine own head ; and king Solomon "fhall
be bleffed, and the throne of David fhall be eftablifh-
ed before the Lord for ever." Then giving the word
to Benaiah, he following Shimei out, fell upon him
that he died : and the kingdom was eftabli/hed in the
hand of Solomon.
Solomon now looking upon himfelf as more fafe,
by the removal of thefe factious men (who were moft
likely to have headed a party againft him) and finding
that the Lord was with him, and had ftrengthened him
in his kingdom7, he aflembled all his chief officers,
his captains of thoufands and of hundreds^ his judges
and governors in all Ifrael, with the chief of the
fathers : and he, with all the congregation, went to
the high-place that was at Gibeon. For though David
had brought up the ark of God from Kirjath-jearin)
to Jerufalem, where he had pitched a tent for it; yet
the tabernacle of the congregation of 'God, which
Mofes the fervant of the Lord had made in the wjlder-
nefs, and the brazen altar that Bezaleel made, remained
ftill at Gibeon.
Thither went Solomon and the whole' congregation,
and offered a thoufand burnt-offerings upon the brazen
altar before the Lord, who appeared to Solomon in a
dream that night, and bid him afik what he fhould
give him. Whereupon Solomon thus fpake unto the
^ord ; 9 A. M, 2993. r 2 Chron. i.
G 4, " Thou

£8 SACRED- HISTORY. Part III.
" Thou haft /hewed unto thy fervant David my
father great bounty, according as he walked before
thee in truth and in righteoufnefs, and in uprightnefs
of heart with thee : and thou haft kept for him this
great kindnefs, that thou haft given him a fon to fit
on his throne, as at this day. And now, O Lord my
God ! feeing thou haft made thy fervant king, inflead
of David my father, over thy chofen people, a great
people that cannot be numbered for multitude; and
that I, who am but as a little child, know not how to
behave myfelf in the difcharge of fo great an office :
give, therefore, unto thy fervant an under/landing
heart, furnifhed with wifdom and knowledge, to judge
thy people, that I may difcern between good and bad ;
for (without thy wifdom) who is able to jucjge this
thy fo great a people z ?"
So well did this requeft of Solomon's pleafe the
Lord, that he thereupon faid unto him, " Becaufe thou
haft afked this thing, and haft not afked long life,
riches, or honour, for thyfelf, nor the life of thine
enemies ; but haft afked for thyfelf underftanding,
wifdom, and knowledge to difcern judgment, that
thou mayft judge my people over whom I have made
thee king ; behold I have done according to thy words,
and wifdom and knowledge is granted unto thee. For
I have given thee a wife and an underftanding heart, fo
that (for wifdom) there was none like thee before thee ;
neither after thee fhall any arife like unto thee. And I
have alfo given thee that which thou haft not afked, to
wit, both riches and honpur ; fuch as hone of the kings
have had that have been before thee ; neither fhall
there any after thee have the like. And if thou wilt
walk in my ways, to keep my ftatutes and command-
ments? as thy father David did walk, then will I
lengthen thy days alfo."
Solomon, waking from his fleep, was fenfible that
he had had a dream. And comi-.ig back to Jerufalem
(after he had prefented himfelf before the ark of the
' i £ing$~iii, 2 Chron. i, covenant

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 80,
covenant of the Lord, and had offered peace-offerings,
and made a feaft to all his fervants) it was not long
before occafion was given him to exercife that wifdom,
which in his dream he had afked, and the Lord had
promifed to give him. For a controverfy having
arifen between two women (who are called Harlots,
as Rahab is called, Jofh. ii. 1. but may rather perhaps
be fuppofed to be victuallers) they came unto the
king for judgment : and fhe that was the plaintiff thus
opened the caufe before him :
" O my Lord ! faid fhe, I and this woman dwell in
one houfe ; and I was delivered of a child with her in
the houfe. And it came to pafs, that the third day
after I was delivered, /he alfo was delivered : but her
child died in the night, becaufe fhe overlaid it. Then,
there being no ftranger in the houfe with us, but only
we two alone together, fhe arofe at midnight, and
took my fon from befide me while I flept, and laying
it in her bofom, laid her dead child in my bofom.
And when I arofe in the morning to give my child
fuck, behold it was dead : : but when I had well viewed
and confidered it in the morning, I found it Was not
my child which I did bear."
She having thus flated her cafe, the other woman
(who was the defendant) denying the charge, faid,
" Nay : but the living is my fon, and the dead is thy
fon." The complainant, on the other hand, rejoined,
" No : but the dead is thy fon, and' the living is my
fon." Thus they bandied the caufe to and fro ; which
the king observing, and that there was no witnefs in
the cafe, he called for a fword ; and when it was
brought, he bid the officer divide the live child in
two, and give half to the one and half to the other ;
which when the plaintiff-woman heard (whofe indeed
the living child was) her bowels yearning towards her
fon, fhe cried out to the king, " O my lord ! give her
the living child, and in no-wife flay it." But the other
woman (who being no kin to it, had not any natural
affection to it, but claimed it only to hide hew own
flume,

9o SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
fliame, or avoid puni/hment, for having overlaid her
own child, and ftolen her neighbour's) faid, " Let it
be neither mine, nor thine; but divide it." By which
the king having difcovered which was the true mother,
adjudged the living child to her. And when this
came to be known abroad among the people, it made
them reverence the king, and /land in awe of him i
for they faw by this, that the wifdom of God was in
him to do judgment.
As Solomon had married an Ammonitifh woman
before he was king, who we may fuppofe was a profe-
lyte to the Jewi/h religion, elfe his godly father David
would not have allowed it ; fo now, having made
affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, he took his
daughter to wife, who it is likely was a profelyte alfo,
becaufe it is faid of him prefently after, " That Solo
mon loved the Lord, and walked in the ftatutes of
David his father." And becaufe he had not yet built
himfelf a palace, he brought this his new queen into
the city of David, until he had made an end of build
ing not only his own houfe, but the houfe of the Lord,
and the wall of Jerufalem round about. But after
wards he made an houfe for Pharaoh's daughter, whom
he had taken to wife.
And now remembering the charge which his father
king David had given him ; and, purfuant thereto,
determining to build an houfe for the name of the
Lord, he fent unto Hiram king of Tyre" (who was
ever a lover of David, and who, upon hearing that
Solomon was anointed king in the room of his father,
fent his fervants to congratulate his acceffion to the
crown). Firft, therefore, defiring that the amity and
intercourfe that had been between the two crowns
might be continued, he wrote to Hiram after this
manner :
" Thou knoweft how that David my father could
not build an houfe unto the name of the Lord his God,
for the wars, which were abput him on every fide, until
. • i Kings v. z. Chron, ij, the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 9i
the Lord put his enemies under the foles of his feet.
But now the Lord my God hath given me reft on
every fide ; fo that there is neither adverfary, nor any
thing elfe, to hinder. Wherefore I propofe " to build
an houfe unto the name of the Lord my God, as the
Lord fpake unto David my father, faying, Thy fon
whom I will fet upon thy throne in thy room, he fhall
build an houfe unto my name. Now, therefore, give
thou command unto thy workmen, that they hew me
cedar trees out of Lebanon : for thou knoweft that
there is not any among us that have fkill to hew timber
like unto the Sidonians. Yet my fervants fhall be
with thy fervants in the work; and I will -give thee
hire for thy fervants as thou fhalt fet the price. Or I
will give to thy fervants, the hewers that fhall cut the
timber, twenty thoufand meafures of beaten wheat,
and twenty thoufand meafures of barley, and twenty
thoufand baths of wine, and twenty thoufand baths of
oil (a bath containing four gallons and a half)."
He defired him alfo to fend him a man' that was fkilful
to work in gold, filver, brafs, and iron ; and for em
broidering and graving, who might join with the
artifts which he had already of his father David's
providing, and might work with them.
When' king Hiram (who is called alfo Huram,
2 Chron. ii. 3.) had received this meffage from king
Solomon, he bleffed the Lord, for having given to
David a wife fon to rule over fo great a people, which
he took, and rightly, to be a token of God's love to
his people. Then returning anfwer to king Solomon
in writing, he expreffed himfelf to this effect :
" I have confidered the things which thou fenteft to
me for, and will anfwer thy defire concerning timber,
both of cedar and of fir. My fervants fhall bring
them down from Lebanon to the fea ; and I will con
vey them by fea in floats to Joppa, and difcharge them
there. And now I have fent thee, a fkilful artift (that
belonged to my father Huram) whofe mother was of
the tribe of Dan ; but his father was a Tyrian. He is
endued with underftanding to work in gold, filver, brafs,

92 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
brafs, iron, ftone, and timber, and in purple, blue,
crimfon, and fine linen ; to grave alfo any manner of
graving ; and to find out every device which fhall be
put to him. And as for the wheat, the barley, the
oil, and the wine, which my lord hath fpoken of, let
him fend them unto his fervants."
Having received this anfwer from Hiram, king
Solomon caufed the workmen that were ftrangers to be
numbered ; and finding them to be an hundred fifty
and three thoufand and fix hundred men, he appointed
feventy thoufand of them to be bearers of burdens,
and eighty thoufand to be hewers in the mountain of
Lebanon ; and the other three thoufand and fix hundred
he {et over the reft, as overfeers of the work. Thirty
thoufand alfo he raifed of his own people, whom he
fent to Lebanon, to work with king Hiram's men.
But thefe being divided into three companies,- went by
their courfes, ten thoufand at a time ; where having
ferved their month, they returned, and another ten
thoufand fucceeded them : fo that every one of thefe
was one month abroad in the fervice, and two months
at home. And of thefe Adoniram (which fignifies the
high Lord) had the overfight.
All things being thus in readinefs, on the fecond
day of the fecond month (by the Jews called Ziff) in
the fourth year of his reign b (which was exaftly four
hundred and eighty years from the coming up of the
children of Ifrael out of the land of Egypt) king
Solomon began to build the houfe of the Lord in
mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared unto
David, and in the very place which David had pre
pared, in the threfhing-floor of Araunah (or Ornari)
the Jebufite (and where Abraham, long before, had
been directed by God to offer up his fon Ifaac, Gen,
xxii. 2.) ; laying the foundations thereof of hewen
(tones, great and coflly. The dimenfions and defcrip-
tion whereof, with the ornaments and richnefs thereof,
(lie reader may fee at large in i Kings vi. &c, ancj
* i Kings v. 2 Chron, ii. A. M. 2993. a Chron,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 03
2 Chron. iii. &c. And in his eleventh year, in the
month by the Hebrews called Bull, which is the
eighth month, was the houfe finifhed throughout all
the parts of it. So tha-t it was feven years and fix
months in building. And fuch care was taken for the
fquaring and fitting of the materials before they were
brought thither, that there was neither hammer, nor
axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the houfe while it
was in building.
For Solomon's encouragement while he was building
it, the word of the Lord came to him, faying, " Con
cerning this houfe which thou art building : if thou.
wilt walk in my ftatutes, and execute my judgments,
and keep all my commandments to walk in them;
then will I perform my Word with thee, which I /pake
unto David thy father ; and I will dwell among my
people, the children of Ifrael, and will not forfake
them." When king Solomon had fully finifhed the houfe of
the Lordc, and had placed all the veffelssfor fervice
and ornament in it, he affembled the elders of Ifrael,
and all the heads of the tribes, and the chief of the
fathers of the children of Ifrael in Jerufalem, to bring
up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city
of" David, which was Zion. Which was the more
readily done, becaufe it was the time for the feaft of
tabernacles ; which by divine appointment (Levit.
xxiii.) was held, with other folemn feafts, in the fe-
venth month, by them called Ethanim : at which time
all their males were obliged to appear before the Lord
in the place which he fhould choofe (Deut. xvi. 16.)
which was this new built temple.
Being therefore thus affembled, the priefts and Le
vites- (whofe charge it was) took up the ark, with the
tabernacle, and all the holy veflels that were in it * ;
and having brought them up, and placed them in their
refpective places appointed for them in the temple,
when the priefts (who now attended in a body) were
• A. M- 3001. * 1 Kings viii. 2 Chron. v. come

94 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
come out of the holy place, and they (with the Levites
and other officers of the temple) fang, accompanied
with their trumpets and other inftruments of mufick,
the cxxxvith Pfalm, the cloud filled the houfe of the
Lord, fo that the priefts could not Hand to minifter
becaufe of the cloud : for the glory of the Lord had
filled the houfe of the Lord. Which Solomon ob
serving, took occafion from thence to infer, that the
Lord had taken (as it were) poffeflion of the place ;
urging what the Lord had formerly faid, " That he
would dwell in the thick darknefs." Which expreffibn,
becaufe we no-where read it in thofe terms, is fuppofed
to be taken from Levit. xvi. 2. where the Lord faid,
" I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-feat."
" But I, faid Solomon, have built thee an houfe to
dwell in : a fettled place for thee to abide in for
ever. Then turning his face about, he bleffed all the con
gregation of Ifrael, and faid, " Bleffed be the Lord
God of Ifrael, who hath with his hands fulfilled that
which he fpake with his mouth to my father David,
when he faid, Since the day that I brought forth my
people Ifrael out of Egypt, I chofe no city Out of all
the tribes of Ifrael wherein to build an houfe, that
my name might be therein : but I have chofen Jeru
falem, that my name might be there ; and I have
chofen David to be over my people Ifrael. And
whereas, added Solomon, it was in the heart of my
father David, to build an houfe for the name of the
Lord God of Ifrael, the Lord, accepting the good-will
of my father, faid to him, Thou didft well, in that it
was in thy heart, notwithftanding thou fhalt not build
the houfe : but thy fon, which fhall come forth out
of thy loins, he fhall build the hoyfe for my name.
The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he
hath fpoken : for I am rifen up in the room of David
my father, and am fet on the throne of Ifrael, as the
Lord promifed ; and have built the houfe for the name
of the Lord God of Ifrael : and in it have I put the
ark,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 95
ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lerd that he
made with the children of Ifrael."
Having thus made a thankful acknowledgment of
the faithfulnefs and gracious goodnefs of the Lord,
both unto him and to his people, he kneeled down
before all the congregation of Ifrael, upon the brazen
fcaffold of five cubits fquare and three cubits high
(which he had made and fet in the midft of the court
before the altar of the Lord) and fpreading forth his
hands towards heaven, he thus addreffed himfelf unto
the Lord :
" O Lord God of Ifrael ! there is no God like thee
in the heaven, nor in the earth, who keepeft covenant,
and fheweft mercy unto thy fervants, that walk before
thee with all their hearts. Thou who haft kept with
thy fervant David, my father, that which thou pro-
mifedft him, and haft actually fulfilled what thou
fpakeft to him (with refpect to my building this houfe
to thee) as it is this day : keep now, O Lord ! with
thy fervant my father, that alfo which thou didft pro-
mife him, when thou faidft, There fhall not fail thee
a man in my fight to fit on the throne of Ifrael, pro
vided thy children take heed to their way, to walk
before me in my law, as thou haft walked before me.
Now then, O Lord God of Ifrael ! let thy word be
verified which thou haft fpoken unto thy fervant
David. But (correcting himfelf, with refpect to his defire,
that God would at all times vouchfafe his prefence to
his people in that houfe) will God, faid he, in very
deed dwell with men on the earth ? Behold, heaven,
and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee : , how
much lefs this houfe which I have built ! Yet have
thou refpect, added he, unto the prayer of thy fervant,
and to his fupplication, O Lord my God, to hearken
unto the cry and the prayer which thy fervant prayeth
before thee this day ; that (fpeaking after the manner
of men) thine eyes may be open toward this houfe,
night and day : even towards the place of which thou
haft faid, that thou wouldft put thy name there. Th*t

96 SACRED HISTORY. Part III:
That thou mayft hearken to the prayer which thy fer
vant fhall mike in this place, and hearken to the
fupplication of thy fervant, and of thy people Ifrael,
when they fhall pray towards this place. And hear
thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place j and- when thou
heareft, forgive."
Having thus fupplicated the Lord in general terms,
he defcended to particulars, faying,
" If a man trefpafs againft his neighbour, and an
oath be required of him ; whereupon he come to fwear
before thine altar in this houfe : then hear thou from
heaven, and do, and judge thy fervants ; condemning
the wicked, to recompence his way upon his head ;
and juftifying the righteous, to give him according to
his righteoufnefs.
If thy people Ifrael be fmitten down before the ene
my becaufe they have finned againft thee, and they
/hall turn again to thee, and cpnfefs thy name, and
/hall pray, and make fupplication unto thee, towards
this houfe : then hear thou in heaven, and forgive. the
fin of thy people Ifrael ; and bring them again unto
the land which thou gaveft unto them and to their
fathers. When the heaven is fhut, and there is no rain, be
caufe they have finned againft thee ; if they pray
towards this place, and confefs thy name, and turn
from their fin when thou doft afflict them : then hear
thou in heaven, and forgive the fin of thy fervants,
and of thy people Ifrael, and teach them the good way.
wherein they fhould walk, and fend rain upon the
land which thou haft given to thy people for an in
heritance. If there be famine in the land ; if there be peftilence,.
blafting, mildew, locufts, or caterpillars ; if their
enemies befiege them in the cities of their land ; what-.
foever plague or ficknefs befall them ; what prayer or
fupplication foever fhall be made by any man,, or.
by all thy people Ifrael, when every man /hall knew
his own plague, and his* own grief, and fhall fpread
forth his hands towards this houfe; then hear thou is.
heaven.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 07
heaven, thy dwelling-place, and forgive, and render
unto every man according to his ways, whofe heart
thou knoweft (for thou only knoweft the hearts of the
children of men) ; that they may fear thee, to walk in
thy ways all the days that they live in the land which
thou gaveft unto our fathers.
Moreover, concerning the ftranger which is not of
thy people Ifrael, but cometh out from a far country
for thy great name's fake (for they fhall hear of thy great
name, and of thy ftrong hand, and of thy ftretched-out
arm) ; when he fhall come and pray towards this
houfe : then hear thou in heaven, thy dwelling-place,
and do according to all that the ftranger calleth unto
thee for ; that all the people of the earth may know
thy name, and fear thee (as doth thy people Ifrael)
and that they may know that this houfe which I have
builded is called by thy name.
If thy people go out to battle againft their enemy i
whitherfoever thou fhalt fend them, and Zhal'l pray
unto thee towards this city which thou haft chofen,
and towards the houfe that I have built for thy name :
then hear thou in heaven their prayer and fupplication,
and maintain their caufe.
If they fin againft thee (for there is no man but
may fin [qui non peccet~\ ; fo Jerom, fo Pagnine, fo
Arias Montanus, fo Tremellius and Junius turn it,
and fo Dr. Gell reads it, and contends that it fhould
be read, Effay, page 768.) and thou be angry with
them, and deliyer them unto the enemy, that they
carry them away captives into a land far or near ; yet
if they fhall bethink themfelves in the land whither
they are carried captives, and fhall repent, and make
fupplication unto thee in the land of them that carried
them' captives, faying, We have finned, and have
done perverfly, and. have committed wickednefs, and
fo return unto thee, with all their heart, and with all
their foul, and pray unto thee towards the land
which thou gaveft unto their fathers, the city which
thou haft chofen, and the home which I have built for
thy name \ then hear thou their payer and fupplica-'
; Vol, II. H tioo

98 SACRED HIST ORY. Part III
tion in heaven, thy dwelling-place, and maintain their
caufe, and forgive thy people that have finned againft
thee, all their tranfgreffions wherein they have tranf-
gre/Fed againft thee ; and give them compaffion before
them who carried them captive, that they may have
compaffion on them : for they be thy people and thine
•inheritance, which thou didft bring forth out of Egypt
from the midft of the furnace of iron.
Let now, O my God ! I befeech thee, thine eyes
be open, and thine ears attentive, unto the prayer that
/hall be made in this place. Arife now, therefore,
O Lord God ! into thy refting-place (fo he called this
fixed temple, in comparifon of the moving tabernacle)
thou, and the ark of thy ftrength; And let thy priefts,
O Lord God ! be clothed with falvation, and thy faints
rejoice in goodnefs."
When Solomon had ended his prayer and fupplica
tion to the Lord, he arofe from his knees, and /landing
up before the altar of the Lord, he blefled the congre
gation of Ifrael, faying with a loud voice, ct Bleffed
be the Lord that hath given reft unto his people Ifrael,
according to all that he promifed, not one word having
failed of all his good promife which he promifed by
the hand of Mofes his fervant. The Lord our God
be with us, as he was with our fathers. Let him not
leave us, nor forfake us ; that he may incline our
hearts unto him, to walk in all his .ways, and to keep
his commandments, his ftatutes, and his judgments,
which he commanded our fathers. And, added he,
let thefe my words, wherewith I have made fupplica
tion before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God
day and night ; that he may maintain the caufe of his
fervant, and the caufe of his people Ifrael at all times,
as the matter fhall require ; that all the people of the
earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there
is none elfe."
Then turning his fpeech more directly to the people,
" Let your heart therefore, faid he,, be perfect with
the Lord our God, to walk in his ftatutes, and to keep
his commandments, as at this day." When

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. S9
When thus the king had finifhed his prayer and
bieffing, both he and all the people with him offered
facrifices before the Lord e. And the Lord, to teftify
his acceptance of Solomon's prayer, fent fire from
heaven,* which confumed the burnt-offering and the
facrifices. And the glory of the Lord filled the houfe,
fo that the priefts could not enter into the houfe of the
Lord, becaufe of the glory of the Lord that filled it.
And when all the children of Ifrael faw the fire come
down, and the glory of the Lord upon the houfe, they
bowed themfelves upon the pavement with their faces
to the ground, and praifed the Lord, repeating thofe
words of the cxxxvith pfalm, " For he is good, for
his mercy endureth for ever."
At this dedication of the houfe of the Lord, the
•king and all Ifrael joining, they offered a peace-offering
unto the Lord of two and twenty thoufand oxen, and
an hundred and twenty thoufand fheep; the priefts
waiting on their offices, and the Levites playing on
their inftruments of mufick, which king David had
made to praife the Lord with. And becaufe the brazen
altat, which Solomon had made (though it was twenty
cubits (or yards) fquare, 2 Chron. iv. 1.) was too
little to receive the offerings, the king hallowed the
middle of the court, that was before the houfe of the
Lord, and offered, burnt-offerings there.
Thus king Solomon having held a folemn feaft, and
all Ifrael with him, for fourteen days together (feven
days for the feaft of tabernacles) on the three and
twentieth of the fecond month (which was the eighth
day after the feaft of tabernacles began, and the next
day after it was ended) he fent the people away : who,
bieffing the king, went unto their tents joyful and
glad in heart, for all the goodnefs that the Lord had
/hewed unto David and Solomon his fervants, and to
his people Ifrael.
After this folemn dedication of the houfe of the
Lord, the Lord appeared again to Solomon by night f,
e 1 Kings viii. 2 Chron. vii. { 1 Kings 9.
H 2 as

loo SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
as he had appeared unto him before at Gibeon (i Kings
iii. 5.) awl faid unto him, " I have heard thy prayer,
and have -chofen this place to myfeif for an horde «f
facrifice, and have hallowed it, to put my name there
for ever : mine eyes and my heart fhall be there per
petually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David
l-hy -father walked, in integrity of heart, and in up
rightnefs, to do according to all that I have com
manded thee, and wilt keep my ftatutes and my judg
ments : then will I -eftablifh the throne of thy king
dom upon Ifrael for ever, as I promifed David thy
father, when I faid, There fhall not fail thee a man
upon the throne of Ifrael. But if you /hall at all turn
from me, you or your children, and will not keep my
-commandments and my ftatutes, which I have fet
before you ; but go and forve other gods, and woxihip
them: then will I cut off Ifrael out of the land which
I have given them ; and this houfe which I have hal
lowed for my name, will I caft out of my fight, and
Ifrael /hall be a proverb and a by-word ampngft all
people. And at this houfe, which is high, every one
that pafieth by fhall be aftonifhed, and fhall foife;
and /hall fay, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this
land and -to this houfe ? And they fhall anfwer, Be-
-eaufe t-hey forfook the Lord their God, who brought
forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have
taken hold upon (or put their 'confidence in) other
gods, and have worfhipped them, and ferved them :
therefore hath the Lord brought -upon them all this
evil." When king Solomon had finifhed the houfe of the
Lord, he built a ftately palace for himfelf and his
jqueen (Pharaoh's -daughter) to •dwell in; which was
thirteen years in building*, 1 Kings vii. 1. net that
he was either mope -curious, or more magnificent, m
building his own houfe, than in building the Lord's;
but he had his materials to -provide for his own houfe,
moft of which were provided in xeadinefs by his fa-
* A.M. 3014. ther

PartML S. A C R E D HISTORY, toi
ther for the Lord's houftt: amd hit employed more
workmea, for expedition-fake,, about the Larctfs
ho*tfe„ than about his own. Audi when this, palace
was finifhed,. and furnifhed, he brought up bis queen
¦(the daughter of Pharaoh) from the old palace, which
was called the city of David, and fettled her in the
herafe toe. had built for hex : for he faid, " My wife
Jaall not dwell in the houfe of David, king of Ifrael,
becaufe the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the
Lord hath comeh."
Divers other houfes alfo did Solomon afterwards
builds whereof that feems to be the chief, which was
called the foreft of Lebanon '; which, being an hun
dred cubits in length, fifty cubits in breadth,, and
thirty cubits in height, was fet upon cedar pillars, in
four rows, and is, defcribed in i Kings vii. a, &c.
King; Solomon, having received great kindnefs
from Hiram king of Tyre (who had furnifhed him
with timber of cedar anied ©if &r, and with gold, in
abundance); he, in requital,, gave Hiram twenty
cities in the land of Galilee; which bordering upon
Tyre, is reckoned by Tremellius and Junius a pant ©f
the holy land ; and for that reafon, perhaps, is called
Galilee of the Gentiles, Mat. iy. 15. yet others think
otherwife. But when Hiram came from Tyre to. fee thefe ci
ties, they did not pleafe him at all. Wherefore, to
fhew his. diflike of them, he afkpd Solomon, " What
cities are thefe which thou haft given me, my brother ?"
and calling them the land of Cab.ul (that is, difpleafing
or dirty), he peftpred them to Solomon, who after
wards rebuilt thefe cities, and, fending colonies, of the
ehijdren of Ifrael thither, caufed them, tq dwell
therein, which probably occafioned our Sayiour to be
fo. converfant afterwards in Galilee..
But though Hiram did not accept Solomon's pre-?
fent, yet no unkindnefs or breach of friendfhip en-
* 2 Chron. yiii. n. l i Kings ix.
H 3 fued

roa SACRED H I S T O RY. Part III.
fued thereon between the two kings. For Solomon,
having built a navy of fhips in Ezion-Geber, at the
fea-fide^ in the land of Edom, Hiram not only joined
fome of his own fhips with king Solomon's, but fur
nifhed him alfo with expert mariners to man his fleet
to Ophir ; from whence they fetched four hundred
and twenty (or, as in 2 Chron. viii. 18. four hun
dred and fifty) talents of gold, of which they are faid
to have brought four hundred talents to Solomon,
and the reft, it is fuppofed, were fpent in the expe
dition. King Hiram alfo is faid to have fent to king Solo
mon fix fcore talents of gold, 1 Kings ix. 14. And
the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one
year, was fix hundred fixty and fix talents of gold,
cl.ap. x. 14. befides what he had of the merchants,.
and of the kings of Arabia, and the governors of
countries, ver. 15. And fo plentiful was gold in his
time, that filver was of no account ; for not only the
veffels of his houfe were of gold, ver. 21. but he
made two hundred targets, and three hundred fhields,
all of beaten gold, ver. 16, 17. A throne alfo of
ivory, overlaid with the beft gold, ver. 18, &c.
Now did Solomon experience the fulfilling of that
gracious promife, which the Lord had made him
( 1 Kings iii. 12, 13.) that becaufe he had not afked
riches, nor honour, but only wifdom (and that not
for orientation, but for real fervice, that he might
judge and govern his people aright) God gave him
both wifdom, riches, and honour ; fo that he exceeded
all the kings of the earth for riches and for wifdom.
And as they all fought to Solomon, that they might
hear his wifdom, which God had put into his heart;
fo they brought him every man his prefent, veflels of
filver, and yeffelg of gold, and garments, and ar
mour, and fpices, with horfes and mules, a certain
rate year by year.
For God had given Solomon wifdom and under
ftanding, and had enlarged his heart exceedingly; fo

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 103
fo that he excelled in wifdom all the philofophers and
aftrologers of Egypt, and of all the eaft-country.
And though Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman (men
tioned in the titles of Pfal. lxxxvjii. and Pfal. lxxxix)
with Chalcol and Darda, were the moft celebrated
men of thofe times for wifdom ; yet he was wifer than
they, and indeed than all men. He fpake three thou
fand proverbs m (moft of which are thought to have
been loft in the captivity), and his fongs were a thou
fand and five. He difcourfed alfo of the natures,
properties, and virtues of all trees, plants, and herbs;
and of beafts, fowls, creeping things and fifties ; fo
that his fame being fpread in all nations round about,
there came of all people to hear his wifdom, from
all the kings of the earth that had heard of it, 1 Kings
iv. 29, &c.
Among the many whom the fame of his wifdom
and grandeur drew to his court, the Ethiopian queen
(called in Matt, xii, 42, the queen of the fouth,
and here, the queen of Sheba) was one, who hav
ing heard much of the fame of Solomon, and con
cerning the name of the Lord, had a defire to try his
fldll in refolving difficult queftions ; and for that
end came from her own country to Jerufalem, attend
ed with a very great train. And having made a royal
prefent to King Solomon of abundance of rich fpices,
with precious ftones, and very much gold (no lefs
than an hundred and twenty talents), fhe conferred
with him, and propounded riddles to him, and he re
folved them all. ' For there was nothing hid from
him, pf the moft abftrufe and knotty queftions, which
he did not open to her.
This filled her with admiration pf his profound
wifdom. But. when fhe had viewed the houfe of the
Lord, which he had built, and his own houfe, and
had duly confidered the ceconomy of his houfhold,
the provifions pf his table, the degrees and order of
l^is fervants, and the attendance of his miniflers,
n 1 Rings x. 1 Chron- ix.
H 4 with

i04 SACKED HISTORY. Part IH.
with their apparel ; but more efpecially the ftattly
afee&t he had made, by which he went up to the
houfe of the Lord, flie was even overcome with won
der, and faid to the king, " It was indeed a true re
port which I heard in mine own land of thine acts
and of thy wifdom: hewbeit, I believed not the
words, until I came, and mine own eyes had feen it.
And now I find that the one half of the greatnefs of
thy wifdom was not told me : for thou cxceedeft the
fame that I had heard."
Then breaking forth into admiration and praife,
fhe added, " Happy are thy men, and happy are thefe
thy fervants, which ftand continually before thee, and
hear thy wtf&om. And bleffed be the Lord thy God,
who delighted in thee, to fet thee on the throne of
Ifrael. Becaufe the Lord loved Ifrael, to eftablilh
tkero for ever, therefore made he thee king over them,
to do judgment and juftice."
Thus this great queen, having fatisfied her curiofity
in feeing, and improved her underftanding in con
vening with the wifeft of ki&gs, and having been fully
anfwered by him in whatfoever /he defired of him,
took her leave pf the Hebrew court, and returned
with her attendants to her own land, laden with a
royal prefent- from the king, and filled with admira
tion of his wifdom and magnificence.
For he kept fo great a table, that the daily provi-
fioa for his houfe was thirty meafures (or cors, as the
margin gives it) of fine flour, and threefcore of meal.
Aa<i the Hebrew cor being computed by Godwyn in
his Mofes and Aaron, 1. vi. c. 9. p. 290. to contain
five bufhels and five gallons, the thirty cors of fine
flour make an hundred fixty eight bufhels and fix gal
lons,. According tq which computation, the fixty
cors of meal muft make three hundred thirty feven
bufhels and four gallons ¦, both forts, flour and meal,
five hundred and fix bufhels and two gallons ; which,
reduced to quarters, bring out, jf I mifcount not,
fixty three quarters, two" bufhels, and two gallons.
For flefli, his daily provifion was ten fat oxen, and
twenty

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 105
twenty oxen out of the paftures, and one hundred fheep j
befides harts, roe-bucks, fallow-deer, and fatted fowl.
In his /tables he had four thoufand flails for horfes and
chariots, and twelve thoufand horfemen, which were
bellowed in the chariot-cities, and with the king at
Jerufalem. But notwithftanding the great and excellent wifdom
wherewith God had endowed Solomon n, the high fa
vours he had vouchsafed him, the eminent appear
ances of God unto him> and the gracious promifes he
had made him, in cafe he perfevered to walk in his
fear, as David had done, and to keep his law; yet
Solomon let loofe the reins of his affection, not only
to many women, but to ftrange women, ftrangers to
the covenant, fuch as were not Ifraelites by nature,
nor of Ifrael by profeffion ; but of the idolatrous na
tions (Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians,
and Hittites), which the Lord had exprefly prohibited
for Ifrael in general, and their king in particular, to
contract marriage with, Deut. xvii. 17. as knowing
they would certainly turn away their hearts after their
gods. And to that degree of excefs he went, that he took
no lefs than feven hundred wives, and three hundred
concubines, who fo turned away his heart from fol
lowing the Lord, that he did evil in the fight of the
Lord, going after Afhteroth, the goddefs of the Zi-
donians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the
Ammonites, and built an high-place for Chemofh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that was before
Jerufalem ; as he did likewife for all his ftrange
wives, which burned in.cenfe and facrificed unto their
gods,. .
, This fo provoked the anger of the Lord againft
^olomoni that he faid unto him (probably by the
prophet Ahijah,* mentioned after in ver. 29.) " For-
Jafmuch as thou haft done thus, . and haft not kept my
^covenant, and my ftatutes, which I have commanded
» i Kings xi. A. M. 3018. thee :

jo6 SACRED HISTORY. Part HI,
thee : I will furely rend the kingdom from thee, and
will give it to thy fervant. Notwithftanding, in thy
days I will not do it, for David thy father's fake:
but I will rend it out of the hand of thy fon. Yet I
will not rend away all the kingdom : but I will give
one tribe to thy fon, for David my fervant's fake, and
for the fake of Jerufalem, which I have chofen,''
As therefore the Lord had given unto Solomon
peace, and reft from all his enemies, while he kepe
liis commandments, and walked with him ; fo now
that he forfook the Lord, and turned after other gods,
the Lord ftjrred up adyerfaries, againft him on every
hand. Of thefe, Hadad the Edomite was one ; who being
of the king's feed in Edom, and but a little child,-
at the time that David brought Edom into, fubje&ionj
and Joab cut off all the males there (of which fee
2 Sam. viii. 14. with 1 Kings xi, 15, 16, 17.) was by.
his father's fervants conveyed into Egypt, and pre-
fented unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; from whom he
found fo great favour, that he not only gave him pro
tection and maintenance, but when he was grown up,
bellowed on him in marriage the filler of his own
wife, queen Tahpenes. But when Hadad underftood
that both king David and his general Joab were dead,
he prevailed with Pharaoh to fend him back to his
own country Edom, from whence. he did mifchief to
Ifrael, Befides him, God flirred up another adverfary tq
Solomon, one Rezon the fon of Eliadah ; who flying
from his lord Hadadezar, king of Zobah, had ga
thered a band of men unto him, pver whom he be
came a captain, and feizing on Damafcus, reigned;
therein over Syria, and was an enemy to Ifrael al|
the days of Solomon's declining from the way of the, j
Lord. Another adverfary, and in the event the worft of
them all, was Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, an Ephrai
thite of Zereda, a fubject and fervant of Solomon's,
whom the king, when he, built Millo (or the fortrefs] aw

Part Hi: SACRED HISTORY. 107
and repaired the breaches of the city of David, ob-
ferving to be both a mighty man of valour, and very
induftrious in his bufinefs, made ruler over all the
charge of the houfe of Jofeph.
Him the Lord fingled out to be a fcourge to
Solomon's houfe ; and, in order thereunto, fent the
prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, to meet him in the
way, when he was gone out of Jerufalem. And they
two being alone in the field, the prophet caught hold
of the new garment that was on him, and having rent
it into twelve pieces, faid to Jeroboam, take the ten
pieces, " For thus faith the Lord, the God of Ifrael :
Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of
Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee, becaufe
they have forfaken me, and have worfhipped Afhteroth,
the goddefs of the Zidonians, Chemofh, the god of
the Moabites, and Milcom, the god of the children
'of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do
that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my fta
tutes and my judgments, as did David his father.'*
" For this caufe I will afflict the feed of David, but
not for ever ; neither will I take the whole kingdom
out of Solomon's hand : but he fhall have one (intire)
tribe, for my fervant David's fake, and for the fake
of Jerufalem (the city which I have chofen out of all
the tribes of Ifrael) that David my fervant may have
a light (of royal fplendor) always before me in Je
rufalem. And becaufe my fervant David, whom I
ehofe, kept my commandments and my ftatutes, I
will, for his fake, continue his fon Solomon prince
over Ifrael during his life ; but I will take the king
dom out of his fon's hand, and will give it unto
thee, even ten tribes. And I will take thee, and
thou fhalt be king over all Ifrael, and fhalt reign
according to thy heart's defire. And if thou wilt
hearken unto all that ,1 command thee, and wilt
walk in my ways, and do that which is right in my
fight, to keep my ftatutes and my commandments, as
David my fervant did, then will I be with thee, and
build

*oS S AGREED HISTORY. Part IH.
build thee a fure houfe, as I built for David, and
will give Ifrael unto thee."
Though Jeroboam and the prophet were alone in a
field by themfelves, when this pafled between them,
yet Solomon foon got notice of it, and fought to kill
Jeroboam upon it; but he, making his efcape, fled
unto Shifhak. king of Egypt, and there abode with
him until the death of Solomon, to which the courfe
©f the hiftory hath now brought us. For we read no
more of his life or afts, but that having reigned in
Jerufalem over all Ifrael forty years, he flcpt with
his fathers, and was buried in the city of his father
David.
For the reft of his a&s, and all that he did, and his
wifdom (of which, no doubt, many and various in-
ftances. muft occur, in the forty years reign of fo great
and fo wife a prince) we are here referred to the
hook of the acts of Solomon i a book queftionlefe
loft, with other excellent pieces pf his. In 2 Chron.
ix. 29. for a further account of the acts of Solomon,
firft and laft, we are referred to the book of Nathan
the prophet, to the prophecy of Ahijah the prophet,
and to the vifions of Idda the feer ; none of which are
now extant, at leaft under thofe titles.
Concerning Solomon, and his latter end, the opi-i
nions of men are different; but that feems the moft
charitable, which concludes he repented in his old
age, returned to God, and humbling himfelf before
the Lord, wrote his book called Kobeleth* Eerie-
fiaftes, or the Preacher, as an acknowledgement of
his own apoftacy, and a warning or admonition, with
inftrudtion, to all others to beware of and re/tft the
vanities of the world.
Concerning his age alfo there is fome difference;
Hugh Broughton gives him but eight and fifty?-
years ".' Richard Bloom, in his Hiftory of the Old and
New Teftament, quarto edition (whom for chronolo*
gy I generally follow), makes him above fixty years
0 1 Kings xii. 2 Chron. x. Of

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 109
of age. But that muft be a miftake, if (as he alfo
acknowledges) he came to the throne at eighteen ;
for it is exprefly fakl, the time of his reign was forty
years, 1 Kings xi. 42. ¦o. Chron. ix. 30. which makes
his age to be but fifty-eight years.
Solomon being dead, Rehoboam, his fon and fuc-
ceffor, went to Schechem, whither all Ifrael were
gathered together to make him king. But being
fomewhat uneafy under the burdens his father had laid
upon them (partly, perhaps, in perfonal fervice to
wards his buildings ; and partly alfo by his purveyors,;
for provifions for his houfe, of which the account
rifes high, in 1 Kings iv.) they were willing to make
fome better terms for themfelves before they fet the
crown upon his head.
Wherefore having fent, and called Jerobpam out
of Egypt, as the man they thought moft likely to
awe Rehoboam, and bring him to a reafonable com
pliance with their defires, the whole congregation of
Ifraei, having Jeroboam at the head of them (and
probably their fpokefman), thus fpake unto Reho
boam: " Thy father made our yoke grievous ; now, there
fore, make thou the grievous fervice of thy father
eafier, and his heavy yoke, which he put upon us,
lighter, and we will ferve thee."
Rehoboam, not thinking it fafe, in fo weighty a
matter, to give an hafty anfwer, but willing to be
advifed, before he refolved on a propofition of fo
great moment, bid them depart for three days, and
then come to him again for an anfwer, which they
did. Mean while, confulting with the old men, who
had been counsellors to his father Solomon ; and afk-
ing them how they would advife him to anfwer the
people, they faid, ** If thou wilt be a fervant unto
, this people this day, and wilt anfwer them kindly,
t A.M.- 3029, and

lip SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and give them good words, they will be thy fervants
for ever."
This good counfel not fuiting Rehoboam's evil hu
mour, he laid it afide ; and betaking himfelf to his
young counfellors, that were grown up with him, he
afked them what anfwer they would advife him to
give. They, like young men indeed, that had more
heat than judgment, advifed him to tell the people,
who came to defire a redrefs of grievances, that his
little finger (ufing a proverbial fpeech) fhould be
thicker than his father's loins ; and whereas they had
complained that his father had loaded them with a
heavy yoke, he would add to their yoke, and make
it more heavy ; and if they thought his father had
chaftifed them with whips, they fhould find he would
chaftife them with fcorpions. Where, by fcorpions,
is meant a fort of fcourges, made of leathern thongs,
at the ends of which were faftened either little bones,
or* plummets of lead, or /harp thorns, to make the
punifhment the fharper. See Godwyn's Mofes and
Aaron, 1. v. c. 8.
Rehoboam, for age, was paft a child, and old
enough, one would think, to have preferred the ad
vice of his old counfellors ; for he was one and forty
years old, i Kings xiv. ai. But, g)uos vult perdere
Deus, has dementat -, Whom God will deftroy, he bereaves
of underftanding. The caufe was of the Lord> that he
might perform his faying, which he had fpokeft by
his prophet Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam 4he fon
of Nebat, chap. xi. 30, 31. Therefore was Rehoboam
fo void of underftanding, that rejecting the good ad
vice of his grave counfellors, he clofed with the coun
fel of his young hot-headed companions. And when
Jeroboam, with the people, came to him on the
third day for his anfwer4, he roundly gave it them
in thofe harfh terms, which his young counfellors had
dictated to him. « 2 Kings xii. 1 Chron. x. But'

Part ill. SACRED HISTORY. in
:.-: But no fooner had the people, heard the anfwer
(which put them out of all hopes of redrefs) but
they (that is, the ten tribes) cried out unanimoufly,
u What portion have we in David ? Neither have we
inheritance in the fon of Jeffe ; every man to your
tents, O Ifrael ; and now fee to thy own houfe, Da
vid" (look to thyfelf, Rehoboam, David's fon, ftand
on thy own legsj and expect no help from us). And
in this heat they departed to their tents.
Being gone, Rehoboam, to try their temper, fent to
them one of his prime minifters, Adoram, who was over
the tribute ; but they fell prefently upon him, and
ftoned him to death This made Rehoboam con
clude they were in earneft, and think it high time to
confult his own fafety ; wherefore with fpeed getting
into his chariot, he fled to Jerufalem, fenfible of his
error too late.
Mean while, thofe ten tribes, which had thus re
volted from the houfe of David (and which, thence
forward, in diftinction frp.m the houfe of Judah, bare
the name of Ifrael) calling Jeroboam Unto the con
gregation, made him king over them.
Thus was that great and goodly kingdom (as a
punilhment for the idolatry of their king, haftened
to execution by the haughty rafhnefs of his fon and
fucceffor) even almoft in its very infancy, fplit into
two very unequal parts, ten againft two; which yet
muft be underftood by a Jynecdoche -partis ¦, the greater
part on either fide being taken for the whole. For
fome of the tribes, in the drawing out the lots of their
poffeflions, being intermixed with others (as Manaf
feh had divers towns in Iffachar and in Afher, Jofh.
xvii. 11. and Simeon's inheritance was within the in
heritance of the children of Judah, Jofh. xix. i).
fuch of the children of Ifrael as dwelt in. the cities
of Judah, continued their fubjection to Rehoboam,
i Kings, xii. 17. And perhaps fome part of the
tribe of Benjamin, bordering upon fome of the other
tribes that fell away to Jeroboam, might go along
with their neighbours, and take him for their king ;
which

ua SACRED HISTORY. Part HI.
which might give ground for that faying in the text,
ver. 20. There was none fthat is, no intire tribe)
that followed the houfe or David, but the tribe of
Judah only. For otherwife we find all along, that
Benjamin (that is, the main body of that tribe) clave
to the houfe of David, in conjunction with the tribe
of Judah.
Rehoboam refenting the affront done him by the
Ifraelites, in killing his treafurer Adoram; and re
folving to reduce thofe his rebellious fubjects to their
obedience by force of arms (to which, it is likely,
his hot-fpur counfellors were not backward to excite
him) as foon as he was got fafe to Jerufalem, he af
fembled all the houfe of Judah ; out of which, toge
ther with the tribe of Benjamin, he muttered an
hundred and fourfcore thoufand chofen men, which
were warriors, to fight againft the houfe of Ifrael,
that he might bring that kingdom again under his
fubjection. But when he was upon his march, the word of God
came unto Shemaiah, the man of God, commanding
him to fpeak unto Rehoboam, and unto all the houfe
of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant' of the
people (which in 2 Chron. xi. 3. is called, " all
ifrael in Judah and Benjamin") which I take to be
all thofe of the other tribes (which were intermixed
•with either of thofe two tribes) and to fay unto them,
" Thus faith the Lord, ye /hall not go up nor fight
againft your brethren the children of Ifrael. Return
every man to his houfe:' for this thing is of mc.v
Which meffage being delivered to them, they obeyejj
the word of the Lord, and returned from going againft
Jeroboam. This dangerous ftorm being thus by a divine breath
blown over, each of the kings ufed his endeavour!
to fettle and ftrengthen himfelf in his kingdom, but
after different manners. For Rehoboam dwelling at
Jerufalem, built very many cities for defence in Ju-
r 1 Kings xii. 2 Chron xi. dah

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 113
dah and in Benjamin ; fortifying the ftrong-holds, and
placing his own fons for captains in them, with /lore
of provifions and ammunition; whereby he made them
exceeding ftrong.
But that which ftrengthened him moft, and gave
him the greateft advantage over his rival Jeroboam,
was his and his people's cleaving to the Lord* and
keeping the law of God ; which at firft, for a while,
they did : for it is faid, " They Walked for three years
in the way of David and Solomon;" which, with refpect
to Solomon, muft be underftoodof the time, either be
fore he fell into idolatry, or after he repented and
returned from it.
Jeroboam, on the contrary, calling to mind, that
by the laW of God, Deut. xvi. 16. all the males of
ifrael were to appear before the Lord three times a
year, in the place which he fhould chufe, which was
now at Jerufalem, the royal feat Of Rehoboam's
kingdom, he concluded that this would be a means
to diveft him of his new kingdom. For (faid he,
Within himfelf) " If this people go up to do facri
fice in the houfe of the Lord at Jerufalem, then will
their heart turn again to' their Lord, and they will kill
me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
* Diftrtlft brought fear, and fear led to evil counfel ;
for, to prevent this furrhifed danger, it is faid he
took counfel (either of his own evil heart, or fome
inftruments as wicked as himfelf) and made two
calves of gold ; repfefenting thereby the gods of the
Egyptians, amongft whom he, for fome time paft,
had lived an 'exile. And, under pretence of eafing
his fubjects of the toil and expence of going up to
Jerufalem to worfhip, he laid unto them, " It is too
;friuch for you to go up ' to Jerufalem : Behold thy
gods, '0" Ifrael, which brought thee out of the land
Of Egypt.'"
"' Thefe calves' he fet, the one in Bethel, the other
ih Dan;1 the former "in the foutherh quarter, the lat
ter in the northern part of his kingdom, that he
might accommodate his people each way, and pre-
Vol. II. Lv, vent

n4 SACRED HISTORY. Part in.
vent their going up to Jerufalem. But this thing
became a fin, and is branded for devil -worfhip, 2 Chron.
xi. 15.
Jeroboam made alfo an houfe of high-places (which
the marginal note in the bifhop's bible calls, A temple s,
where altars were built for idolatry) ; and priefts he
made of the loweft of the people, who were not of
the fons of Levi. For he and his fons caft out the
priefts and Levites, not fuffering them to execute the
prieft's office unto the Lord j which made the priefts
and the Levites throughout Ifrael forfake their fub-
urbs, their poffeflions, and betake themfelves to
Judah and Jerufalem for fhelter and maintenance.
And after them came alfo to Jerufalem, out of all the
tribes of Ifrael, fuch as fet their hearts to feek the
Lord God of Ifrael, to facrifice unto the Lord God
of their fathers. By which means Rehoboam, and
the kingdom of Judah, was very much ftrengthened.
And whereas God had appointed the feaft of ta
bernacles to begin on the fifteenth day of the feventh
month, Lev. xxiii. 34. Jeroboam appointed his feaft
to begin on the fifteenth day of the eighth month ;
which therefore is called, in contempt, The month
which he had devifed of his own heart. And per*
haps he might have this reach in his mind, in fettling
his wrong feaft a month after the right feaft at Jeru
falem, that the people of Judah, their own feaft being
over, might have opportunity to come to this feaft of
his, if curiofity and defire of novelty would draw
them !.
At this feaft of his own appointing, . while Jero
boam the king flood by his altar at Bethel r, to
offer facrifice to the calf that he had fet up there,
a man of God came out of Judah by the word of
the Lord, . and crying againft the altar, in the word of
the Lord, he faid, " O altar, altar, thus faith the
Lord, behold a child fhall be bornvunto the houfe of 1
David, Jofiah by name ; and upon thee /hall he offer
s 1 Kings xiii. t a. M. 3030.
... the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. ns
the priefts of the high-places, that burn incenfe upon
thee, and men's bones fhall be burnt upon thee."
And becaufe this was a prophecy pf a future event,
which none there prefent could live to fee (for Jo-
fiah, of whom this was predicted, was not born till
three hundred years after) ; therefore the man of
God, to confirm his prophecy, gave a fign, which
they fhould fee performed the fame day. " This
(faid he) is the fign which the Lord hath fpokenj
behold, the altar fhall be rent, and the afhes that
are upon it fhall be poured out."
As foon as Jeroboam had heard the faying of the
man of God, who had cried againft the. altar in Beth
el, he put forth his hand from the altar, and faid, Lay
hold on him ; but his hand, which he put forth againft
the man of God, dried up ; fo that he could not pull
it in again to him. The altar alfo was rent, and the
afhes poured out from it, according to the fign which
the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
Which when the king faw, and withal felt himfelf
deprived of the ufe pf his hand, his flout heart for
the prefent relenting, he faid unto the man of God,
" Intreat- now the face of the Lord thy God, and
pray for me, .that my hand may be reftored me again."
Whereupon the man of God befeeching the Lord for
him, the king's hand was reftored to him again, and
became as it was before.
The king, fenfible of fo great a benefit, invited
the man of God to go home with him, and refrefh
himfelf; offering withal to give him a reward. But
the man of God refufed ; and without any compli
ment, plainly told the king, If he would give him
half his houfe, he would not go in with him, neither
would he eat or drink in that place. For fo (faid
he) was it charged me by the word of the Lord, fay
ing, " Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again,
by the fame way that thou cameft."
. And accordingly the man "of God went another
way, and returned not by the waythat he came to
Bethel. Yet had he the unhappineYs to be betrayed,
I 2 through

n£ SACRED HISTORY. Part m.
through his too eafy credulity ; and was drawn into
that fnare, to the lofs of his life, by the falfe infinua-
tiorfs of another, which the kindnefs and bounty of
king Jeroboam had in vain tempted him unto. And
thus it happened :
There dwelt at that time in Bethel an old pro
phet, whofe fons, having been abroad, came horned
and told their father all that the man of God had done
and faid at the altar; which when the old prophet
had heard, he inquired of them which way the man
of God went ; and calling for his afs, rode after him.
And having found him fitting under an oak, he in
vited him to go home with him, and eat bread. The
man of God frankly told him what the command of
the Lord was to him, and hoW ftrict a charge he had
received, not to eat or drink in that place, nor to go
back by the fame way that he came. But the old
prophet told him, he was a prophet as well as he ;
and that an angel had fpdken to him by the word of
the Lord, and had bidden him bring him back with
him into his houfe, that he might eat and drink ; in
which, alas ! he lied unto him u.
Thus the good man, by giving heed to a pretended
meffage from an angel, delivered to him at fecond
hand by a man (and that too, one he knew not)
contrary to art exprefs command from God himfelf;
given immediately to himfelf, and miraculoufly con
firmed to him, fuffered himfelf to be milled to his
own ruin. For going back with the old prophet to
his houfe, the word of the Lord came to the old
prophet, as they fat eating and drinking at the table ;
and he thereupon cried unto the man of God that
came from Judah, Thus faith the Lord, " Forafmuch
as thou haft difobeyed the mouth of the Lord (the
word which thou hadft from his own mouth) and haft
not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God
commanded thee; but cameft back, and haft eaten
bread and drank water in the place, of which the
"Ki.igs xiii. Lerd

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 117
' Lord did fay to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no
water there ; thy dead body fhall not come unto the
fepulchre of thy fathers."
This, we may conclude, was an hard fentence to
the man of God ; and the harder, for that it came
from the mouth of him who had been the mifchie-
vous inftrument to betray him into that guilt, which
had drawn this judgment on him. But as it was a
trial to him, may he be a warning to others !
Now after the man of God had eaten and drank,
and was going homewards, a lion met him by the way,
and flew him, and his dead body was caft in the way,
and the afs on which he rode flood by it, and the
lion alfo ; for the lion did not eat the body, nor tear
the afs, which was an argument that this was not an
accidental thing, and that the lion did not kill the
man for hunger, fince he did not prey upon the body,
nor upon the afs.
The report of this was foon brought, by paffen-
gers that obferved it, to the city where the old pro
phet dwelt ; who no fooner heard it, but he faid,
** It is the man of God, who was difobedient unto
the word of the Lord : therefore the Lord hath de
livered him unto the lion, which hath flain him, ac
cording to the word of the Lord which he fpake un
to him." Then calling for his afs, he rode to the
place, and finding the dead body caft in the way,
with the afs and the lion yet /landing by, he took
up the body of the man of God, and laying it upon
the afs, brought it back to the city, that he might
mourn over it, and bury it : and having laid the
body in his own grave, he, with his family, mourned
over the man of God, faying, " Alas, my brother !" Then'
charging his fons, he faid, " When I am dead, bury
me in the fepulchre wherein the man of God is bu
ried, and lay my bones befide his bones : for the fay
ing which he cried, by the word of the Lord, 'againft
the altar in Bethel, and againft all the houfes of the
high-places, which are in the cities of Samaria, fhall
fwely come to pafs." I 3 The

n8 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
The latter part of this fentence, [viz. againft all
the houfes of the high-places which are in the cities
of Samaria,] may be fuppofed to have been added
by the compiler of this book of the Kings, who
herein fpeaks according to the time wherein he lived.
For we read not in the ftory before, ver. i, 2, 3. that
the man of God cried againft any other, either place
or thing, but that altar at Bethel, Nor was the
city Samaria built when this was tranfafted ; nor un
til Omri, having poffefl'ed himfelf of the Ifraelitifh
.throne (near fifty years after) bought the hill Samaria
of Shemer for two talents of filver, and having built
the city on it, called it, after the name of Shemer4
Shomeron, or Samaria, 1 Kings xvi. 24.
A thing fo remarkable, and fo publick, as was the
death of this man of God, may not be fuppofed could
be hid from Jeroboam w. And very likely it is, that
although Jeroboam at the firft was ftartled, with the
vifible fign of the rending of his altar, and the fen
fible lofs of the ufe of his hand j yet he quickly got
over both, and ftrengthened himfelf the more in his
rebellion againft God, when he underftood what
had befallen the man that had prophefied againft his
altar. For it follows in the text, " After this thing,
Jeroboam returned not from his evil way ; but made
again, of the loweft of the people, priefts of the high-
places : fo that whofoever would, he confecrated him
to be a prieft of thofe places ; and this thing became
fin unto the houfe- of Jeroboam, not only to cut it
off from the kingdom, but even to deftroy it from
off the face of the earth." And who knows but that,
as after Pharaoh king of Egypt had wilfully hardened
himfelf againft God, the Lord fuffered many things to
befall him for his further pbduration, fo Jeroboam,
having knowingly and refolvedly rebelled againft God,
in fetting up his calves, whereby he not only grie-
voufly finned himfelf, but caufed Ifrael alfo to fin, the
Lord might fuffer this to befall his prophet, not only
w 1 Kings xiii, to

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. n9
to be a general warning to others, how they varied
from the command of the^ord, butfora flumbling-block
in particular to Jeroboam ; as he afterward threatened a
people, who by their fins had highly provoked him,
that he would lay ftumbling-blocks before them,
Jer. vi. 21.
But if Jeroboam was very bad, Rehoboam was not
very good". As Nero, the Roman emperor, had his
quinquennium, a five years good reign, before he de
generated fo foully ; fo king Rehoboam had his
triennium, a three years good reign, wherein he walked
in the way of David, 2 Chron. xi. 17. before he for-
fook the Lord. But after thofe three years were over,
he and. his people Judah did evil in the fight of the
Lord, and provoked him to jealoufy with their fins
that they committed, above all that their fathers had
done. For they alfo built them high-places and images,
and groves on every high hill, and under every green
tree : and there were fodomites alfo in the land, and
they did according to all the abominations of the
nations, which the Lord had caft out before the chil
dren of Ifrael.
Wherefore the Lord chaftifed them by Shifhak king
of Egypt, who, in the fifth year of Rehoboam,
came up againft Jerufalem with twelve hundred
chariots, and threefcore thoufand horfemen, and an
innumerable company of people with him out of
Egypt, the Luhims, the Sukkiims., and the Ethio
pians: and with this great army, havi'ng taken the
fenced cities which belonged to Judah and Benjamin,
he marched to. Jerufalem.
And when; fear,, had feized upon them,, came She-
maiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to. the princes
of Judah, .who were gathered together becaufe. of
Shifhak, and this fhort meffage he delivered to
them : Thus faith the Lord, " Ye have forfaken me :
and therefore have I alfo left you in the hand of
Shifhak," * 1 Kings xiV'. » Cfeonx. xu*.
I. 4 Whfitt

via. SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
When they heard this, both the princes and the king,
humbling themfelves, faid, The Lord is righteous.
And when the Lord faw that they humbled themfelves,
the word of„the Lord came to the prophet Shemaiah
again, faying, They have humbled themfelves; " there
fore I will not deftroy them, but I will grant them.
fome deliverance, and my Wrath fhall not be poured
fully out upon Jerufalem by the hand of Shifhak;
neverthelefs they fhall be his fervants, that they may
know the difference between my fervice, and the fer
vice of the kingdoms of the countries."
So the king of Egypt, entering Jerufalem, took
away the treafures of the houfe of the Lord y (the
Lord fo permitting it) and the treafures of the king's
houfe,- he even took -away all ; carrying away alfo the
fhields of gold which Solomon had made, 2 Chron.
ix. 15, 16. Inftead of which, king Rehoboam af-~
terwards made fhields of brafs, and committed them
to the care of the chief of his guards that kept the
entrance of the king's houfe ; and when the king en
tered into the houfe of the Lord, the guards came
and fetched the fhields, and brought them again into
the guard-chamber.
As this depredation by the Egyptian king brought
heavinefs upon Judah, fo another occafion offered,
which brought forrow upon the Ifraelitifh court. For
young Ahijah,, king Jeroboam's fon, a prince of good
hope, falling fick, the king, his father, willing to
know of the prophet Ahijah what would become of
the child, yet not willing the prophet fliould know
that it was his child, defired his wife to difguife her-
felf, that it might not be known who fhe was, and fo
to go and inquire of the prpphet. Wherein he fuf-
ficiently fhewed his folly, in thinking the prophet, as
a prophet, could tell what fhould become of the child,
and yet could not tell whofe child it was.
The queen, however, diiguifing herfelf, as her huf
band had directed, and' faking with her a prefent fo*
y 1, Kings xiv. 2 Chrofl. xii, „
the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. m
the prophet of ten loaves of bread, fome wafer-
cakes, and a crufe or pot of honey, went to Shiloh,
to. the houfe where the prophet Ahijah dwelt.
He, good man, through extreme age, had loft his
fight. But before /he came in, the Lord had faid un
to him, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to afk
a thing of thee for her fon, for he is fick : thus, and
thus, fhalt thou fay unto her, for /he will feign herfelf
to be another woman.
When therefore Ahijah heard the found of her feet,
as fhe came in at the door, he faid, " Come in, thou
wife of Jeroboam : why feigneft thou thyfelf to be
another? for I am fent to thee with heavy news."
Then, without flaying for her meffage to him, he
began his meffage thus : " Go, tell Jeroboam, thusfaith
the Lord God pf Ifrael, Forafmuch as I exalted
thee from among the people, and made thee prince
over my people Ifrael, and rent the kingdom away
from the houfe of David^ and gave it to thee, and yet
thou haft nor been as my fervant David, who kept
my commandments, and who followed me with all
his heart, to do that, only which was right in mine
eyes, but haft done evil above all that were before-
thee, (for thou haft gone and made thee other gods,
and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and!
haft caft me behind thy back): therefore, behold, I
will bring evil upon the houfe of Jeroboam, and will
cut off from Jeroboam every male, and him that is
/hut up and left in Ifrael ; and will take away the
remnant of the houfe of Jeroboam, as a man taketh
away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of
Jeroboam in the city fhall the dogs eat; and hiiri .
that dieth in the field fhall the fowls of the air eat;
for the Lord God hath fpoken it, Arife thou there
fore, get thee to thine own houfe ; and when thy feet
fhall enter in, the child fhall die : and all Ifrael /hall
mourn for him and bury him, becaufe in him there is
found fome good thing towards the Lord .God of.
Ifrael, in the houfe of Jeroboam. Moreover, added
he, the Lord will raife him up a king oyer Ifrael, who
fhall

122 ' SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
fhall cut off the houfe of Jeroboam in that day."
Then ftopping on a fudden (as it were correcting
himfelf) he faid, " But what, even now." By thofe
abrupt fpeeches, fignifying, that he needed not have
fpoken in the future tenfe [the Lord will raife him up
a king :] for he was even now already in being.
Then purfuing his former fubject, he added, " For
the Lord will finite Ifrael as a reed is fhaken in the
water z (that is, by continual commotions in the king
dom ); and he will root up Ifrael out of this good
land, which he gave to their fathers, and will fcatter
them beyond the river Euphrates, becaufe they have
made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger;
and he will give up Ifrael, becaufe of the fins of Jero
boam, who not only finned himfelf, but made Ifrael
alfo to fin,"
**. With this doleful meffage Jeroboam's wife depart
ing, returned to Tirzah (which was then the royal
city before Samaria was built) and when fhe came to
the threfhold of the door, the child died. And they
buried him, and all Ifrael mourned for him, according
to the word of the Lord, which he fpake by his fer
vant Ahijah the prophet.
As for Rehoboam, the king of Judah, though he
lived twelve years after Shifhak king of Egypt had
facked Jerufalem, and brought him into fubjection; yet
we read not much of his publick acts afterwards. It
is faid, indeed, there were wars between Rehoboam
and Jeroboam continually, 2 Chron. xii, 15. but
with what fuccefs is not mentioned. Of his wives
and children there is mention, 2 Chron. xi, 18. and
he feems to be an uxorious man, for he is faid to
have defired a multitude of wives, ver. 23. And it
appears he took eighteen wives and threefcore con
cubines, and begat eight and twenty fons and three-r
feore daughters. And as of all his wives and con-
pubines he loved Maachah beft, (who is alfo called Mi-»
chaiah, 2 Chron. xiii, 2, and there faid to be the,
* I Kings xiv, z Vhroa. xh\ daughter

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 123
daughter of Uriel of Gibea; but in 2 Chron. xi. 21.
/he is called the daughter of Abfalom, as in 1 Kings
Xv, 2. the daughter of Abifhalom, from which, by
contraction, is drawn, Abfalom; not the rebellious fon
of DaVid, whofe iffue failed, 2 Sam. xviii. 18, but
another of Gibeah in Benjamin, who is fuppofed to
be the father of Uriel, and fo Maachah to be grand
daughter of this Abifhalom or Abfalom) fo of' all
his fons, he made Abijah, called alfo Abijam, 1 Kings
xiv. 31. whom he had by his beloved wife Maachah,
chief; preferring him to be ruler among his brethren,
as defigning him for his fucceffor in the kingdom,
2 Chron. xi. 21, 22.
And though, from his ill-advifed anfwer to his
people at his coming to the crown, whereby he loft;
ten parts out of twelve of his kingdom, he is in com
mon fpeech branded with folly ; yet, with refpect to
his adminiftration,' after he was fettled in the - go
vernment, he is faid to have dealt wifely, ver. 23,
However, in the feventeenth year of his reign, which
was the eight and fiftieth year of his age, he (lept
with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David,
and Abijah his fon reigned in his ftead.
It was in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam king of
Ifrael a, that Abijah began to reign over Judah. And
though his reign was but fhort (for he reigned but
three years) yet he did more than his father had done
in his longer reign of feventeen years, For, refolving
to give battle to Jeroboam, he led forth an army of
valiant men of war, confifting of four hundred thou
fand fighting men.
Jeroboam too, as he had a larger kingdom, intend
ing' to overpower him with numbers b, drew up an
army againft him, of eight hundred thoufand chofen
men, being mighty men of valour,
Abijah, nothing daunted at the double number of
his enemy's forces, when the battle was fet in array
on both fides, ftanding up upon mount Zemeraim,
a A. M. 3047, * i Kings xy, which

124 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
which is mount Ephraim, thus befpake the adverfe
army :
" Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Ifrael. Ought
ye not to know, that the Lord God of Ifrael gave
the kingdom over Ifrael to David for ever ; even to
him, and to his fons, by a covenant of fait (which,
as the property of it is to preferve things from pu
trefaction, is an emblem of duration and liability );
yet Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, the fervant of So
lomon the fon of David, is rifen up, and hath rebelled
againft his lord ; and there gathered unto him vain
men, the children of Belial, and have ftrengthened
themfelves againft Rehoboam the fon of Solomon,
when Rehoboam was but young (in the government)
and tender-hearted, and could not withftand them,
And now ye think to withftand the kingdom of the
Lord, in the hand of the fons of David, and ye be a
great multitude; and there are with you golden-
calves, which Jeroboam made for gods. Have
ye not caft out the priefts of the Lord, and the
Levites ; and have made you priefts after the
manner of the people of other lands ? fo that who-.
foever cometh to confecrate himfelf with a young
bullock and feven rams (a way of your own de-
vifing) the fame may be prieft to them that are no
gods. But as for us, the- Lord is our God, and we
have not forfaken him ; and the priefts, which mini-
fter unto the Lord, are the fons of Aaron, and the
Levites wait upon their bufinefs ; and they burn unto
the Lord, every morning and every evening, burnt-
facrifices and fweet incenfe ; the Zhew-bread alfo they
fet in order upon the pure table, and the candleftick
of gold, with the lamps thereof, to burn every even
ing ; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God,
but ye have forfaken him. And behold, God himfelf
is with us for our captain, and his priefts, with found
ing trumpets, are ready to try alarm againft you.
Wherefore, O children of Ifrael ! fight ye not againft
the Lord God of your fathers, for ye /hall not
profper." While

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 125
While thus Abijah was expoftulating with the Ifrael-
itifh army, Jeroboam, more mindful how he might,
by adding policy to force, obtain the more full and
eafy victory, caufed a part of his army to fetch a
compafs, and place themfelves in ambufh behind Ju
dah. So that when Abijah had ended his oration,
the men of Judah, looking back, found themfelves
inclofed by their enemies, battle being both before
and behind them.
In this ftreight they cried unto the Lord, and the
priefts founded with the trumpets ; then gave the
men of Judah a fhout, and God, regarding the cry of
Judah, fmote Jeroboam and Ifrael before Abijah and
Judah. Whereupon the children of Ifrael fled before
Judah ; and God having delivered them into their
hand, Abijah and his people flew them with a very
great flaughter : fo that there fell down flain of Ifrael
five hundred thoufand chofen men.
Very memorable was this battle, and may well be
reckoned for one of the battles of the Lord ; where
in four hundred thoufand men, under the difadvantage
of an ambufh, put eight hundred thoufand valiant
men to flight, and flew five hundred thoufand of them
Arpon the place.
Thus the children of Ifrael, who were wholly fallen
away to grofs idolatry, were brought under at that
time; and the children of Judah (though not fo good
as they fhould have been, yet comparatively good, as
being better than Ifrael) prevailed, becaufe they (at
this time at leaft)" relied upon the Lord God of their
fathers. The battle being over, Abijah, that he might
improve his victory, purfued after Jeroboam, and
took" from him divers eonfiderable cities, with the
towns and territories belonging to them, of which
Bethel Was one, where Jeroboam had fet up one of
his calf-idols ; by which mearts Jeroboam was fo
weakened, that he never recovered ftrength again in
the days of Abijahu But

126 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
But Abijah grew very great; and having enlarged
his family* by marrying fourteen wives, and beget
ting two and twenty fons, and fixteen daughters, he
flept with his fathers (which is a periphrafis of dying)
and was buried in the city of David. The reft of
his acts, and his ways and fayings, were recorded in
the commentaries of Iddo the prophet, a bopk long
finee loft.
To Abijah flicceeded his fon Afa in the kingdonj
of Judah, in the twentieth year of the reign of Je
roboam over Ifrael c. And becaufe his heart was per
fect with the Lord, and he did that which was right
and good in the eyes of the Lord his God, he had a
peaceable entry to his throne, and the land was
quiet for the firft ten years of his reign, that he might
reform the abufes which had been brought in under
the former reigns. Accordingly applying himfelf to
the work, he firft removed the fodomites out ef the
land. Then he took away the altars of the ftrange
gods, and the high-places'1 (as far as he could)' and
brake down the images, and cut down the groves,
throughout all the cities of Judah. And becaufe
Maachah, his mother, had made an idol in a. grove,
he not only deftroyed her idol, but removed her from
being queen. And having brought into the houfe of
the Lord the holy things, which his father and him
felf had dedicated (veflels of filver and of gold) he
commanded Judah to feek the Lord God of their
fathers, and to keep the law.
In this time alfo of peace and tranquillity he
builded cities in Judah, which he fenced with wall?
and towers, and with gates and bars, for the ftrength
and fecurity of his kingdom.
But after this ten years time of quiet, a ftormrofe
upon Judah ; for Zerah, the Ethiopian king0, came
forth againft them with a mighty hoft. Afa was not
unprovided, but had a confiderable army in readinefs,
of five hundred and fourfcore thoufand valiant fight-
* A. M. 3050. * 2 Chron. xiv. c A. M. 3060. ing

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 127
ing men, well armed, which he led forth againft
the Ethiopians. But Zerah's hoft was well nigh
double the number; for it confifted of a thoufand
thoufand fighting men, befides three hundred cha
riots. King Afa, feeing himfelf fo much over
matched in numbers, betook himfelf to the Lord
his God for help : and in an humble confidence cry
ing unto him, faid, " Lord, It is nothing with thee
to help, whether with many, or with them that have
no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely
on thee, and in thy name we go againft this multi
tude. O Lord, thou art our God, let no man pre
vail againft thee."
So acceptable was this fhort but hearty prayer of
Afa's to the Lord, that he thereupon fmote the Ethio
pians, and caufed them to fly before Afa and Judah,
who purfued them even to Gerar (which fignifies a
ftriving) where they received fo great an overthrow,
that they could not recover themfelves. Wherefore
Afa and his people fmote all the cities round about
Gerar (the Lord having ftruck a terror into them) ;
and when they had taken the /boils of the cities,
which afforded them great /tore of plunder, and the
fpoil of their enemy's hoft, they fmote alfo the tents
of them that kept cattle; and carrying away fheep
aqd camels in abundance, they returned to Jerufa
lem. But the Spirit of the Lord coming upon Azariah,
the fon of Oded (whom fome take to be the fame with
the prophet Iddo, mentioned before, chap. xiii. 22.)
he went out to meet Afa, and faid unto him, " Hear
ye me, Afa, and all Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is
with you, while ye are with him ; and if ye feek
him he will be found of you (as ye have had expe
rience in this expedition ): but, notwithftanding that,
if ye forfake him he will forfake youf." Now,
for a lpng feafon, Ifrael hath been without the true
{ 1 Kings xv. 2 Chron. xv.
God,

128 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
God, and without a teaching-prieft, and without law.
And in thofe times there was no fafety, either in going
out, or coming in, but great vexations were upon all
the inhabitants of the countries, and nation was de-
ftroyed of nation, and city of city ; for God did vex
them with all adverfity. But when in their trouble,
they did turn unto the Lord God of Ifrael, and
fought him, he was found of them. " Be ye ftrong
therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your
work fhall be rewarded."
When Afa had heard thefe words, and the prophe
cy alfo of Oded the prophet (or rather, perhaps, of
Ahijah the prophet, mentioned in i Kings xiv. from
ver. 7. to 17. and recorded by Oded, which it is pro
bable Azariah might then fhew him) he took courage;
and put away the reft of the abominable idols out of
all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the ci
ties which he had taken from mount Ephraim ; and
having renewed the altar of the Lord, which was be
fore the porch of the Lord's houfe, he gathered toge
ther all Judah and Benjamin, and the ftrangers with
them, out of Ephraim and Manaffeh, and out of Si
meon (for fo they are called, who out of the other tribes
fell to him j and they fell to him out of Ifrael in
abundance, when they faw that the Lord his God
was with him). And being thus affembled at Jeru
falem in the third month (in which the feaft of weeks;
or of harveft, commanded by God, Exod. xxiii. 16.
and Deut. xvi. 16. happened to fall) in the fifteenth
^ear of the reign of Afa, they offered unto the Lord,
of the fpoil which they had brought, feven hundred
oxen, and Jeven thoufand fheep ; and at the fame
time entered into a covenant, that they would feek
the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart
and foul ; fo that whofoever, whether fmall or great,
man or woman, would not feek the Lord God of If
rael, fhould be put to death. This covenant they
confirmed by oath unto the Lord, which they took fo
chearfully and heartily, that the Lord accepted their
fervice therein, and gave them reft round about. But

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 129
But while things thus mended in Judah, fome cori-
fiderable changes happened among the Ifraelites. For
Jeroboam did not long furvive the overthrow he had
received from Abijah; but being fmitten of God, he
died in the firft or fecond year of Afa king of Judah.
And Nadab his fon, who fucceeded him, both in his
kingdom and in his fins, had fcarce completed two
years reign, when Baafha, of the houfe of Iffachar,
confpiring againft him, flew him at the fiege of Gib-
bethon, a town belonging to the Danites, but held
then by the Philiftines.
Baafha, by this means poffefling himfelf of the
Ifraelitifh throne, fmote all the houfe of Jeroboam,
until he had utterly deftroyed him, not leaving one of
his family alive, to the fulfilling the faying of the
Lord, which he fpake by his fervant Ahijah the Shi-
lonite % ; " Becaufe of the fins of Jeroboam, which he
finned, and which he made Ifrael fin by his provo
cation, wherewith he provoked the Lord God of If
rael to anger."
But though Baafha thus feverely executed the juft
judgment of God upon Jeroboam's houfe, yet he him
felf departed not from Jeroboam's fins, but did evil
in the fight of the Lord, walking in the way of Je
roboam, and in his fin, wherewith he made Ifrael
to fin. For as Jeroboam fet up his idol-calves at
firft, to keep the Ifraelites, his fubjects, from going
up to worfhip at Jerufalem (whither God had com
manded them to go) left he fhould thereby lofe his
people and kingdom; fo Baafha, obferving his fubjects
out of all parts of Ifrael fell in great numbers to
Afa king of Judah, when they faw the Lord his God
was with him, and that he had begun a good work of
reformation, went up with his forces againft Judah, and
built Ramah; to the intent that he might let none
(any more) go out or come in to Afa king of Judah,
, Afa, not thinking himfelf ftrong enough to en
counter Baafha, took all the filver and gold that was
« 1 Kings xv. 2 Chron. xvi.
Vol. II. K left

j 30 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
left in the treafures of the houfe of the Lord, and the
treafures of his own houfe alfo, and fending them for
a prefent to Benhadad king of Syria (whofe feat was
then at Damafcus) put him in mind, by his ambaffa-
dors, of the league that had antiently been between
them and their fathers ; requefting him to break his
league with Baafha, and caufe him to give over his
enterprife, and to depart from him.
Benhadad, tempted with fo rich a prefent, fent his
armies againft the cities of Ifrael, and fmote divers
of them ; which when Baafha heard of, he left build*
ing Ramah, and returned to Tirzah, his royal city
(for Samaria -was ¦ not yet built) that he might take
care of his own affairs. And as foon as Baafha was
gone with his forces, Afa, by proclamation, calling
in all Judah to the work, pulled down the building
which Baafha had fet up at Ramah, and carrying
away the flones and timber thereof, did therewith
build two cities for himfelf, Gebah of Benjamin, and
Mizpah. But while king Afa was thus employed, Hanani
the feer came unto him, and faid h, " Becaufe thou
haft relied on the king of Syria, and not on the Lord
thy God, therefore is the hoft of the king of Syria
efcaped out of thy hand ;" that is, have withdrawn
themfelves, and left thee open to thy enemy, and defti?
tuteofhelp, if he fhould affault thee again. Then
reminding him of the great deliverance God had
formerly given him from Zerah the Ethiopian king,
he put him to confider how great an hoft the Ethio
pians and Lubims were (much greater than that of
Baafha, which he was fo afraid of) and yet, becaufe
he then relied on the Lord, the Lord delivered them
into his hands. " For the eyes of the Lord (faid the
prophet) run to and fro through the whole earth, that
he may fhew himfelf ftrong in the behalf of them
whofe heart is perfect towards him." Then, for a con-
clufipn, he tells him plainly and bluntly, " Herein thou
h 1 Kings xvi. 2 Chron. xvi. haft

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 131
haft done foolifhly: therefore from henceforth thou
fhalt have wars."
This plain-dealing, though from a man of God,
king Afa, as good as he was, could not brook ; but
being wroth with the feer, put him into prifon :
for he was in a rage with him becaufe of this thing.
And whether the people took the feer's part, or for
what other reafon, is uncertain; but it feems the king
oppreffed fome of the people at the fame time.
Better treatment had Jehu, the fon of this Hanani
the feer, from Baafha king of Ifrael, unto whom the
Lord fent him to denounce his judgment in thefe
terms :
" Forafmuch as I exalted thee out of the dull, and
made thee prince over my people Ifrael, and thou
haft walked in the way of Jeroboam, and haft made
my people Ifrael to fin, and to provoke me to anger
with their fins : behold, I will take away the pofteri-
ty of Baafha, and the pofterity of his houfe, and will
make thy houfe like the houfe of Jeroboam the fon
of Nebat. Him that dieth of Baafha in the city,
fhall the dogs eat ; and him that dieth of his in the
fields, fhall the fowls of the air eat."
This was fharp and home ; yet we do not read that
Baafha fell foul on the prophet for delivering to him
this dreadful doom.
So little agreement is there of chronology in the
reigns of thefe kings ', and fome others, after the
divifion of the kingdom, that I will not pretend to
give an exact account thereof; efpecially fince the clue
I have hitherto moftly followed doth here, as in
fome other places, fail me.
Probable it is, that Baafha did not live long after
the judgment, mentioned before, was delivered to
him by the man of God. He is faid to have flept
with his fathers, and Elah his fon to have fucceeded
him in the fix-and-twentieth year of Afa king of Ju
dah, 1 Kings xvi. ver. 6. and 8. yet Baafha's expedition
' 1 Kings xvi. 2 Chron. xvi,
K 2 againft

i32 SACRED HISTORY. Part in.,
againft Afa, in order to build Ramah, is faid to be
in the fix-and-thirtieth year of the reign of Afa,
2 Chron. xvi. i.
Some I know (as Tremellius and Junius) to recon
cile this difference, would have that fix-and-thirtieth
year to relate (not to Afa's reign, but) to the date of
the kingdom of Judah, from the divifion of the king
dom of Ifrael, at Rehoboam's coming to the crown ;
and to be but the fourteenth year of the reign of
Afa. But I fee not how that can be, fince this expe
dition of Baafha, for the building of Ramah, was
fome time after Afa had defeated the Ethiopian king;
for Hanani the feer upbraided Afa with having for
gotten the deliverance God had given him from the
Ethiopians, when he craved help of the Syrians againft
Baafha. And yet that defeat of the Ethiopians, or at
leaft the covenant for reformation, which thereupon
Judah entered into, is exprefly placed in the third
month of the fifteenth year of king Afa's reign. So
that that fix-and-thirtieth year, in which Baafha is
faid to go up to build Ramah (and which feems to have
been a good while after the reformation-covenant
made in Afa's fifteenth year ; for upon the making of
that covenant, the Lord gave them reft round about,
2 Chron. xv. 15.) can by no good computation be
made to be the fourteenth year of Afa's reign. I con
jecture, therefore, that this difference has been occa-
fioned through a flip of fome tranfcriber's pen. But
leaving others to their own conjectures alfo, having
given this hint, to fecure myfeif from the reader's
cenfure in point of chronology, too difficult in thefe
times to be made exactly out, I refume the thread of
the flory.
Baafha dying inthefix-and-twentieth year of the reign
of king Afa, Elah his fon fucceeded him, and reigned over
Ifrael two years, or rather part of two years : for in his fe
cond year, he being in Tirzah, drinking in the houfe
of Arza his fteward, his fervant Zimri, captain of hal£
his chariots, having confpired againft him, went in and
killed

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. . 133
killed him, in the feven and-twentieth year of Afa,
and reigned in his ftead.
And although his reign was very fhort (for he
-reigned but feven days) yet in that fhort time, and
as foon as he fat on his throne, as if he had been
raifed for nothing elfe but to execute the judgment
of the Lord, denounced by the prophet Jehu, againft
the houfe of Baafha, he flew all the family of Baafha,
not leaving him one alive, either of his kinsfolks or
friends. Mean while, the army being .encamped • againft
Gibbethon (then held from Ifrael by the Philiftines)
and hearing there that Zimri had not only confpired
againft, but alfo flaia. Elah their king, they made
Omri, the captain of the hoft, king over Ifrael that
-day in the camp.
Omri, thereupon railing his fiege from before Gib
bethon, led his army up to Tirzah, the royal city,
and there befieged Zimri k, who, not able to defend
the place when he faw the city was taken, went into
the royal palace, and fetting it on fire, burnt both it,
and himfelf in it, and fo died.
Then were the people of Ifrael divided into two
parts ; half the people following Tibni, the fon of
Ginath, to make him king ; and the other half fol
lowing Omri. But Omri's party in time prevailing,
Tibni died, and Omri reigned.
He is faid to have begun his reign over Ifrael in
the one-and-thirtieth year of Afa king of Judah, and
to have reigned twelve years ; and his fon Ahab to
have, fucceeded him, in the eight-and-thirtieth year
of Afa; which cannot be, unlefs Omri's- twelve years
be computed from Elah's death, and take in the time
wherein Tibni and Omri were competitors for the
crown, which is fuppofed to have been four years ;
and on that reckoning it will come near the matter.
, However, Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the
Lord, and did worfe than all that had been before

k A. M. 3075.
KT

himj

*34- -SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
him j for he hot only walked in all the ways of Jero
boam the fon of Nebat, and in his fin wherewith he
made Ifrael to fin, to provoke the Lord God of Ifrael
to anger with their vanities ; but he made laWs (cal
led long after the Statutes of Omri) to bind the people
thereunto, as appears from the words of the prophet
Micah, ch. vi. 16.
As for his publick acts, though it is probable there
might be fome that were remarkable, becaufe we
are here referred to the book of the Chronicles^of the
kings of Ifrael for them, and for his might which
he fhewed ; yet there being no mention of his acts,
or of his might, in the books of the Chronicles now
extant, we can give no further account of him, fave
that he bought the hill of Samaria of Shemer for
two talents of filver (in value feven hundred and fif
ty pounds fteriing) and thereupon built the city,
which from Shemer he called Samaria, and which
was afterwards the metropolis and royal feat of the
Ifraelitifh kingdom.
To. him fucceeded Ahab his fon, in the eight-and
thirtieth year of Afa king of Judah, who reigning
two-and-twenty-years over Ifrael in Samaria, did fa
far outftrip his father in wickednefs, that he is faid
to have done evil in the fight of the Lord above
all that were before him ; and to. have . provoked the
Lord God of Ifrael to anger more than all the kings
of Ifrael that went before him had done. For as
if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the
fins of Jerpboam the fon of Nebat, he took to wife
Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zido
nians ; and having thereupon built an houfe for Baal
in Samaria, and reared up an altar to Baal therein,
he ferved Baal, and worfhipped him, and made a grove
for idols.
By thefe abominations highly provoked, the Lord
fent Elijah the Tifhbite ' (who is alfo called Elias,
1 i Kings -xvii, Luke

Partlir. SACRED HISfORY. i3$
Luke iv. 25.) to denounce a judgment againft Ifrael,
who, coming unto Ahab, faid, " As the Lord God
of Ifrael liveth, before whom I ftand (that is, whom
I wait upon, or whofe fervant I am) there fhall not be
either rain or dew thefe years (to wit, three years and
fix months : for fo both our Saviour, in Luke iv.
25. and the apoftle James, chap. v. 17. bound the
time) but according to my word," that is, as the Lord
/hall fpeak by me.
After the prophet had delivered this meffage, that
he might himfelf be out of the reach of the famine
which this drought would produce, and out of the
reach of the wrathful-king, the word of the Lord came
to him again"1, faying, "Get thee hence, and turn
thee eaftward, and hide thyfelf by the brook Cherith,
which is before Jordan : of which brook thou fhalt
drink ; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee
there." -v
Thither therefore went Elijah, as the Lord had
appointed him ; and taking up his abode by the brook,
the ravens brought him bread and flefh morning and
evening, and he drank of the brook ; but it came to
pafs after a while, that, the brook dried up, becaufe
there had been no rain in the land.
Then came the word of the Lord to him again,
faying, cc Get thee to Zarephath (called Sarepta, Luke
iv. 26.) a town belonging to Zidon, and dwell there;
for I have commanded a widow woman there to fuf-
tain thee," So he arofe, and went to Zarephath,
and . coming to the gate of the city, faw the widow
woman there gathering of flicks ; and calling to her,
he defired her to fetch him a little water, that he might
drink. As fhe was going to- fetch it, he called to her
again, defiring her to bring a morfel of bread in her
hand. Whereupon fhe anfwered, " As the Lord thy
God liveth, I have not fo much as a cake, but an
>» Af M, 3087,
K \ handful

136 SACRED HISTORY, Part III.
handful only of meal in a barreL and a little oil in a
crufe : and behold, I am gathering a few flicks, that
i may go in, and drefs it for me and my fon, that
we may eat it;" and then I expect no other, but to
die for want of more food.
Then faid Elijah to her, " Fear not, go and do as.
thou haft faid ; but make me thereof a little cake
firft, and bring it unto me ; and afterwards make for,
thee and thy fon. For thus faith the Lord God of
Ifrael, The barrel of meal fhall not wafte, neither
/hall the .crufe of oil fail, until the day that the Lord
fhall fend rain upon the earth."
The poor woman, whofe heart the Lord had be-..
fore difpofed to receive the prophet (though fhe
knew him not) made no difpute, but did according
as he bid her; and fhe, and he, and her family, did
eat (of this little ftore) many days j for the barrel of
meal wafted not, neither did the crufe of oil fail ; but
held out, according to the word of the Lord, which
he fpake by Elijah.
But though this woman and her fon, for her care
of the prophet, were preferved alive from the famine ";
yet after this, and while the prophet yet tarried with
her, it came to pafs that the woman's fon fell fick ;
and his ficknefs was fo fore, that there was no breath
left in him, which is a periphrafis of dying. Where
upon the forrowful mother, coming to Elijah, faid,
*' What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God ?
Art thou come unto me, to call my fin to remembrance,
and to flay my fon ?'.' rf«
Elijah thereupon wi/hei her to give him her fon,
and withal took him Out of her bofom ; and car-i
rying him up into the chamber where he ufed to lie,
he laid him down' upon his'own bed'; and crying unto
the Lord, faid, " Q Lord my God, haft thou alfo
brought evil upOn the widow, with whom I fojourn,
by flaying her fon?" Then ftretching himfelf upon the
child three times, he ftill cried unto the Lord, fay*
» A. M. 3096, ing,

Part HI." SACRED HISTORY. 137
ing; " O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's
foul come into him again." And the Lord was gracioufly
pleafed to hear the voice of his fervant Elijah, fo that the
foul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
Then took Elijah the child, and brought him down
out of the chamber into the houfe, and delivering
him to his mother, faid, " See, thy child is alive."
At which the joyful mother faid, " Now by this I
know that thou art a man of God, and that the
word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth."'
When the time was near expired which God had
appointed for the drought to laft, the word of the
Lord came to Elijah, faying, " Go, fhew thyfelf un-
to Ahab, and I will fend rain upon the earth."
Whereupon Elijah fet forward to go unto Ahab.
But in the mean while, the famine raging forely
throughout Ifrael, Ahab calling to him Obadiah, the
governor of his houfe, a man that greatly feared the
Lord, and fhewed it by preferving the Lord's pro
phets, when Jezebel cut many of them off; he faid
unto him, " Let us go through the land, unto all
fountains of water, and unto all brooks, to fee if we
can find grafs to fave the horfes and mules alive,
that we lofe not all the beaftsV
Dividing thereupon the land between them, with
intention to fearch it thoroughly, Ahab the king,
without guard or attendance, went one way by him
felf, and Obadiah went another way by himfelf. And
Providence fo difpofing, it fell out, that as Obadiah
was on his way, Elijah met him ; and Obadiah know
ing him, fell on his face, and with joy faid, " Art
thou that my Lord Elijah?" I am, replied he: and
therefore go tell thy lord, that Elijah is here.
Alas ! faid Obadiah, " What great offence have I
committed, that thou fhouldft deliver thy fervant in
to, the hand of Ahab to flay me ? As the Lord thy
God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom (that is
iubject to or in league with Ifrael) whither the king
? 1 Kings xviii. ha^

i38- SACRED H I S T O RY. Part III*
hath not fent to feck thee ; and when they faid he is
not there, he took an oath of the kingdom or nation
that they found thee not. And now thou fayeft, Go
tell thy lord, behold, Elijah is here. Whereas; it
may fo come to pals, that as foon as I am gone from
thee, the fpirit of the Lord may carry thee I know
not Whither ; and then, if I fhould go and tell
Ahab thou art here, and he cannot find thee, he will
flay me. But I hope I have not deferved fo ill of
thee ; for I thy fervant fear the Lord, and have done
fo from my youth. Hath it not been told my lord
what I did, when Jezebel flew the prophets of the*
Lord ? How I hid an hundred of the Lord's prophets
by fifty in a cave, and provided them food ? and yet
now thou fayeft, Go tell thy lord Elijah is here, and
fo he may flay me." Nay, replied Elijah, do not fear
that ; " for as the Lord thy God liveth, before whom
I ftand, I will furely fhew myfeif unto him to-day."
With this affurance away went Obadiah to find'
king Ahab ; whom having found, and told him that
Elijah was come, he hafted to meet Elijah; and, as
foon as he was come to him, faluted him with this
rough greeting, " Art thou he that troubleth Ifrael ?"
The prophet, not behind with him, bluntly anfwered,
" No, I have not troubled Ifrael ; but thou and thy
father's houfe, in that ye have forfaken the command
ments •. of the Lord, and thou haft followed Baalim.
Now, therefore (added he) that it may appear what
have been the troublers of Ifrael, fend and gather to me
all Ifrael unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of
Baal four, hundred and fifty, with the four hun*
dred prophets of . the groves, which feed at Jezebel's
table." Accordingly Ahab fummqned the children of Ifrael,
and with them the prophets (at leaft thofe of Baal)
to affemble at mount Carmelp. And there Elijah com
ing among them, faid to the people, " How long
halt ye between two opinions" ? If, upon the trial now t9
r A. M. 3087, be

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 139
be made, it fhall appear to you that the Lord is God,
follow him; but if Baal, then follow him." But the
doubtful people anfwered him not a word.
Then faid Elijah to them, " I, even I only (that
I know of) remain a prophet ; but the prophets of
Baal (befides the four hundred prophets of the groves,
who perhaps were not come) are four hundred and
.fifty men. Let therefore, for the deciding of this
controverfy, be two bullocks given us, and let them
choofe out one of the two bullocks for themfelves,
and let them cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood,
but put no fire under. And I will drefs the other
bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under
.neither. And call ye (faid he) turning to Baal's pro
phets) on the name of your gods, and I will call on
the name of the Lord ; and the God that anfwereth by
fire, let him be God."
This propofition fo pleafed the people, that they
faid it is well fpoken. Come then, faid Elijah to the
-prophets of Baal, feeing ye are many, do ye begin.
-" Choofe ye one of the bullocks for yourfelves, and
drefs it, and call on the name of your gods ; but put
-no fire under."
The prophets, thus provoked, took their bullock^
and dreffed it, and called on the name of Baal from
morning even until noon, faying, " Baal hear us."
But there was no voice, nor any that anfwered.
Whereupon they leaped either upon the altar, or up
and down at or about the altar that was made.
When they had thus toiled themfelves till noon,
Elijah (not in a light fpirit, but in an holy zeal againft
their idolatry and contempt of their idol, and the
more effectually to expofe them to the people) mocked
them, and bid them cry aloud : for, faid he, your
god is fuch a god, as is either talking, and fo doth not
heed you ; or he is in an hot purfuit, or in a journey,
and fo cannot mind you ; or (which is worfe) perhaps
he is faft afleep, and muft with loud calling be awaked
before he can hear you. Whether

140 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Whether thofe prophets were fenfible that Elijah
did deride them or not, yet they ftretched their
throats, and cried aloud ; and when they found that
did not avail, they cut themfelves, after their man
ner, with knives and lancets, till the blood gufhed
out upon them. This was the manner of the heathen
antiently to exprefs extreme forrow, which God had
exprefly forbidden his people to imitate, Levit. xix.
28. and Deut. xiv. 1.
Having thus gone on, in a fort of prophetick fury,
from mid-day to the time of offering the evening-fa-
crifice ; and there being no voice, nor anfwer given
them, nor any appearance that they were regarded,
Elijah then invited all the people to cpme near unto
him, which they did.
Then that he might repair the altar of the Lord,
which was broken down, and thereby give the people
a fair invitation, by reuniting themfelves to their bre
thren of Judah, to repair the breach long fince made
in the tribes of Ifrael, ' he took twelve ftones, accord
ing to the number of the tribes of the fons of Ja
cob, to whom the word of the Lord came, faying.
" Ifrael (aprevailer with God) fhall be thy name"(j'nr
t-imating thereby the faith and firm confidence he had,
that he' fhould, at this time, and in this great trial,
prevail with the Lord ; and through his powerful
help fhould prevail over his and their enemies, the
prophets of Baal), and therewith built an altar in the
name of the Lord, and made a fair trench about it.
And having put the wood in order, and cut the bul
lock in pieces, and laid it on the wood, he gave or
der that four barrels pf water fhould be poured upon
the facrifice and the wood. Which being done, he
caufed it to be repeated a fecond and third time, un
til the water ran about the altar, and then he filled
the trench alfo with water. The intention of which
feems to be, that he might prevent all fufpicion of col-
lufion, and render the expected miracle moreconfpicuous
and inconteftable, when they fhould fee a fire break forth,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 141
forth and burn, contrary to its nature, in the midft
of water.
All things thus difpofed in due order, and the time
of the offering of the evening-facrifice being come,
Elijah the prophet drew near, and addreffing himfelf
by prayer to God, faid, " O Lord God of Abraham,
of Ifaac, and of Ifrael, let it be known this day that
thou art God in Ifrael, and that I thy fervant have,
done all thefe things at thy word, Hear me, O Lord,
hear me, that this people may know that thou art the
Lord God, and that their heart may be turned back
again from their idols unto thee."
No fooner had the prophet, in the ftrength of faith,
and fervency of his fpirit, poured forth his fupplica
tion to the Lord, but the fire of the Lord fell, and
confumed not the burnt-facrifi.ee only and the wood,
but the very ftones and the dull, licking up alfo the
water that was in the trench. At fight whereof, the
people falling on their faces, brake forth into admira
tion and acknowledgment, faying, " The Lord he
is the God, The Lord he is the God."
Elijah had a watchful eye on the falfe prophets (who
it feems were providing to fhift for themfelves) ; and not
willing to flip this opportunity of freeing Ifrael from
fo many wicked inftruments, he called out to the
people to apprehend the prophets of Baal. Which
being done, he brought them down to the brook
Kifhon, and flew them (that is, caufed them to be flain)
there. This act of his, though it carried in it a ihew
of great feverity, was yet purfuant to the law of
God, Deut. xiii. 6. to 12. fuited to that difpenfation ;
befldes that it did typically fet forth how the inward
enemies of the foul fhould be dealt with.
Then turning himfelf to king Ahab, he advifed
him to ' get up, and to eat and drink to refrefh
himfelf (not fparing any longer, as before, for fear
' the provifion fliould not hold out) : for, faid he,
" There is a found of abundance of rain."
But while Ahab was eating and drinking, Elijah
going up to the top of Carmel, caft himfelf down on

14* SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
on the earth ; and putting his face between his knees,
bid his fervant go up, and look towards the fea. The
fervant went up and looked, and returning, told him
he faw nothing. Whereupon he bid him go again fe-'
ven times. The fervant did fo : and at the feventh
time, faid, " Behold, there arifeth a little cloud out
of the fea like a man's hand." The prophet there
upon bid him go, and fay unto Ahab, " Prepare thy
chariot, and get thee dpwn, that the rain flop thee
not." Ahab perceiving the fky overcaft, fo that the
heaven was grown black with clouds and wind, hafted
away to Jezreel, and there was a great rain. Yet the
hand of the Lord (that is, his power) was on Elijah,
ftrengthening him fo, that girding up his loins (where
by he tucked up his long garment, which would
otherwife have been an hindrance to him) he ran be
fore Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
Being got thither, the- king quickly related to Je
zebel his queenq all that Elijah had done; and par
ticularly how he had flain all the prophets. At which
the revengeful queen was fo enraged, that, by a mef
fenger fent on purpofe, fhe faid to Elijah, " So let
the gods do to me, and more alfo, if I make not-
thy life as the life of one of them, by to-morrow this
time." When Elijah had received this menacing meffage,
confidering with himfelf the vindictive nature of the
queen, and the power fhe had with the king her huf
band, he thought it his duty, having performed the
fervice he came for, to provide in time for his own
fafety. Wherefore, taking this for a providential
warning, he arofe, and leaving Jezreel, went for his-
life till he came to Beerfheba, a city belonging to
Judah, and fo out of the dominion of the king of
Ifrael1 ; and leaving his fervant there, he himfelf went
a day's journey further into the wildernefs : where
fittingdown under a juniper-tree, he requeftedfor himfelf
that he might die, faying, " It is enough now, 0
» 1 Kings 19. ' A. M. 3092. Lord,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 143
Lord, take away my life, for I am not better than
my fathers, that my life fhould be prolonged."
While thus he lay under the juniper-tree, his fpirit
oppreffed with forrow, and his body wearied with long
travel, he fell afleep. But he had not flept long,
before an angel touching him, bid him arife and eat.
He thereupon ftarting up, faw a cake baked on the
coals, and a crufe (or pot) of water Handing at his
head : of which he eat and drank, and laid him down
again. But the angel of the. Lord coming again, and
touching him the fecond time, faid unto him, " Arife,
and eat ; for the journey is too great for thee to go
through with that food." He thereupon arifing, did
eat and drink again : and went in the ftrength of that
meat, forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb, the
mount of God.
Being got to Horeb, he. entered into a cave, and
lodged there. And behold the word of the Lord
came to him, and afked him, " What doft thou here,
Elijah?" He anfwered, " I have been very jealous for
the Lord God of hofts : for the children of Ifrael
have forfaken thy covenant, thrown down thine al
tars (that is, have forfaken thy worfhip) and flain thy
prophets with the fword; and I, I only (fo far as I
know) am left, and they feek my life alfo to take it
away," Then faid the Lord to him, " Go forth, and /land
upon the mount before me." Which he doing, the
Lord pafled by, and a great and ftrong wind rent
the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before
the Lord : but the Lord was not in the wind. And
after the wind, an earthquake : but the. Lord was not
in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire :
but the Lord was not in the fire." By all which em
blems the prophet was inftructed, that the Lord was
fufficiently able to overturn his enemies by a mighty
power, though he did not choofe to appear in that
way. But after the fire there was a ftill fmall voice ;
which, when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his
mantle, and going out, flood in- the entrance of the
cave :

144 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
cave : where he heard a voice faying to him, as be
fore, " What doft thou here, Elijah?" To which
when he had given the fame anfwer which he had
given to the like queftion before, the Lord faid un
to him, " Go, return on thy way to the wildernefs
of Damafcus : and when thou comeft thither, anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria."
" And Jehu, the fon of Nimfhi, fhalt thou caufe to
be anointed king oyer Ifrael. And Elifha the fon of
Shaphat, of Abel-meholah, fhalt thou anoint to be
prophet in thy room. And it fhall come to pafs, that
him that efcapeth the fword of Hazael, fhall Jehu
flay. And him that efcapeth the fword of Jehu, fhall
Elifha flay. For though thou thinkeft that thou art
left alone ; yet have I feven thoufand left me in Ifrael,
all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal, and
every mouth which hath not kiffed (that is, worfhip
ped) him."
Elijah hereupon departing thence, in his way found
Elifha, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen
before him, himfelf following the twelfth : and as he
pafled by him, he caft his mantle upon him.
Elifha, who underftood the meaning of the mantle
being thrown upon him, ftraitway leaving the oxen,
ran after Elijah, and faid, " Let me, I pray thee,
kifs my father and my mother :" that is, take my
leave of my relations. But Elijah, giving him a fhort
anfwer, only faid, " Go, return : for what have I done
to thee?" Elifha thereupon turning back from him,
fleW a yoke of his own oxen, and not flaying for
other wood, boiled their flefh with the inftruments
of the oxen ; and having given it to the people to
eat, followed Elijah, and became his fervant.
While thefe things were tranfacting in Ifrael, Afa
king of Judah, having reigned thirty-and-nine years y
and in that time grown from better to worfe, was
taken with a difeafe in his feet, which held him to his
' 2 Chron. xvi. death.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i4J
death. And although it increafed upon him, until it
was grown very violent ; yet in his difeafe he fought
not to the Lord ; but, as his own name fignified a phy-
Jician (or healer of fickneffes) he put his confidence
in the phyficians. Wherefore the Lord left him to
his doctors : and after three years mifery, he ended
his life in the one-and-fortieth year of his reign, and
was buried in his own fepulchre which he had made
for himfelf, in the city of David, being laid in the
bed which was filled with fweet odours, and divers
kinds of fpices prepared by the apothecary's art,, and
they made a very great burning for him.
His fon Jehofliaphat, being then five-and-thirty
years of age, began his reign over Judah in the
fourth year of Ahab king of Ifrael. And in his en
trance into the government, he ftrengthened himfelf
againft Ifrael, by placing forces in all the fenced ci
ties of Judah, and fetting garrifons in the cities of
Ephraim, which Afa his father had taken', and
throughout the land of Judah. And the Lord was
with Jehofliaphat, becaufe he walked in the firft way
of his father David. So we read it here, ver. 3.
But it may be queftioned, whether David be not here
flipped in, in the place of Afa : for in 1 Kings xxii.
43. and in 2 Chron. xx. 32. Afa is named, not Da
vid ; and it is certain, Afa's firft days were better
than his laft. But if we read it (as here) in the
firft ways of his father David, we muft underftand it
of David's ways, before he tranfgreffed in the cafe of
Bathfheba and Uriah.
For further commendation of Jehofliaphat, it is
added, that he fought not unto Baalim (that is, to
any idol) : but fought to the Lord God of his fathers,
walking in his commandments, and not after the
doings of Ifrael, who had both revolted from the
government, and feparated from the worfhip which
God had fet up.
And becaufe Jehofliaphat did thus cleave unto the
Lord, the Lord eftablifhed the kingdom in his hand,
' 2 Chron, xvii.
Vol. II. L and

i46 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and all Judah brought, him prefents : fo that he had
riches and honour in abundance. And his heart being
enlarged, and he encouraged in the way of the Lord,
he went on with more fervent zeal in the work of
God : and not only took out of the land the remnant
of the fodomites, which remained in the days of his
father Afa", I Kings xxii. 46. but took away alfo the
high-places and groves out of Judah, 2 Chron. xvii. 6.
which latter yet muft be underftood with fome qua
lification or allowance : for it is faid exprefly, both in
2 Chron. xx. 33. and 1 Kings xxii. 43. that the high-
places were not taken away. It might therefore be,
that they were taken away in part, not wholly; in
fome places, not every -where. As we read of king Afa
(this Jehofhaphat's father) that he took away the fo
domites out of the land, 1 Kings xv, 12. and yet it
feems there was a remnant of them in the days of Afa,
which Jehofhaphat his fon did afterwards root out,
1 Kings xxii. 46.
In the third year of his reign, Jehofhaphat fent to
divers of his princes, directing them to take with them
certain Levites and priefts (whofe names are recorded,
2 Chron. xvii. 7, 8.) and go teach in the cities of.
Judah. Thefe taking With them the book of the law,
went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught-
the people. And that they might not be interrupted
in fo good a work, the fear of the Lord fell upon
all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about
Judah ; fo that they made no war againft Jehofha
phat. Nay, fome of the Philiftines brought Jehofha
phat prefents, and tribute-filver : and the Arabians
brought him flocks, which were tokens of homage.
Jehofhaphat thus growing exceeding great, he
built in Judah caftles and cities of flore. And as
he had much bufinefs in the cities Of Judah, fo he had
a -great army at -'Jerufalem, .and his men of war were
mighty men of valour. Of thefe he had one million,
one hundred and* jthreefcore thoufand always in arms,
and ready at his'.c'WT^mand, befides thofe that lay in
garrifon in the fetf#?d cities, throughout all Judah.
0 1 Kings xx. While-

Part III. SACRED HISTO RY. 147
While thus Jehofhaphat was Ordering the affairs of
his kingdom of Judahw, Ahab king of Ifrael received
an haughty meffage from Benhadad king of Syria,
Who having gathered all his hoft together, and having
two-and-thirty kings with him, with horfes and cha
riot?, went up and befieged Samaria; and from his
camp fent heralds into the city to king Ahab, who
were commanded to fay unto him, Thus faith Ben
hadad, " Thy filver and thy gold is mine, thy wives
alfo, and thy children, even the goodlieft are mine."
To which bold demand, timorous Ahab returned this
humble anfwer ; (C My Lord, O king, according to
thy faying, I am thine, and all that I have."
The Syrian king, by this fubmiflion groWn more
arrogant, fent his heralds again, giving them in charge
. to fay to Ahab, Thus faith Benhadad, " Although I have
fent thee word, that thou fhouldeft deliver me thy
filver and thy gold, with thy wives and thy chil
dren ; yet to-morrow, about this time, I will fend my
fervants unto thee, and they fhall fearch thine houfe,
and the houfes of thy fervants, and fhall take away
whatfoever is pleafant in thine eyes."
This ftartled Ahab, finding the Syrian king thus
grow upon him : not knowing where it would ftop, if
he fhould fuffer his enemies to enter the city under
this pretence. Wherefore calling to him the elders of
the land, he faid to them, " Mark, I pray you, and
fee how this man feeketh mifchief : for when he fent
unto me for my wives, and for my children, for my
filver and my gold, I denied him not, and yet he is
not fatisfied." When the elders and the people heard
this, they advifed him not to hearken to him, nor to
confent to his demand. Whereupon he bid the he
ralds of Benhadad tell their king, " All that thou didft
fend for at the firft, I will do, but this thing I may
not do." And with this anfwer he difmiffed them.
But when Benhadad heard this anfwer, he in great
fury fent to him again with this intuiting threat,
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L 2 " The

14& SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
" The gods do fo unto me, and more alfo, if the duft
of Samaria fhall fuffice for handfuls, for all the people
that follow me."
To this proud boaft, Ahab, grown now a little
more hardy and refolved, returned him only this pro
verbial faying, " Let not him that girdeth on his ar
mour, boaft himfelf as he that putteth it off." This
nipping anfwer fo nettled the proud Syrian (who, with
his affociate kings, was drinking in their pavilions)
that immediately he gave order to his fervants to
plant their batteries againft the city, which they did.
Mean while the Lord, moved with compaffion to
wards Ifrael, and highly provoked by the proud infults
of the Syrian king, fent a prophet to Ahab, king of
Ifrael, with this meffage ; " Thus faith the Lord, Haft
thou feen all this great multitude? Behold, I will de
liver it into thine hand this day, and thou fhalt know
that I am the Lord."
Ahab, though an enemy to God, and no friend to
his prophets, being now in a great ftreight, was glad
to afk, and willing to take courtfel. Wherefore, when
the prophet had told him that the Lord would de
liver this great multitude into his hand, he prefently
afked, " By whom ?" and the prophet, in thenameof the
Lord, anfwcring, " By the young men (or fervants) of
the princes of the provinces -," the king afked, Who
ihould order the battle ? To which the prophet an-
fwering, Thou; he thereupon numbering the young
men of the princes of the provinces, found them to be
two hundred thirty-and two. And after that, num
bering alfo all the people of the children of Ifrael,
that he had then with him in the city, he could make
up but feven thoufand of them.
The mufter thus made, at noon the young men
(fervants to the princes of the provinces) fallied out
of the city firft, of which notice was quickly given
to Benhadad (who, with his two-and-thirty affiftant
kings, was ftill drinking in the pavilions). He, not
thinking it worth his notice, gave order, that whether
they came forth for peace, or for war, they Ihould be
taken

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 149
taken alive. But he did not find it fo eafy a matter :
for the young men, followed by the reft of the little
army, gave fo vigorous an onfet, that every one of
them flaying his man, they put the Syrians to flight.
Whereupon the king of Ifrael purfuing them with
all the fmall force he had, fmote the horfes and the
chariots, and flew the Syrians with a great flaughter;
Benhadad himfelf hardly efcaping on horfeback with
the horfemen.
Then came the prophet to king Ahab again, and
warned him to ftrengthen himfelf, and make good
provifion for his" defence j for at the return of the year,
faid he, the king of Syria will come up againft thee
again. And fo it proved.
For the fervants of the king of Syria (to excufe
themfelves, and wipe off the flain of their fo great defeat
by fo fmall a number) told him, " The gods of the
Ifraelites are gods of the hills ; and we fighting them
in the hill-country, they were too ftrong for us there.
But let us fight againft them in the plain (faid they)
and furely we lhall be ftronger than they."
Wherefore they advifed their king to take this
courfe, viz. to fet afide the two-and-thirty kings, and
put fo many captains in their rooms ; and to raife an
army, like for numbers to that he had loft, horfe for
horfe, and chariot for chariot, and choofe his ground
to fight on in the plain ; and then they were confi
dent they fliould be ftronger than the Ifraelites.
Purfuant to this counfel, at the return of the year,
Benhadad, having numbered the Syrians, went up to
Aphek (a city belonging to the tribe of Afher, Jofh.
xix. 30. but po/feffed by the Syrians) to fight againft
Ifrael. And the Ifraelites, being alfo numbered, and
furnifhed. with provifions, went out againft them, and
pitched before them in two battalions, like two .
little flocks of kids ; but the Syrians filled the country.
While thus the two armies flood facing one ano
ther, there came a man of God, and faid to the king
of Ifrael, Thus faith the Lord, " Becaufe the Syrians
have faid, the Lord is God of the hills, but he is not
L 3 God

i5« sacred History. Part iii.
God of the vallies : therefore will I deliver all this
great multitude into thine hands, and thou fhalt know
fhat I am the Lord."
When now the armies flood waiting for the fignal
feven days", Ahab, encouraged by this meffage from
the Lord, joined the battle : and that handful (as it
were) of men of the children of Ifrael, flew of the
Syrians an hundred thoufand footmen in one day.
The reft fled to Aphek, and got into the city for fafer
ty ; but a wall there fell upon feven-and-twenty thou
fand of the men that were left.
As for king Benhadad himfelf, he fled among the
reft to Aphek, and getting into the city hid himfelf
in an inner chamber. And there his fervants coming
to him told him, they had heard that the kings of the
houfe of Ifrael were merciful kings : wherefore they
defired him to give leave that they, putting fack^
cloth on their loins, and ropes about their necks,
might go out to the king of Ifrael ; peradventure,
faid they, he will fave thy life.
Their king confenting, they, putting on their fack-
cloth and halters, went to the king of Ifrael, and faid
unto him, " Thy fervant Behadad faith, I pray thee
let me Jive." Ahab, who knew not but he had been
flain in the battle, kindly anfwered, " Is he yet alive?
He is my brother,"
Now the men did diligently obferve whether any
favourable word would drop from him ; and hearing
the word [brother] they did haftily catch it : where
fore repeating their petition, they faid, " Thy bro
ther Benhadad, &c," Whereupon Ahab bid them go,
and bring him to him; which they having done,
Ahab took him up into the chariot to him. Ben
hadad being thus on a fudden, and unexpectedly, re
ceived into favour; to fhew his thankfulnefs, faid to
Ahab, as they rode together, " The cities which my
father took from thy father (or predeceffor rather,
viz. Baafha, chap, xv, 20.) I will reftore ; and thou
* A. M. 3105. /halt

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 151
/halt make ftreets for thee in Damafcus, as my father
made in Samaria." So Ahab, liking thefe condi
tions, made a covenant with Benhadad, and fetting
him at liberty, fent him away.
Hereupon the Lord fent a prophet to reprove
Ahab for having difmiffed the Syrian king, whom he
had delivered into his hand. And the prophet, in
tending to catch Ahab by a parabolical fpeech (as
Nathan once did David, 2 Sam. xii.) and make him
pafs fentence on himfelf, that he might affimilate himfelf
to the perfon he intended to reprefent (which was a
wounded foldier) faid unto his neighbour, in the word
of the Lord " Smite me, I pray thee :" but the man
(perhaps not underftanding his purpofe) refufed .to
finite him. Whereupon the prophet faid unto him,
fC Becaufe thou haft not obeyed the voice of the Lord,
as foon as thou art departed from me, a lion /hall
flay thee ;" and fo it proved ; for as foon as he was
departed from the prophet, a lion found him, and
flew him. Then faid the prophet to another man
whom he found, " Smite me, I pray thee :" and that
man fmote him fo, that in fmiting he wounded him.
The prophet, thus accommodated to his purpofe,
waited for king Ahab by the. way, having difguifed
himfelf with allies upon his face. And as the king
paffed by, he cried unto him, faying, " Thy fervant
went out into the midft of the battle, and behold, a
man turned afide, and brought a man to me, and faid,
Keep this man ; if by any means he be miffing, then
/hall tliy life be for his life, or elfe thou fhalt pay
a talent of filver. And as thy fervant was bufy here
and there, he was gone." Then faid the king of If
rael to him, f So fhall thy judgment be, thyfelf haft
decided it,"
The prophet thereupon haftily taking away the
afhes from his face, the king of Ifrael difcerned that
he was of the prophets. Then faid the prophet to
him, Thus faith the Lord, fC Becaufe thou haft let go
out of thine hand a man whom I appointed to utter
deftructibn ; therefore thy life fhall go for his life, and
L j. thy

1$* SAC REP HISTORY. Part III.
thy people for his people." Which doom when the
king of Ifrael had heard, he went to his houfe in Sa
maria, not penitently forry, but heavy and difpleafed,
or rather ftubborn, and in a rage.
Some time (but probably not long) after this, it
came to pafsy, that Ahab caft his eye upon a vine
yard in, Jezreel, which lay hard by a palace of his
there : and having a mind to it, he faid to Naboth
the Jezreelite, to whom the vineyard belonged,
" Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a
garden of herbs, becaufe it is near unto my houfe,
and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it ;
or if it feem good to thee, I will give thee the worth
Of it in money."
The propofal feemed fair, had it not been contra
ry to the law of God, which Ahab too little regarded. -
But Naboth being a confcientious man, and zealous;
of the law of Gpd, which forbad the children of If
rael to fell their inheritances, Levit. xxv. 23. and
Numb, xxxvi. 7, &c. returned this anfwer to Ahab,
" The Lord forbid that I fliould give the inheritance
of my fathers unto thee."
Ahab hereupon going into his houfe heavy and dif-
jleafed (becaufe Naboth would not part with the in-
leritance of his fathers) laid himfelf down upon his
ied in a fullen fit, and turning away his face from
the company, would not eat. Which Jezebel his
wife obferving, /he came to him, and alking him why
his fpirit was fo fad that he would not eat ? he told
her the whole matter that had paffed between Naboth
and him. Whereupon (after fhe had, by way of ex-
probation, afked him/ »f Doft thou now govern the
kingdom of Ifrael?" As much as to fay, Art thou fit
to be *a king, and doft not ynderftand the power of
a king ?) to cheer him up again, /hq wifhed him to
rife and eat, and let his heart be merry j affuring
him /he would give him Naboth's vineyard,
» 1 Kings xxi. A.M. 310$, Then

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 153
Then writing letters in Ahab's name, and fealing ,
them with his feal, fhe fent them unto the elders and
nobles that dwelt in the fame city where Naboth
dwelt, and in the letters fhe wrote thus : " Proclaim
a faft, and fet Naboth on high among the people;
and fet two men, fons of Belial (knights of the poft)
before him, to bear witnefs againft him, that he did
blafpheme God and the king. Then carry him out,
and ftone him to death." Here we may obferve,
that this wicked woman, though herfelf an idolatrous
heathen, could make the law of God (which com
manded that blafphemers fhould be ftoned, Levit.
xxiv. 16.) a pretence whereby to fhed the blood of
this innocent man.
Upon receipt of thefe letters, the elders and nobles
of Ifrael, purfuant to the direction Jezebel had therein
given them, which they fuppofed to have come from
the king, proclaimed a faft (which, among them, was
the ufual preparation tp judicial trials : but this was
fuch a faft as the prophet Ifaiah not long after com
plained of; a faft to finite with the fift of wickednefs,
Ifa. lviii. 4). and having fet Naboth on high amorigft
the people (that he might be feen of all the afTerri-
bly) the two falfe witnefles came in, and fitting be
fore him, charged him, in the prefence of the people,
that he had blafphemed God and the king. Where
upon they carried him out of the city, and having
ftoned him to death, fent Jezebel word that Naboth
was ftoned and dead. Nor did they fhed his blood-
only, but the blood of his fons too (that there might
be none to claim) as may be gathered from 2 Kings
ix. 26.
When Jezebel had received this account, fhe hafted
to her hufband king Ahab, and faid, " Arife, Arife, take
poffeffion of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
which he refufed to let thee have for thy money : for
Naboth is now dead." Whereupon Ahab went down
to take poffeffion of Naboth's vineyard, as forfeited
to him by Naboth's pretended treafon. But

154 SACRED HISTORY. Part HI.
But while he was there, the word of the Lord came
to Elijah die Tifhbite, faying, " Arife, go down to meet
Ahab kbg of Ifrael, who is in the vineyard of Naboth,
whither he is gone down to poffefs it. And thou
/halt fay unto him, Thus faith the Lord, Haft thou
killed, and alfo taken poffeffion ? Wherefore in the
place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, /hall
dogs lick thy blood, even thine."
By that time the prophet had delivered thus much
of his meffage, Ahab, interrupting him, faid, " Haft
thou found me, O mine enemy ?" Yes, anfwered the
prophet, I have found thee, becaufe thou haft fold
thyfelf to work evil in the fight of the Lord. Then
going on with his meffage in the name of the Lord,
he added ;
, " Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will
take away thy pofterity : and will cut off from Ahab
him that piffeth againft the wall, and him that, is fhut
s up and left in Ifrael. And I will make thy houfe
lij<e the houfe of Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, and like
th^e houfe of Baa/ha, the fon of Ahijah (both which
families were utterly cut off) for the provocation
wherewith thou haft provoked me to anger, in mak
ing Ifrael to fin. Him that dieth of Ahab in the
city, the dogs fhall eat ; and him that dieth in the
field, fhall the fowls of the air eat."
No wonder is it that the Lord denounced fo fevere
a fentence upon Ahab ; for there was none like unto
him, who did fell himfelf to work wickednefs in the
fight of the Lord ; doing very abominably in followr
ing idols (called, in contempt, dungy Gods) to which
Jezebel his wife flirred him up. Wherefore Jezebel
went not without her juft doom ; for of her alfo the
Lord faid, " The dogs fhall eat Jezebel, by the wall
or ditch of Jezreel."
Yet as bad as Ahab was, when he heard this fear
ful judgment denounced by the prophet againft him,
being ftruck with a fudden terror, he fhewed all the
putward figns of repentance. Fpr he rent his clothes, and

Part IIJ. SACRED HISTORY. 155
and put fackcloth upon his flefh, and fafted, and lay
in fackcloth, and went fpftly, like a mourner, or one
in affliction. Nor was this fhort fhew of repentance
wholly rejected ; but the Lord took notice of it, and
faid tp the prophet Elijah, " Seeft thou how Ahab
humbleth himfelf before me? Becaufe he humbleth,
himfelf before me, I will not bring the evil in his
days ; but in his fon's days I will bring the evil upon
his houfe." Thus as Ahab humbled himfelf for a
fhort time (which the fequel fhewed) ; fo God refpited
his punifhment for a fhort time alfo.
It is not improbable that this temporary fhew of
humiliation in Ahab might be an inducement to Je
hofliaphat, king of Judah ', to make a league with
him ; for prefently after this we read, that Jehofha
phat joined in affinity with Ahab, taking Ahab's
daughter to be wife to his fon and heir Jehoram,
a Chron. xxi. 6. and 2 Kings viii. 18.
This urihappy league drew him, not long after, to
Samaria, to vifit Ahab ; who, killing fheep and oxen
jn abundance, made a royal entertainment for him,
and the people that came with him.
Ahab, willing to improve this opportunity to his
own advantage, invited Jehofhaphat to go with him
to battle to Ramoth-Gilead (a city of right belonging
¦to Ifrael) to recover it from the Syrians. To which
Jehofhaphat over-haftily and unwarily confented, fay
ing, cc J am as thou art, and my people are as thy
people, and we will be with thee in the war." Yet
quickly recollecting himfelf, he defired king Ahab to
inquire at the Word of the Lord, that they might
know whether the Lord did approve their under
taking. !
Ahab thereupon fummoned his prophets together,
who were four hundred men (probably thofe called
the prophets of the groves, who ufually fed at queen Je
zebel's table, and efcaped the brunt at Carmel, 1 Kings
xviii.) and putting the queftion to them, ct Shall I go
% \ Kings xxii, 2 Chron. xviii. to

156 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or /hall I forbear ?" They
unanimoufly anfwered, " Go up, for the Lord hath
delivered it into the hand of the king."
But, faid Jehofhaphat, Is there not here a prophet
of the Lprd befides, that we might inquire by him ?
Yes, faid Ahab, there is one man (but one true pro
phet, alas! to four hundred falfe ones) and that is
Micaiah, the fon of Imlah; but I hate him, for he
never prophefieth good concerning me, but evil.
Nay, replied Jehofhaphat, " Let not the king fay
fo." That is, let him not hate the prophet for his
meffage-fake ; npr yet reject the meffage, becaufe it
doth not pleafe him. Then the king of Ifrael, calling
for one of his officers, bid him make hafle, and fetch
Micaiah to him.
Mean while, the two kings of Ifrael and of Judah,
fitting either of them on his throne, clothed in their
royal robes, in a plain place at the entering in of the
gate of Samaria; all the prophets prophefied before
them, and with one accord faid, " Go up to Ramoth*
Gilead, and profper •, for the Lord fhall deliver \t into
the hand of the king". And one of them (whofe
name was Zedekiah, the fon of Chenaanah) the bet
ter to imprefs their notions upon the king's minds,
made him horns of iron, and faid, Thus faith the
Lord, " With thefe thou fhalt pufh Syria until thou
confumethem." While thus the falfe prophets were playing their
pranks to deceive the two kings, the officer that wen|
to fetch Micajah, willing either to further the enter-
prize, or to prevent fufferings to the prophet, told
him how unanimoufly all the king's prophets had pror
phefied good fuccefs to him in this expedition, and
defired him to fpeak as they had done. But good
Micaiah gave him this fhort anfwer, " As the Lord
liveth, even what my God faith, that will I fpeak."
Being now come before the two kings, Ahab faid
to him, " Micaiah, Shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead
to battle ? Or fhall we forbear?" He, at the firft, in
contempt of the falfe prophets, and the better to ex-»
pofe.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i57
pofe them, faid, as they had done, " Go ye up, and
profper, and they fhall be delivered into your hand."
But he fpake it in fuch a manner, that king Ahab
eafily perceived he derided them. Therefore he faid
to him, " How many times fhall I adjure thee, that
thou fay nothing but the truth to me in the name pf
the Lord ?" Nay, replied Micaiah, if thOu wilt hear
the truth, then mind what I fay, " I did fee all If-
" rael fcattered upon the mountains, as fheep without
a fhepherd ; and the Lord faid, Thefe have no mafter,
let them therefore return every man to his houfe in
peace." This was a plain and apt fimile, fetting forth the
death of Ahab, and the defeat of his people, if they
proceeded to this battle. And Ahab, it feems, un-
derftood it fo ; for interrupting the prophet here, he
faid to Jehofhaphat, " Did I not tell thee that he
would not prophecy good unto me, but evil ? But
the prophet, not daunted with Ahab's interruption,
proceeded, faying,
". Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I faw the
Lord fitting upon his throne, and all the hoft of
heaven /landing on either hand of him. And the
Lord faid, who fhall intice Ahab king of Ifrael, that
he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead ? And one
/pake after one manner, and another after another
manner." (Thus the prophet, the more fenfibly to
affect the hearers, reprefented the heavenly vifion,
after the manner of human confultations). " Then
(faid he) came out a fpirit, and /landing before
the Lord, faid, I will intice him. And the Lord
afked him, wherewith, or by what means, he would
intice him? I will go out (faid he) and be a lying
fpirit in the mouth of all his prophets (for all Ahab's
prophets fpake the fame thing, in the fame words, as
if they had but one mouth). Then faid the Lord, Go
out and do fo j for thou /halt intice him, and fhalt
alfo prevail." Now therefore (added Micaiah) " Be
hold, the Lord hath put a lying fpirit in- the mouth of

158 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
of thefe thy prophets ; and the Lord hath fpoken evil
againft thee."
This ought not to feem ftrange, or be offenfive to
any, that the Lord fhould here be faid to have put a
lying fpirit in the mouth of the falfe prophets ; for
it is his prerogative, a token of his abfolute fove-
reignty, that he may ufe inftruments of all forts to
effect his work by, whether for the advancing his
own honour, the correction of his children, or the
deftruction of his enemies.
This faying of Micaiah's [That the Lord had put
a lying fpirit into the mouth of thefe Jezebelan pro-.
phets] angered them extremely; infomuch that Zede-
kiah (he that made the iron horns, and who feems to
have been a leading man amongft them) coming up
to Micaiah, fmote him on the cheek (for it is the
falfe prophet commonly that ufes the violence, not
the true) and in derifion faidj " Which way went the
fpirit of the Lord from me to fpeak unto thee?"
" That, replied Micaiah, thou /halt fee in that day,
when thou fhalt go from chamber to chamber to hide
thyfelf." By this time Ahab had enough of Micaiah. Where
fore breaking off the difcourfe between Zedekiah and
him, he commanded the officer to take Micaiah, and
carry him back to Amon the governor, and to Joafh
the king's fon, and fay unto them, Thus faith the
king, " Put this fellow (fo in contempt he called
the prophet) in the prifon, and feed him with bread
of affliction, and with water of affliction (afflict him
with want of fit and fufficient food) until I return
in peace." Nay, faid Micaiah, " If thou return in
peace, then hath not the Lord fpoken by me :" and
he bid all the people take notice of it.
Though king Jehofhaphat heard all this, and knew
Micaiah to be a prophet of the Lord; yet having
linked himfelf in with wicked Ahab, both by affinity
and league, he went up with him to fight againft
Ramoth-Gilead. But before the battle was joined,.
Ahab (mindful probably of what Micaiah had faid, and

Part. III. SACRED HISTORY. 159
and willing to fruftrate the prophecy) propofed that
he would difguife himfelf, and fo go into the battle ;
but that Jehofhaphat fhould fight in his royal, robes.
And accordingly they did fo.
Now Benhadad, the king of Syria, had commanded
the captains of his chariots to fingle out the king of
Ifrael, and not to fight with any other, fmall or great,
but with him only. This was a very unkind return
to Ahab for the great kindnefs he had fliewed Benha
dad in their former war ; when, though Benhadad was
then the aggreffor, Ahab, to his own great damage,
generoufly gave him both his life and liberty when he
had him wholly in his mercy.
However, the Syrian captains obferving their king's
command, fought after the king of Ifrael ; and when
they faw Jehofhaphat, concluding him to be the king
of Ifrael", they befet him round on every fide, and
made fo vigorous an impreffion, that Jehofliaphat was
fain to cry out ; and the Lord having compaffion on
him, helped him at this great ftreight, by making
them fenfible that it was not the king of Ifrael, and
thereupon inclining them to turn back from pur-
fuing him,
Thus narrowly efcaped Jehofhaphat. But Ahab's
politick difguife did not fecure him. For a certain
man, drawing a bow at a venture, hit him between
the joints of his armour, and gave him a mortal
wound. Whereupon he laid to his charioteer, " Turn
thine hand, and carry me out of the hoft, for I am
wounded." Yet becaufe the battle grew hotter up
on the Ifraelites that day, the king of Ifrael was held
up in his chariot till the evening ; that his being fo
wounded might not be known to his foldiers to dif-
courage them ; and about the going down of the
fun he died. Then was a retreat founded, and pro--
clamation made throughout the hoft of Ifrael, that
every man fhould efcape to his city, or to his coun
try-dwelling. And herein was fulfilled the vifion of
¦ » A. M. 3107. Micaiah j

160 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Micaiah ; for Ifrael was now fcattered like fheep that
had no fhepherd nor mafter, their mafter Ahab being
/lain. King Ahab was brought to Samaria, and buried
there. And becaufe, while he was held up in his cha
riot, the blood ran out of his wound, not only into
his armour, but into his chariot alfo; therefore his
chariot was wafhed in the pool of Samaria, as well
as his armour, and the dogs licked up his blood, ac
cording to the word of the Lord, which he fpake by
Elijah the Tifhbite.
Thus died this wicked king. For a further ac
count of whofe publick acts we are here referred (as
we are often elfewhere on other occafions) to a book
of Chronicles long fince loftb ; in which, amongft
other things, mention it feems was made of an ivory
houfe which king Ahab built.
And as Samaria was built by Omri his father ; fo
in his days was Jericho rebuilt by Hiel the Bethle-.
hite ; who according to the word of the Lord, which
above five hundred years before he fpake by Jofhua
the fon of Nun, Jofh. vi. 26. laid the foundation
thereof in Abiram his firft-born, and fet up the gates
thereof in his youngeft fon Segub, 1 Kings xvi. 34. *
Although Jehofhaphat the king of Judah efcaped
without hurt in the battle, yet he efcaped not with
out reproof from the Lord after the battle, for hav
ing joined himfelf in affinity and league with wicked
Ahab. For as foon as he was come back to Jeru
falem, Jehu, the fon of Hanani the feer, went out
to meet him with this greeting, " Shouldeft thou
help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord ?
Therefore is wrath upon thee from the Lord. Never
thelefs (fo he went on, that the good king might not
be too much caft down) there are good things found
in thee ; inafmuch as thou haft taken away the groves
out of the land, and haft prepared thine heart to feek
God." * 1 Kings xxii. 2 Chron. xix. This

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i6t
This gentle reproof had fo good an effect upon Je
hofhaphat, that after he had made fome flay at Je
rufalem, he took his progrefs through the people*
from Beerfheba to mount Ephraim (that is, from one
end of his kingdom to the other) and brought them
back unto the Lord God of their fathers. And hav
ing fet judges in the land, he faid unto them, " Take
heed what ye do, for ye judge not for man, but for
the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Where
fore now, let the fear of the Lord, be upon you,
take heed and do it ; for there is no iniquity with the
Lord our God, nor refpect of perfonSi nor talcing of
gifts." Moreover, in Jerufalem did Jehofhaphat fet of the
Levites, and of the priefts, and of the chief of the fa
thers of Ifrael, for the judgment of the Lord (matj
ters appertaining to his worfhip) and for controverfies
(or differences in civil matters) when they (the judges,
he had fet in the feveral cities) fhould have recourfe
to Jerufalem for advice or afliftance. And to thefe
he gave charge, faying, " Thus fhall ye do, in the
fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a perfect heart.
And what caufe foever fhall come to you, of your
brethren that dwell in the cities, between blood and
blood, between law and commandment, ftatutes and
judgments, ye fhall even Warn them that they tref-
pafs not againft the Lord, and fo wrath come upon
you and upon your brethren. This do, and ye fhall not
trefpafs." Then directing them unto whom, upon
all occafions, they fhould have recourfe in all mat
ters, relating as well to religion as to the civil eftate,
he concluded with this fhort exhortation and encou
ragement; " Deal courageoufly, and the Lord will
be with the good."
The truth pf this himfelf foon after experienced.
.For the children of Moab and Ammon, with their
confederates, coming againft him in battle, news was
brought him on a fudden, that there came a great
multitude againft him from beyond the fea on this
fide Syria, and that they, were in Engedi, not a great
Vol. II. M way

16a SACRED FI I STORY. Part -III.
way off. This unexpected news put Jehofhaphat in
great fear ; and not having confidence in his - own
ftrength, he fet himfelf to feek the Lord ; and in or
der thereunto proclaimed a faft throughout all the
kingdom of Judah. Whereupon Judah gathered
themfelves together to afk help of the Lord ; even out
of all the cities of Judah they came to Jerufalem to
feek the Lord. And Jehofhaphat the king Handing
in the congregation of Judah, in the houfe of the
Lord c, before the new court, thus addreffed himfelf
unto God :
" O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in
• heaven, and ruleft not thou over all the kingdoms of
the heathen ? and in thine hand is there not power
and might, fo that none is able to withftand thee ?
Art not thou (more efpecially) our God, who didft
drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy
people Ifrael, and gaveft it to the feed of Abraham thy
friend for ever ? and they dwelt therein, and have
built thee a fanctuary therein for thy name, faying,
If when evil cometh upon us as a judgment (whether
it be the fword, peftilence, or famine) we /land in
thy prefence before this houfe (in which thy name is
called upon) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then
hear thou and help. And now behold, the children
of Ammon and Moab, and thofe of mount Seir (whom
thou wouldeft not let Ifrael invade, wjaen they came
out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them,
and deftroyed them not) ; behold, I fay, how they
reward us ; for they are come up againft us, to caft us
out of thy poffeflion which thou haft given us to in
herit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them ? for we
(of ourfelves) have np might againft this great com
pany that cometh up againft us ; neither know we what
to do, but our eyes are upon thee."
Thus fpake the king in the name of all the people.
And all Judah flood before the Lord, with their wives
and children, even their little ones.
c 2 Chrpn. xx. Then

PartllL SACRED HISTORY, 163
Then upon Jehaziel {the vifion of God) a Levite of
the fons of Afaph, came the Spirit of the Lord, in
the midft of the congregation ; and he faid, " Heark
en ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerufalem,
and thou king Jehofhaphat, thus faith the Lord un
to you ; Be not afraid nor difmayed by reafon of this
great multitude* for the battle is not yours, but
God's. To-morrow go ye down againft them; be
hold they come up by the cliff of Ziz j and ye fhall
- find them at the end of the valley, before the wil-
dernefs of Jeruel." Which particular defcriptions of
places he gave, that when the people fhould find it
fo, they might thereby be confirmed in the truth of
his prophecy.
Then going on ; " But, faid he* ye fhall not need to
fight in this battle. Set yourfelves, and be ftill; and
fee the falvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and
Jerufalem. To-morrow, I fay, go out againft them,
and fear not, nor be difmayed ; for the Lord will be
with you."
Upon this gracious anfwer from the Lord, king
Jehofhaphat bowed his head, with his face towards the
ground ; and all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jeru
falem, falling down before the Lord, worfhipped him j
and certain of the Levites flood up* and praifed the
Lord God of Ifrael with a loud voice on high.
Early next morning they marched out into the wil-
dernefs of Tekoa. And as they went forth, Jehofha
phat, Handing in the way, faid, " Hear me, O Ju
dah, and ye inhabitants of Jerufalem ; believe in the
Lord your God, fo fhall ye be eftablifhed; believe
his prophets, fo fhall ye profper." Then, having
confulted with the people, he appointed fingers unto
the Lord, and fuch as fhould praife Gpd, under the
title of the Beauty of Holinefs, as they went out before
the army; and fhould fay, " Praife the Lord, for his
mercy endureth for ever."
Though this was a fort of triumphing before the
victory, yet it was well grounded ; the Lord by his pro
phet having given them his word for it j nor was it
M 2 long

i64 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
long before he made it good. For as they began to
fing and to praife, the Lord fet ambufhments againft
their enemies from amongft themfelves, fo that they
fmote one another. For the children of Ammon and
of Moab fell upon the inhabitants of mount Seir, to
flay and utterly deftroy them ; and when they had
made an end of them, they fet themfelves to deftroy
one another. So that when Jehofhaphat with his army
came towards the watch-tower in the wildernefs, and
looked for the great armies of the enemies, behold,
they were dead bodies, fallen to the earth, and none
of them left alive. This was fo evidently the Lord's
doing, that it may well be called one of the battles
of the Lord ; and might juftly claim a place in that
book of the wars of the Lord, which is mentioned in
Num. xxi. 14.
Thus Jehofhaphat and his people, inftead of fight
ing, came to take the fpoil of their enemies, which
they found among them in abundance, both riches
with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they
/tripped off for themfelves, more than they could
carry away. For they were three days in gathering
the fpoil, it was fo much.
On the fourth day they affembled themfelves toge
ther in the valley. And that they might not be
wanting of a thankful acknowledgment to the Lord
for fo great a deliverance, they there folemnly bleffed
the Lord. From which act, the name of that place
was afterwards called the valley of Berachah, that is,
of bieffing.
Then fetting forward in good order, with Jeho
fliaphat their king at the head of them, they returned
to Jerufalem with joy, playing on pfalteries and harps,
and founding their trumpets until they came to the
houfe of the Lord ; becaufe the Lord had made them
to rejoice over their enemies.
The deftruction of this invading army was fo evi
dently feen to be the aft of God, that it ftruck terror
into the reft of the nations ; and that the fear of God
was on the kingdoms rpund about, when they heard that

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 165
that the Lord fought againft the enemies of Ifrael ; fo
that the realm of Jehofliaphat was quiet, for his God
gave him reft on every fide.
Yet after all this (fee the in/lability of man) Jeho
fhaphat joined himfelf with Ahaziah king of Ifrael
(fon to wicked Ahab) who fucceeded his father in his
vices as well as in his kingdom, and did wickedly, as he
had done, walking in the way of his father Ahab,
and of Jezebel his mother, and in the way of Jero
boam the fon of Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin : for
he ferved Baal and worfhipped him, and thereby pro
voked to anger the Lord God of Ifrael, according to
all that his father had done.
The defign of this league between Jehofhaphat and
him, was to fend a fleet jointly between them, to fetch
gold from Ophir (an eaftern country, which yielded
the fineft gold): and in order thereunto they built the
fliips in Ezion-Geber, which fignifies the Counfel of
Man ; but the undertaking being out of the counfel
of God, the Lord difappointed the enterprize by break
ing the fhips in the harbour. Which done, Eliezer
(which fignifies the Help of God) fon of Dodarah
(which fignifies Love) prophefied againft Jehofha
phat, and told him, becaufe he had joined him
felf with Ahaziah, the Lord had broken his works.
And fo indeed he had ; for the fhips were fo broken,
that they were not able to go to Tarfhifh.
This was the fecond time that this good kingjeho-
fliaphathad tripped in this kind. The firft had like to
have coft him his life, when he joined with wicked
Ahab ; a king too, as well he ; yea, and a king of
Ifrael, but a wicked one. This fecond did coft him
the lofs of his fleet, for joining with Ahab's wicked
fon. And this may /land as a way-mark, for a warn
ing to all, both princes and private perfons, wh6pjj0>
fefs to ferve and worfhip • the true God, not to jol||jg
themfelves with God's enemies.

M 3 THE

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE
K I N G S ;
Including the reft (from the xxth Chapter)
OF THE SECOND BOOK OF THE
CHRONICLES ;
And containing an Hiftory of 320 years, to the Cap
tivity of Zedekiah, the laft king of Judah, the De-
ftruction of the Temple and City Jerufalem by Ne
buchadnezzar, and the proclamation of Cyrus for
rebuilding the Temple. Within the compafs of
which Period, moft of the Prophets, whofe Writings
are extant, viz.

Jonah,

MlCAH,

F.ZEKIEL,

.Amos,

Jeremiah,

Obadiah,

Hosea, JO£L,

Zephaniah,Habakkuk^

and

Isaiah,

Nahum,

Daniel,

Prophefied, and probably in. Order of Time as they
are here fet ; whofe feveral Books are more or lefs
taken notice of in the Courfe of the Hiftory, as they
afford more or lefs Matter relating thereunto.
IT was in the feventeenth year of Jehofhaphat- king
of Jud.ah, that Ahaziah ion- of Ahab began to
reign over Ifrael, 1 Kings xxii. 51. And in the
fecond year of his reign he received an hurt by a fall *
which he had through a lattefs or grate in his upper
a z Kinga i-,
M 4 chamber

,68 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
chamber in Samaria ; which being made to give light
to the lower rooms, he, it feems, dropped through it.
Whereupon he fent meffengers to inquire of Baalze-
bub the god of Ekron (the fame that in the New
Teftament is called the prince of the devils, Luke xi,
15.) whether he fhould recover of that hurt or not.
This was ftrange. We read in 2 Kings viii. 8,
that when Benhadad king of Syria, a profeffed hea
then, was fick, he fent tp Elifha, the prophet of the
God of Ifrael, to inquire if he fhould recover of that
difeafe. But here a king of Ifrael fends, on a like
occafion, to inquire of an heathen god,
This fo provoked the God of Ifrael, that fending ,
an angel to Elijah the Tifhbite, he commanded him
to go meet the meffengers of the king of Samaria,
and fay thus unto them, " Is it not becaufe there is
not a God in Ifrael, that ye go to enquire of Baalze-
bub, the god of Ekroq ? (that is, doth not your going
to inquire of the god of Ekron plainly fpeak, that
you do not believe there is a God in Ifrael) ? Now
therefore, thus faith the Lord, Thou (king Aha
ziah, who haft fent thefe meffengers to inquire of an
heathen god, thou) fhalt not come down from that
bed on which thou art gone up to lie, but /halt fure-.
ly die."
Upon this the meffengers, not thinking it needful
to go to Ekron, returned to Samaria ; and coming to
the king fooner than expected, he afked why they were
come back ? They told him there came a man up to
meet them, and bid them turn back again unto the
king that fent them, and fay unto him, " Thus faith
the Lord, Is it not becaufe there is not a God in
Ifrael, that thou fendeft to inquire of Baalzebub the
god of Ekron ? Therefore thou fhalt not come down
from that bed on which thou art gone up, but /halt,
furely die."
It feems the meffengers did not know the prophet ;
for the king afked them what manner of man it was
that met them, and told them thefe words. And
when they told him that he was an hairy man (which

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 169
js underftood tp be fpoken not of his perfon, but his
garment, which was rough, coarfe, and hairy) and
girt with a girdle of leather about his loins ; he faid,
It is Elijah the Tiflibite. For it is probable he might
have formerly feen him when he denounced judgment
againft his father Ahab.
Elijah, having delivered his meffage, was gone, and
had . fat him down on the top of an hill b. Thither
the king fent unto him a captain of fifty with his
fifty men ; that if he refufed to come with him by
fair means, they might bring him by force.
The captain, as foon as he came to him, like'* a
rough and refolute foldier-, faid, " Thou man of God,
the king hath faid, come down." This was not fuch
language as the man of God ufed to receive from
fuch as profeffed to be the people of God. The pro-.
phet therefore anfwered him as fhort and as fharp.
*' If (faid he) I be a man of God, then let fire come
down from heaven, and confume thee and thy fifty."
Immediately came fire down from heaven, and con-
fumed him and his fifty men.
The king being acquainted with this, fent unto
him another captain of fifty with his fifty. Who
(nothing daunted at the divine execution done upon
the former captain and his men) coming boldly up to
Elijah, faid, " 0 man of God, Thus hath the king
faid, Come down quickly." The prophet, anfwering
him as he had done the former, faid, " If I be a
man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and con-
fume thee and thy fifty." Whereupon the fire of God,
coming down from heaven, forthwith confumed him
and his fifty.
This was hot work, And though it may feem an
hard cafe, that men under command fhould fuffer fo
feverely for executing the commands of their fu-
•periors, yet all fubordinate minifters may hence learn,
¦ jiqw dangerous a thing it is to perfecute a fervant of
11 A M; 3109. Godi

i7o SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
God, though required by the higheft of human
powers. The hardened king, notwithftanding this, fent
again a captain of a third fifty with his fifty. But
this captain, having bought wifdom at the coft of the
two former, and being grown wary by the mifchief
they had fuffered; when he came to Elijah, fell on
his knees before him (bowing to that divine power,
which he faw had broken forth in wrath upon the
others, and which he knew was alike able to deftroy
him and his men alfo) and, inftead of commanding,
befought him, faying, " O man of God, I pray thee,
let my life, and the life of thefe fifty thy fervants, be
precious in thy fight. Behold, there came fire down
from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the
former fifties with their fifties ; wherefore let my life
now be precious in thy fight."
This was regardful and moving language ; and up
on this, the angel of the Lord laid to Elijah, " Go
down with him, be not afraid of him" (the king).
Elijah thereupon went down with the captain ; and
being brought before the king, faid unto him, <c Thus,
/kith the Lord, forafmuch as thou haft fent meffen
gers to inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron (as if
there were no God in Jfrael to inquire of) therefore
thou fhalt not come down from off that bed on which
thou art gone up, but /halt furely die." This was
quickly made good ; for Ahaziah did not recover of
his hurt, but died foon after, according to the word
of the Lord, which Elijah had fpoken. And Jeho-.
ram, his brother (for he had no fon) reigned in his ftead.
The time now drawing near, wherein the Lord
had determined to take up his fervant Elijah into
heaven by a whirlwind c, Elijah went from Gilgal,
taking with him Elifha, whom God had before ap
pointed i Kings xix. 16. to fucceed him in his pro
phetical office, And as they went by the way, Elijah
faid unto Elifha, " Tarry here, I pray thee, for the
c 2 Kings il. A, M. 3109. Lord

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 171
Lord hath fent me to Bethel." But Elifha anfwered
him, <c As the Lord liveth, and as thy foul liveth,
I will not leave thee :" fo they went down to Bethel
together. Being come thither, the fons of the prophets that
were there, having a prophctick fenfe that Elijah's
departure was at hand, came to Elifha, and faid unto
him, " Knoweft thou that the Lord will take away
thy mafter from thy head to-day ? Yes, faid Elifha,
I know it, hold you your peace,"
At Bethel, Elijah faid again to Elifha, " Tarry
here I pray thee, for the Lord hath fent me to Jeri
cho," But Elifha anfwered him as before, affuring
him that he would not leave him ; fo they went on
together to Jericho. And there alfo the fons of the
prophets afked Elifha, as the others had done at Be
thel, " If he knew that the Lord would take his maf
ter from him that day." To whom again in like
manner he anfwered, ts Yes, I know it;" and bid
them alfo hold their peace.
Here again Elijah faid to Elifha, " Tarry, Ipray thee,
here; for the Lord hath fent me to Jordan." But
Eli/ha} as before, refolvedly anfwering that he would
not leave him, they went on • together.
Though Elijah feemed willing to have fhaken off
Eli/ha in this journey, telling him, the Lord had fent
him to this, that, and the other place ; yet the di-
ftance of the places one from the other, and the total
filence of any bufinefs he did, or had to do at Be
thel, or at Jericho, make way for a reafonable conjec
ture, that Elijah, knowing Elifha was to fucceed him,
took thefe journies, to proye the love, faith, zeal,
and conftancy of Elifha,
When they were come down to Jordan, and they
two only flood by the river's fide, Elijah took his
mantle (or cloke, which he ufually wore) and wrap
ping it together, fmote the waters therewith; which
'thereupon divided hither and thither, fo that they two
went oyer on dry ground, Having

17* SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Having thus miraculoufly croffed Jordan (the river
of judgment) Elijah faid to Elifha, " Afk what I
/hail do for thee, before I be taken away from thee."
Whereupon Elifha faid, " I pray thee let a double
portion of thy fpirit be upon me." Wherein he is
thought to have alluded to the law for inheritances
among the Jews, Deut. xxi. 17. by which he who, in
right of primogenitute, fucceeded to the father in the
government of the family, enjoyed a double part or
portion of the eftate or goods ; that is, twice as much
as any other of the family had. And therefore fince God
had been pleafed to adopt him to be Elijah's fuccef-
for in the prophetick miniftry, he craved the privi
lege of primogeniture, a double portion of that fpirit
which Elijah had been endued with.
Elijah told him, he had afked an hard thing. But
yet (added he) " It fhall be granted thee, if thou
feeft me when I am taken from thee ; otherwife not."
Implying, that there muft be a fpiritual vigilancy or
watchfulnefs in him that expects to receive a fpiri
tual bieffing.
Thus they walking on, and talking, on a fudden
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horfes of fire,
which parted them afunder, and Elijah went up, by a
whirlwind into heaven.
Elifha faw it ; and that Elijah might know he faw
it, he cried out, " My father, my father, the chariot
of Ifrael, and the horfemen thereof!" After which,
feeing him no more, he took hold of his own clothes,
and to exprefs his forrow, rent them in two pieces.
Then taking up the mantle of Elijah, which, as he
afcended, fell from him ; he went back, and flood by
the bank of Jordan. And with the mantle that fell
from Elijah, fmiting the waters as Elijah had done,
he faid, « Where is the God of Elijah ?" Upon which
the waters parted hither and thither, fo that he alfo
went over on dry ground.
This being obferved by fome of the fons of the'
prophets (who, following^them out of Jericho, flood
$t a diftance to fee what, would be done) they faid one

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i73
to another, " The fpirit of Elijah doth reft upon
Elifha." And thereupon going to meet him, they
bowed themfelves to the ground before him, acknow
ledging him to have the chief place among them, as
Elijah had before him.
Thefe being over-folicitous about Elijah's body,
and furmifing that peradventure the Spirit of the Lord
having taken him up, might have caft him upon fome
mountain, or in fome valley, defired leave of Elifha,
that they might fend out fifty men of their company
to feek him : but Elifha plainly forbad them. Yet
they importunately preffing him, he at length, againft
his mind, yielded to them. Whereupon the fifty men
went out, and having fought him three days to no
purpofe, returned to Jericho, where they found Elifha,
and by him. were blamed for their over-officioufnefs.
While Elifha tarried at Jericho, the men of the
city came to him, and told him, that though the fi-
tuation of the city was pleafant, as he himfelf might
obferve ; yet the water was naught, and the ground
barren. He thereupon bid them bring him a new
crufe (or vial) and put fome fait therein ; which when
they had done, he went forth unto the fpring of the
waters, and having caft in the fait there, he faid,
cc Thus faith the Lord, I have healed thefe waters ;
there fhall not be from thence any more unwholfome-
nefs or barrennefs." So the waters were healed from
thenceforward, according to the faying of Elifha.
From thence he went unto Bethel d (which had been,
and for aught appears then was, the chief feat of ido-
try in Ifrael, where Jeroboam had fet up one of his
idol calves, i Kings xii. 28. 29). And as he was going
up by the way, a company of little children coming
out of the city, mocked him, faying, " Go-up thou
ba head, go up thou bald head." He turning back,
and looking on them, curfed them in the name of the
Lord. Whereupon there came forth two fhe-bears
a A. M. 3007. out

»74 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
out of an adjacent wood, and tore two-and-forty* of
the children.
Unlikely it is that fo fevere a judgment would have
been inflicted on thefe little children, had their
mocking Elifha proceeded only from childifh folly.
It is therefore reafonable to conclude, that the pro
phet was fenfible thefe children had been encouraged
by "their idolatrous parents, or others of that place,
to deride and mock him as a prophet of the Lord,
who was zealous againft their idolatry : and the in->
dignity offered to him, in his prophetical capacity*
reflecting on the Lord who fent him, was therefore
the more exemplarily punifhed, that others might fear,
and learn to beware.
From Bethel the prophet returning by mount Car-
mel to Samaria, found frefh fervice there, which was
thus occafioned :
The Moabites had been tributaries to Ifrael ever
fince David conquered them, 2 Sam. viii. 2. and con
tinued fo till Ahab's death. After which, in his fon
Ahaziah's reign, they rebelled, 2 Kings i. 1. and
Ahaziah,. having but a fhort reign, and receiving that
hurt by his fall which haftened his death, had not
reduced them. The tribute which the Moabites ufed
to pay the kings of Ifrael, was an hundred thoufand
lambs, an hundred thoufand ranis, with the wool.
This having been with-holden and denied ever fince
Ahab's death, Jehoram, a younger fon of Ahab, fuc-
ceeding his brother Ahaziah in the kingdom of Ifrael,
refolved to reduce Moab to their former fubjection by
arms. And in order thereunto, he not only muttered
all Ifrael to the war, but fent to Jehofhaphat, the king
of Judah, to invite him to go with him to battle
againft Moab.
Jehofhaphat, though he had fmarted twice before
for the fame thing, too eafily yielded to join forces,
and go with Jehoram \ And having confulted toge
ther which way they fhould go up, and concluded to
go through the wildernefs of Edom, they tpok the
c 2 Kings iii. king

Part. HI. SACRED Hi S TORY. 174
king of Edom alfo with them ; who, though called a
king, was indeed but a vice-roy, lieutenant, or de
puty-king to Jehofhaphat, 1 Kings xxii. 47. For
Edom had been tributary to Judah, ever fince king
David fubdued them, 2 Sam. viii. 14. and yet for a
while continued fo.
Then fetting forward, thefe three kings fetched a
compafs of feven days journey f, that they might come
with the greater advantage upon the backs of their
enemies ; and thereby they ran themfelves and their
armies into very great ftreights and dangers. For
there was no water in that wildernefs to fuffice the
hoft, and the cattle that followed them through fo
long a march. This put them to a /land. And the
king of Ifrael, confcious of his own evil ways where
by he had provoked the Lord, cried out, Alas ! the
Lord hath delivered thefe three kings into the hand
of Moab.
But Jehofhaphat (who was a good man, though too
eafily drawn into bad company) having his eye to
God for help, afked, cc Is there not here a prophet of
the Lord, that we may inquire of the Lord by him ?"
Yes, faid one of the king of Ifrael's fervants, here is
Elifha the fon of Shaphat, who poured water on the
hands of Elijah (that is, waited on him as his fervant).
Jehofhaphat replying, " The word of the Lord is
with him '-," the three kings went down together to
him. But when Elifha faw the king of Ifrael coming,
" What (faid he) have' I to do with thee ? Get thee
to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of
thy mother (the prophets of Baal, and of the groves)."
Nay, faid the king of Ifrael, " It is not for me only
that we come to inquire : but the Lord hath called
thefe three kings together to deliver them into the
hand of Moab. As the Lord of hofts liveth, re
plied Elifha, before whom I fland, affuredly, were it
f A/M. 3109. not

$76 SACRED HISTORY. Part IIL
not that I regard the prefence of Jehofhaphat king of
Judah, I would not look towards thee, nor fee thee."
The reafon of this great averfion in the prophet
from the king of Ifrael, was, that though he Was not
quite fo bad as his. father and his mother (for he had
put away the image of Baal which his father had
made) ; yet he wrought evil in the fight of the Lord,
and did cleave unto the fins of Jeroboam the fon of
Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin (the calves, and the
feparate altar) he departed not therefrom.
Yet, for the fake of good Jehofliaphat, the prophet
called for a minftrel (one that could play well on art
inftrument of mufick, or fing divine pfalms, often
ufed in thofe times, both to cheer the fpirit of the
prophets, and compofe the minds of the hearers to a
due attention). And while the minftrel played, the
hand of the Lord (that is, his power, and therein the
gift of prophecy) came upon the prophet, and he faid,
" Thus faith the Lord, make this valley full of
ditches : for thus faith the Lord, ye fhall not fee
wind, neither fhall ye fee rain ; yet that valley fhall
be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and
your cattle, and your beafts. And this is but a light
thing in the fight of the Lord; for he will deliver
the Moabites alfo (whom ye go to fight againft) into
your hand, and ye fhall finite every fenced city, and
every choice city, and fhall fell every good tree, and
ftop all the wells of water, and mar every good
piece of land with flones ;" that is, ye fhall fpare no
thing, but quite deftroy the country.
This prediction was foon fulfilled ; for next morn
ing, at the time when the meat-offering was offered,
there came water by the way of Edom, and the coun
try was filled with water.
Mean while the Moabites, having got notice that
thefe kings were coming up to fight againft them,
had muttered all their forces; and having lifted all
that were able to bear arms, flood ready to receive
them on the frontier of the kingdom. But when
early in the morning they faw the funfhine upon the
waters,

I*art III. SABRED' HISTORY.

I77

waters, in a place where they knew there never ufedl
to be any water, they thought it was blood, and the
rather* for that the water (God fo difpofing it) ap
peared to them as red as blood. Concluding there
fore that the kings were flain^ and that the adverfe
armies had fmitten one another, they cried, " Moab, to
the fpoil ;" and made what hafte they could to it,
But wheri they came to the camp of Ifrael, they
foon (yet too late) found their miftake: for the Ifrae
lites fallying out upon them, fmote the Moabites, and
put them to flight, and purfuing them into their own
country, flew them there 5 and beating down their
cities, made great devaftation in the country, fpoiling
the landj by calling every man his ftone upon every
good piece of ground they came to ; ftopping up alfo
the wells of water* and felling every goodly tree,
till they came to Kirharafeth This probably was a
remarkable city, for beauty or for ftrength, or both ;
for the name imports a " wall of workmanfhip."
Into this city, it feems, the king of Moab (whofe
name was Mefha) had fled for fafety, with fuch of
his fcattered forces as in this general rout he could
rally ; and here the confederate armies befieged him.
The defence he made fecured his place from being
razed, as others were. So that, though it were in a
fort bombed, the /lingers furrounding it and fhaking
it, yet the well-wrought wall ftood.
But the king of Moab, hopelefs to maintain the
place againft fo great a force, taking with him feven
hundred men that drew fwords, made a defperate
fally, intending to break through on that fide where
the king of Edom lay. But finding too ftrong a re-
fiftance, he was forced to retreat, and fhut himfelf
up in the city again.
, Then filled with indignation againft Ifrael, and to
let them fee that he was refolved never to yield the
place, but-that he, and every man of his s, would die upon
die fpot firft, he took his eldeft fon, who was to have
£ 2 Kings; iv.
Vol, II, N reigned

178 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
reigned after him, and offered him for a burnt-offer
ing upon the wall ; that having thereby, as he fup
pofed, pacified his offended gods, he might fucceed
the better in the war afterwards. Some think (among
whom are Tremellius and Junius, in their annotation
on Amos i. 16. in them, but chap. ii. i. in the Eng-
lijh) that it was not his own fon that the king of
Moab thus facrificed, but the fon and heir of the
king of Edom, whom he had taken in the late fally :
but it feems more probable that it was his own -fon ;
and that mentioned in Amos, of his burning the
bones of the king of Edom into lime, related to fome
other fact and time. But which foever it was, the
fight of fo barbarous a cruelty had fuch a compaf-
fionate effect on the hearts of the confederate armies,
that forthwith raifing the fiege, they returned to their
own countries. Where leaving them for a while to
reft and refrefh themfelves, let us, as the courfe of
the hiftory leads, take notice of fome more very re
markable miracles wrought by the prophet Elifha,
whether in the fame order of time wherein they are
related or not.
Elifha being returned to Samaria, there came unto
him a certain woman h, who was a widow to one of
the fons of the prophets, and thus befpake him :
" Thy fervant my hufband is dead ; and though he
died in debt, yet thou knoweft he was one that feared
the Lord (and fo did not run into debt through
ill-hufbandry or evil courfes). And not having left
wherewith to pay, the creditors come to take my
two fons to be bondmen."
Elifha, commiferating the poor woman's condition,
afked her what he fhould do for her ; and bid her tell
him what fhe had in the houfe. Truly nothing,
faid fhe, fave a 'pot of oil. Then faid he, " Go,
borrow thee, good flore of empty veflels of all thy
neighbours ; and when thou haft brought them home,
/hut the door upon thyfelf and thy fons, and pour out
k A. M. 3109. thy

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 179
thy oil into all .thofe veflels, ftill fetting them afide
that are full."
The woman following the prophet's direction, went
and borrowed veffels, and /hutting herfelf and her
fons in, they brought her the empty veflels, and fhe
poured out of her oil into them : and as long as the
empty veffels held out, the oil increafing held out al
fo ; but when calling for another veffel, her fon told
her they were all full, the oil flaid. Then going
to the man of God, and telling him what fhe had
done, and what increafe fhe had of the oil; he bid
her go fell the oil* and pay her debt, and then fhe and
her children fhould live of the reft. A very good
leflbn for debtors to learn.
The next account we have of this great prophet is
from Shunem (a town in the tribe of Iffachar, Jofh.
xix. 18.) where dwelt a woman of great note; whofe
hufband being ancient, had left, it feems, the order
ing of his family much to his wife. She obferviftg
Elifha to pafs often that way, invited him to come
in and eat with them, which he did ; and finding a
kind reception from her hufband and her, he after
wards, as oft as he paffed by, turned in thither to re-
frefh himfelf.
After fome time* the woman, having Converfed
with Elifha, and made her obfervations thereupon,
told her hufband, that fhe perceived this gueft of
theirs, who paffed fo often by them, was an holy mart
of God: and therefore fhe defired her hufband, that
they might make a little chamber upon the wall ;
and fet for him there a bed, and a table, and a ftool,
and a candleftick (furniture for ufe, not oftentation,
anfwering his conveniency, not their grandeur) ; that
fo, whenfoever he fhould come to them, he might
take up his lodging there. The hufband confenting
to his Wife's propofal, the chamber was forthwith
fitted up ; and the next tirhe Elifha came .thither, he
was directed into that chamber, arid thenceforward

took that for his lodging*

N 2 Pleafed

1S0 . SACRED HISTORY. Fart III.
Pleafed with thefe kind and plain accommodations,
and having a grateful mind to requite his benefac
tors, Elifha, one time when he was in his lodging,
bid his fervant Gehazi fpeak to the Shunamite his
landlady, and let her know he was fenfible of her
kindnefs, in the care fhe had taken for him, and would
gladly anfwer jt in what he could ; and therefore he
fliould afk her What might be done for her, and whe-r
ther fhe would be fpoken for to the king, or to the
captain of the hoft in any cafe. Gehazi having deli
vered his mailer's meffage to her, fhe anfwered, " I
dwell among my own people :" thereby intimating^
that living lovingly with her neighbours, Ihe had no
Occafion to complain or feek redrefs for any thing.
Gehazi reporting this her anfwer to his mafter,
Elifha faid to him, what then is to be done for her *
Why, faid Gehazi, fhe hath no child, and her huf
band is old. The prophet apprehending his meaning,
bid him call her ; and when fhe was come, and flood
before him, he, without any compliment or ceremo
nious introduction, faid unto her, " About this fea
fon, according to the courfe of life, thou /hall; em
brace a fon."
As this was quite befide her expectation, fo it is.
likely it might exceed her belief i for the anfwer fhe
gave him was, " Nay, my lord, thou man of God,
do not lie unto thy handmaid" (that is, do not put
me in a vain hope, and thereby deceive me). How
ever, the woman after this in due time bare a fon,
according as Elifha had predicted.
When this child was grown up that he could run
abo,ut, he went out one morning, in the harveft-time,
to his father, who was with his reapers,. There he
had not been long ere he was taken with a fore pain
in his head, which made him cry out, My head, my
head. His father thereupon ordered a fervant to car
ry him home to his mother ; which the fervant doing,
he fat upon his mother's knees till noon, and then
died. The afflicted mother, feeing her only child
¦dead, carried him up into the chamber of the man of
Godj

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. i8t
God ; and having laid him on his bed, fhut the door,
and came out, and calling to her hufband, defired
him to fend one of the young men, and one of the
affes, that fhe might run to the man of God, and come
again. He not underftanding, or not duly confider-
ing, the urgency of the occafion, afked her, why fhe
would go that day, it being neither new moon nor
fabbath (which were the ufual days of going to in
quire of the Lord in any cafe, or to perform any pub
lick exercife of religious worfhip). But fhe preffing
to be gone, he fent her the fervant and the afs ; and
/he mounting, bid the fervant drive on, and go for
ward, and not flack his pace, unlefs fhe ihould bid
him. The man of God was at Carmel, and happened td
efpy the woman afar off before fhe was come to
him ; and pointing to her, faid to Gehazi his fervant*
tc Behold, yonder is that Shunamite; run therefore
now, I pray thee, to meet her, and afk her, if it
be well with her, with her hufband, and with the
Child." Away ran Gehazi to her ; but fhe, not willing to
foend time in entertaining difcourfe with him, only
anfwered, Well ; and prefied on to the prophet him
felf. As foon as fhe was got to him, /he fell down, and
caught him by the feet', which his fervant Gehazi
feeing, came near to thruft her away : but his ma/lef
faid, " Let her alone^ for her foul is vexed within
her, and the Lord hath hid the caufe of it from
me." The woman by this time having a little recovered
her fpi.rits, faid unto him, " Did I defire a fon of my
Lord ? Did I not fay, do not deceive me ?"
Before fhe could bring forth any more, the prophet
apprehending the matter, faid to Gehazi, " Gird up
thy loins (that is, thy coat about thy loins, that it
may not hinder thy running) and take my ftaff in
thy hand, and go thy way. If thou meet any man,
falute him not, and if any man falute thee, anfwer
N j him

i?2 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
him not again (that is, make no delay, nor lofe any
time, by ftopping to fpeak with any body on the
way) and lay my ftaff upon the face of the child."
This probably might have wrought the cure, had
not the folicitous mother importunately preffed the
prophet to go with her, telling him pofitiyely fhe
would not go back without him ; which refolur
tion fhe bound with van affeveration, commonly ufed
in thofe times, faying, \" As the Lord liveth, and as
thy foul live'th, I will hot leave thee." Whereupon
he arofe and followed her,
Gehazi obferving his matter's direction, had made
fo much hafle, that he had laid the ftaff on the face
of the child ; and finding thereupon no token or
fymptom of life, was coming back to his mafter ; and
meeting him on the way, told him in a pretty fignifir
cant phrafe, the child was not awaked,
Elifha thereupon entering the houfe, and finding the
child lying dead upon his bed, fhut the door upon
them two, and prayed unto the Lord, Then getting
up upon the bed, he lay upon the child ; and putting
his mouth upon the child's mouth, his eyes upon it's
eyes, and his hands upon its hands, he ftretched him
felf upon the child (as his mafter Elijah had once
done on a like occafion, i Kings xvii. 21.) and the
flefh of the child waxed warm. Then walking a turn
or two about the chamber, he got up again, and havT
ing in like manner ftretched himfelf again upon the
child, the child fneezed feven times, and opened its
eyes. Elifha then bid his fervant call the mother ; and fhe
upon the call quickly coming, he bid her take up
her fon. At which word the overjoyed mother falling
down at the prophet's feet, and bowing herfelf to the
ground, in reverence to that divine power, through
which fo great a miracle was wrought, and by which
fhe had received fo great a benefit, took up the child
and departed.
The prophet alfo departed and went to Gilgal,
where was at that time a dearth ; and the fons (that is,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 183
is, thedifciples or fcholars !) of the prophets (who were
many in number) fitting before him, he bid. his fer
vant fet on the great pot, and feethe pottage for them.
One of them thereupon going forth into the field, to
gather herbs for the pottage, found a wild vine (fo it
is rendered, but is fuppofed to be the fame which her-
balifts call colloquintida, which hath a ftrong purging
quality) : and of this having gathered his lapful,
came and Hired it into the pot of pottage, not
knowing the nature of it. When the pottage was
fod, they poured out for the men to eat. But as they
were eating, finding fome ill effect thereof upon them,
they gave over eating, and cried out, " O thou man
of God, there is death in the pot." Then faid he,
*f Bring fome meal ;" which being brought, he caft
into the pot, and faid, tc Pour out now for the people,
that they may eat ;" and then they did eat without
harm. While the prophet tarried here with the fons of the
prophets, there came a man from Baalfhalifha, and
brought him bread of the firft-fruits, twenty loaves of
barley, and fome full ears of corn in the hulk. The
prophet, knowing food was fhort among them, bid
his fervant fet it before the people, that they might
eat. The fervant (wanting faith, the want of which
brings often with it want of obedience) faid, " To
what purpofe fhould I fet this before an hundred men ?"
But, faid the prophet again, " Give the people that
they may eat : for thus faith the Lord, they /hall eat,
and fhall leave thereof." Upon this he fet it be
fore them ; and they did eat, and left thereof, accor
ding to the word of the Lord.
Before Elifha left them, thefe fons of the prophets,
addreffing themfelves to him, fhewed him that the
place where they dwelt was too ftreight, fo that they
wanted room. Wherefore they defired him to let
them go to Jordan, and from the banks thereof fetch
every one a beam, or piece of timber, that they might
i A. M. 3 no.
N 4 therewith

1 84 SACRED HISTORY, Fart III,
therewith make them a more commodious place to
dwell in. He bid thern go: but they, not being wil-r
ling to go without him, one of them faid to him, :
Vouchfafe, I pray thee, to go with thy fervants. He
confenting, went with them : and being come to Jor-?
dan, they fell to work to cut down timber, But as
one of them was felling a tree for a beam with a bor
rowed axe, the axe -head, dropping off from the helve,
fell into the water. At which the workman crying out,
" Alasj mafter! for it was borrowed:" the man of
God afked him, " Where it fell ?" And when the
workman had /hewed him the place, the man of God
cutting a flick, and calling if in there, iaimediately
the axe did fwim : fo that the workman, by the pror
phet's direction, put forth his hand, and took it up.
Elifha now returning to Samaria, foimd his prefence
Was needed there k, by reafon- of an extraordinary cafe,
which thus happened ?
Naaman, captain-general pf the hoft of the king
pf Syria, a man much renowned for his valour, and
in great efteem with the king his mafter, was a leper,
And the Syrians, upon fome excurfion which they had
made upon Ifrael, having brought put of the land of
Ifrael, amongft other captives, a little maid, who
waited on Naaman's wife; the one day, difcourfing
with her miftrefs about her lord's difeafe, happened
to fay, " Would God, my lord was with the pror
phet that is in Samaria: for he would recover him
of his leprofy."
One that over-heard this, went and told the king
what this Ifraelitifh maid had faid : whereuppn the
king put Naaman upon going ; offering to give him
his letters of recommendation to the king of Ifrael,
Naaman thereupon, taking with him a very noble
prefent for the prophet, viz. ten talents pf filver
(amounting, at three hundred feventy-five pounds
each, to three thoufand feven hundred and fifty pounds)
and fix thoufand pieces of gold (fuppofed to be Zhe-
k 2 Kings v. A. M. 3107. kels,

Part III, SACRED HISTORY. j8j
kels, which, at fifteen /hillings a piece, came to four
phoufand five hundred pounds) and befides all this,
ten changes of raiment ; he left Damafcus, and took
his journey for Samaria, then the royal feat of the
kings of Ifrael.
Being come thither, he delivered his letter, the
contents whereof (fo far as related to this bufinefs)
ran thus :
" Now when this letter is come unto thee, be
hold, I have therewith fent Naaman my fervant to
thee, that thou mayft recover him of his leprofy,"
When the king of Ifrael had read the letter, not
knowing the occafion upon which it was written, but
fu/petfting a defign to lie under it, he rent his clothes,
and cried out, " Am I God, to kill and to make
alive, that this man doth fend to me, to recover a
man of his leprofy ? Wherefore confider, I pray you,
faid he to his fervants, and fee how he feeketh an oc
cafion of quarrel againft me,"
The report of this ftrange fort of letter, and of the
king's trouble on the reading of it, quickly came to
the prophet Elifha's ear, who thereupon fent this
meffage to the king: " Let the leper come to me,
and he fhall know that there is a prophet in Ifrael."
The king, glad to be thus eafed, referred Naaman
to the prophet. Who thereupon coming with his
chariot and horfes, ftood at the door of Elifha's
houfe, expecting fome great ceremonious and formal
performances from him. But the prophet, quite con
trary, not lb" much as going forth to fee or fpeak
with ' him, fent him only this meffage, " Go and
wafh in Jordan feyen times, and thy flefh fhall come
again unto thee, and thou /halt be clean."
This great difappointment of his expectation put
Naaman into fuch a paflion, that in great wrath he
went away, faying, *? I thought he would furely have
come out to me, and have flood, and called on the
name of the Lord his God, and have moved his hand
to and fro over the place, and fo haye recovered the
leper. What does he tell ftje of Jordan ?, Are not
Abana

lU SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damafcus, better than
all the waters of Ifrael ? May I not wafh in them, and
be clean ?" So he turned, and went away in a rage.
But after fome time, when his anger was a little abated,
his fervants coming to him, intreated him to confi-
der, " Whether if the prophet had bid him do fome
great thing, he would not have done it : and how
much more reafonable it was, when the prophet only
bid him wafh, for him to do fo fmall a thing, in or
der to be cleanfed."
By their importunity and reafoning perfuaded, he at
length went down, and having dipped himfelf feven
times in Jordan, his flefh came again, like unto the
flefli of a little child ; and he was clean, according to
the faying of the man of God.
Then returning with all his retinue to the man of
God, he came, and Handing before him, faid, " Be
hold, now I know that there is no God in all the
earth, but the God of Ifrael. Now therefore, I pray,
(feeing by thy means I have received fo great a be
nefit from him) take thou a bieffing (that is, a pre
fent) of thy fervant." The prophet, not mercenary,
anfwered ; " As the Lord liveth, before whom I
ftand (or whofe fervant I am) I will not receive any."
And though Naaman urged him to take it, yet he
utterly refufed,
Naaman then, protefting that he would thenceforth
offer neither burnt-offering nor facrifice unto other
gods, but only to the. Lord, defired of the prophet
that he might have two mules burthen of earth, to
carry home with him ; zealoufly, but ignorantly,
thinking, either that there was fome inherent holinefs
in the earth pf that country, or that the God of Ifrael
would riot be facrificed unto upon any other earth than
the earth of Ifrael. »
But becaufe he had now declared that he would
never more worfhip any other God but the Lord;
he deprecates an offence that might arife from his
going into the houfe of Rimmon (the idol of the Sy
rians) with his mafter, when he went thither to worfhip.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY.' 187
fhip. " In this thing (faid he to the prophet) the
Lord pardon thy fervant, that when my mafter gocth
into the houfe of Rimmon, and he leaning on my
hand, I bow myfeif in the houfe of Rimmon ; when,
on that occafion, I bow myfeif in the houfe of Rim
mon, the Lord pardon thy fervant in this thing." All
the anfwer the prophet gave him was, " Go in peace :"
which was, among the Ifraelites, a common form of
valediction. And with it Naaman departed.
From thefe words of Naaman, and the prophet's
anfwer, a difpute hath arifen, whether Naaman's bow
ing in the houfe of Rimmon, though not with an in
tent to worfliip the idol (but only to accommodate
himfelf to his matter's pofture, who leaned on him,
while he bowed himfelf in worfhip to the idol) was a
fin, or no,
Thofe time-ferving minifters of flate, and others,
who are willing to fail with every wind of worldly
preferment, excufe it, as allowed (in their opinion) by
the prophet's faying, Go in peace.
But others, feeing the danger of fuch a politick
conformity, and willing to foreclofe the way thereto,
read the words in the preter tenfe ; which varying
the verfion from [when my mafter 'goeth into, &e.
and I bow,] to [when my mafter went into, &c. and
I bowed,] make the fenfe of the words to be a craving
pardon for a finful practice in times paft, not a li
cence to continue it in time to come: See Godwyn's
Mofes and Aaron, 1. 4. c. 7. p. 181. and Dan. Dyke's
Deceitfulnefs of Man's Heart, p. 181.
Naaman was no fooner gone, but Gehazi, the pro-,
phet Elifha's fervant (whofe fingers itched to be
handling fome of Naaman's money and raiment) faid
within himfelf, " Though my mafter hath fpared this
Syrian, in not receiving at his hand that. prefent which
he brought ; yet I will furely run after him, and take
fomewhat of him." Accordingly he followed Naa >
¦ man, whije he was yet got but a little way ; and Naa
man turning, and feeing him running after him, out
of refpect to hi? mafter alighting from his chariot, went

r88 SACRED HISTORY. Fart in.
went to meet him, and afked him, " Is all well?"
" Yes, faid Gehazi, all is well." But forging a me£
fage in his mafter's name, he added, " My mafter
hath fent me to acquaint thee, that even now (fince
thou lefteft him) there are come to him from mount
Ephraim two young men of the fons of the prophets ;
to whom he defires thee to give a talent of filver, and
two changes of garments."
Naaman, glad of this opportunity, to gratify (as he
thought) the man of God, faid to Gehazi ', " Let me
perfuade thee to take two talents i" and pre/ling him
to take them, he bound up two talents (being feven
hundred and fifty pounds) in two bags, with two
changes of garments; and fent two of his fervants with
Gehazi, to carry them for him. They had not far to
go, before they came to the tower: where Gehazi,
taking the loading from the fervants, difpofed it in a
private place and fent them back after their mafter.
Then reckoning all was fafe, in went he, and flood
before his mafter, as he ufed to do. His mafter, by
a divine revelation, knowing where he had been, and
what he had done, afked him, " Whence he came ?"
He, to excufe himfelf by another lie, anfwered,
" Thy fervant went no whither." No ? replied his
mafter, *¦ Went not my heart with thee, when the
man turned again from his chariot to meet thee ? Is
it a time to receive money, and to receive garments,
or any other gifts ? Of which he enumerated diver*
forts. Since therefore thou haft coveted the things
of Naaman, the leprofy of Naaman fhall cleave unto
thee, and unto thy feed for ever,"
This divine fentence, pronounced by the prophet
As' a due punifhment to Gehazi for his coveteoufhefs
and lying, immediately feized upon him : fo that he
went put from the prefence pf his matter, a leper,
white as fnow.
Some time after this, the king of Syria making war
upon Ifrael, and confulting and concluding with his.
1 2 Kings vi, fervants

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. ig9
fervants in what place to pitch his camp" againft them,
Elifha fent word to the king of Ifrael, to warn him
that he fhould beware not to pafs fuch a place, for
thither the Syrians were come down, and lay in wait
for him. And this the prophet did more than once
or twice. By which means the king of Ifrael, fend
ing to the place, and finding it was fo, efcaped the
danger; and the king of Syria's defigns upon him
were difappointed and defeated.
This fo troubled the king of > Syria, that calling his
fervants together, he faid unto them, " Will ye not
ihew me which of us is for the king of Ifrael ; and
who it is among us that difcovers our counfels
to him." Upon that one of his fervants (who per
haps might have been at Samaria with Naaman) re
plied, " It is none of us, my lord, O king : but
Eli/ha the prophet, who is in Ifrael, telleth the king
of Ifrael the words that thou fpeakeft in thy bed
chamber." Then faid the king, " Go, and fpy where he is,
that I may fend a party of horfe to feize him, and
bring him hither." One of his fervants faid, " He is
at this time at Dothan (a little city not far from Sa
maria)." The king thereupon fent horfes and cha
riots, and a ftrong party ; which came by night, and
compafied the city about.
Early next morning, when the prophet's fervant
(probably a new one, for we read no more of Geha-
zi's being with him, after that he was f mitten with
the leprofy for his wickednefs) was got up, and gone
abroad, he faw the hoft encompaffing the city with
both horfes and chariots. Wherefore hafting to his
matter, he cried out, " Alas, my mafter ! how fhall
we do ?" His mafter bid him not be afraid : " for
they (faid he) that be with us, are more, than they
that be with them."
And to convince him of it, he prayed to the Lord
to open, his fervant's eyes, that he might fee it. The
» A. M. 31 15. Lord

ioo SACRED HISTORY. Part IIL
Lord anfwered the prophet's prayer; and the young
man's eyes being opened, he faw the mountain full
of horfes and chariots of fire round about Elifha.
The Syrians, thinking they had Elifha fafe, came
down to feize upon him. But Elifha praying again
that the Lord would finite them with blindnefs, they
were fo blinded, that they did not know Elifha,
when he came to them. He thereupon telling them,'
that was not the way, nor that the city they fhould
go to, bid them follow him, and he would bring them
to the man whom they fought. They following himy
he led them to Samaria : and having brought them
into the city, he prayed the Lord to open their eyes/
that they might fee where they were ; and their fight
being reftored, they faw themfelves in the midft of
Samaria, and in the hands of their enemies.
The king of Ifrael would gladly have taken the
advantage to have cut off fo many of his enemies :
but not daring to do it without confulting the pro
phet, he afked him, " My father, fhall I fmite them ?
fhall I fmite them ?" " No, by no means, faid the
prophet : for if they had been taken as prifoners of
war, yet after quarter given, thou wouldft not have
flain them ; much lefs fliouldft thou flay thefe, whom
thou haft not taken in war. Rather, faid he, fet
food before them ; that having eat and drank, they
, may return to their mafter, and report to him the
good ufage they have had." The prophet's counfel
took place, and the Syrian foldiers, being well enter
tained, were peaceably difmiffed.
Some think this kind treatment difpofed the Sy
rians to a more peaceable temper, and to be quiet
neighbours afterwards : becaufe it follows in the text,
<f So the bands of Syria came no more into the land
of Ifrael." Others think it only made the Syrians
more wary how they ventured to make their incur-
fions and inroads upon Ifrael with fingle brigades, or
in fmall. bands, but that they. came afterwards in fuller.
armies ; becaufe the next verfe tells us, that Ben
hadad king of Syria, after this (how long after is
fomewhat

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 191
fomewhat uncertain, but certainly it could not be very
long after, for Benhadad did not live long after)
having gathered all his hoft together, went up and
befieged Samaria.
This was a very ftrait fiege, and brought the be
fieged to great diftrefs n. For as the fiege caufed a
great famine in Samaria, fo the long continuance of
it increafed the famine to that height, that an afs's
head was fold for fourfcore pieces of filver (which
being taken for common fhekels, and valued at fif
teen pence a piece, came to five pounds of flerling
money) : and the fourth part of a Kab (or quart) of
dove's dung, was fold for five pieces (or fhekels) of
filver, or fix /hillings three-pence.
But every one among the befieged was not able to
pay after this rate, if the commodity had been to be
had. So that the poorer fort of people were driven
to the utmoft extremity, as the following inftance will
manifeft. For as the king of Ifrael was palling by
upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, faying,
" Help, my lord, O king." He thinking fhe would
importune him for bread, anfwered her fomewhat
roughly, " If the Lord do not help thee, whence
fhall I help thee ? Out of the barn-floor, or out of
the wine-prefs ?" This fretful anfwer did not fatisfy
the woman ; but it feems fhe continued her cry to the
king, which made him afk her what ailed her?
Whereupon fhe thus opened her complaint :
." This woman (pointing to another) faid unto me,
Give thy fon, that we may eat him to-day ; and we
will eat my fon to-morrow. So we boiled my fon,
and did eat him : and on the next day I faid to her,
Give thy fon, that we may eat him ; and fhe hath hid
her fon."
Though this was but one of thofe judgments which
Mofes had long before told the Ifraelites fhould fall
upon them, Deut. xxviii. 53. if they rebelled againft
the Lord (as thefe had done), and therefore might have
? A. M. 3116. been

joa sacred: HISTORY. Part III.
been the lefs furprifing* yet it being a thing fo ab
horrent from nature, for parents to feed upon the flefh
of their own children, the king Upon hearing thereof
was fo ftruck, that he rent his clothes ; whereby the
people that were ptefent perceived that he had fack-
eloth underneath upon his flefh.
But though he hatl on him the outward figns of for
row, he had not in him the figns of true repentance;
For flying out moft fiercely againft the prophet Elifha,
as if he had been inftrumental to .bring this diftrefs
upon them, he fwore he would take off Elifha's head
that day ; and forthwith fent an officer to do it, him
felf alfo following him.
Elifha, mean while, fitting in his houfe, with the
elders about him, had this defign againft his life re
vealed to him by the fpirit of the Lord. And there
upon, before the officer came, he faid to the elders,
tc See ye how this fon of a murderer (meaning Ahab,
the father of this king, who had flain Naboth, and
other good men) hath fent to take away mine head.
Look when the meffenger comes, that ye fhut the
door, and keep him out a while (till I have delivered
the meffage I have from the Lord) : for is not the
found of his mafter's feet behind him ?"
He had fcarce done fpeaking before the mefienger
came ; whom the elders entertaining at the door with
difcourfe (and endeavouring to convince him that this
grievous famine, and the mifery that attended it, was
not an accidental thing, but an evident judgment,
fent by God upon them for their fins) he, or perhaps"
the king rather (who, following him, might by this
time be come up to them) in a defperate mind fa-id,
u Nay ! If this evil be of the Lord, what fhould I
wait for (or truft in) the Lord any longer ?"
The prophet Elifha hearing this, could contain no
longer0; but cried out, " Hear ye the word of the
Lord: Thus, faith the Lord, To-morrow, about this
time, fhall a meafure (which Godwyn explains to be-
• 2 Kings vii. a gallon

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 193
a gallon and half, or fix quarts) of fine flour be fold
for a fhekel (or fifteen pence) and two meafures of
barley for a fhekel;"
A lord that was prefent (on whofe hand the king
leaned) hearing this, and counting it an extravagant
word, and impoffible to be performed, considering
the fhortnefs of the time prefixed for it, faid in deri-
fion, " If the Lord Would make windows in heaven
(to pour grain down upon them) could this thing
be ?"
This incredulity of his, aggravated by his contempt
of what the prophet had delivered in the name of
the Lord, made the prophet give him this fhort an
fwer ; " Thou fhalt fee it with thine eyes, but fhalt
not eat thereof."
How fuch a plentiful fupply of food fhould be
brought to Samaria in fo fhort a time, the enemy
having begirt it with a clofe fiege, and thereby cut
off all avenues, was indeed beyond the reach of man's
comprehenfion : but God hath fecret ways of work
ing, which, till he difcovers them, are paft finding out.
And thus the thing was brought about :
There were at this time four leprous men, that fat
at the entering in of the gate, of Samaria. They were
forced to be without the gate, becaufe of their lepro
fy, that they might not infect others, Levit. xiii. 46.
And 'they were willing to be as near the gate as they
might, becaufe of the enemy, that they might be in
fafety. If the famine was fo hard within, it cannot
be fuppofed thefe poor lepers could fare well with
out. When therefore they had fat there, till they
were almoft pined to death, they faid one to ano
ther, " Why fit we here until we die ? If we fhould
attempt to enter the city, and could get in, the fa
mine being fo ftrong in the city, we fliould die
there ; and if we fit ftill here, we fhall die alfo.
Now therefore come, let us fall into the hoft of the
Syrians ; if they fave us alive we fhall live ; and if
they kill us, we fhall but die."
Vol. II. * O Thus

194 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Thus refolved, they rofe up in the twilight (for
they durft not be feen to go to the enemy) and to
the camp of the Syrians they went ; expecting, no
doubt, to have been feized by the centinels or out-
guards. But when they came to the uttermoft part
of the camp of Syria, they found no man there.
For in the night the Lord had caufed the Syrian
hoft to hear a noife of chariots and of horfes, as if
there had been a great army coming upon them. At
which terrified, they faid one to another, " Lo the
king of Ifrael hath hired againft us the kings of the
Hittites, and of the Egyptians; and they are come
upon us." Having with this apprehenfion frighted
one another, they arofe and fled in the twilight, leav
ing their tents, with their horfes and their afles tied
as they were, even the whole camp juft as it was,
and ran for their lives."
When thefe lepers had pafled through the camp,
and found the coaft clear ; the firft thing they did
was to fatisfy their hunger. Wherefore entering in
to one tent, they eat and drank till they had filled
themfelves : and then carrying out filver, and gold,
and raiment, went and hid it. Then coming again,
they entered another tent ; and carrying thence alfo,
they went and hid that too.
At length, remembering themfelves, they faid one
to another, " We do not well : for this is a day of
good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we tarry
till the morning, fome mifehief will come upon us :
now therefore come, let us go tell the king's houfe-
hold." Returning then to the gate of Samaria, they called
to the porter, and told him the good news : he told
it to the reft of the porters, and they carried it to
the king's houfhold within.
The king thereupon arofe ; but fufpedting it to be but
a ftratagem of war, faid to his fervants, " I will now
fhew you what the Syrians have done to us. They
know we are hungry ; therefore to intice us out of
the city, they are gone out of their camp, and have hid

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 195
hid themfelves in the fields, with defign, when we
come out, to catch us alive, and fo get into the
city."
To prevent that (faid one of his fervants) " Let fome
take, I pray thee, five of the horfes that remain (which
will be no great hazard: for the horfes, like the
people, are almoft pined to death) j and let us fend
and fee whether it be fo or no»"
This counfel being approved, they mounted two
men upon two of their chariot-horfes, and the king
fent them after the hoft of the Syrians, to difcover
what courfe they had taken.
Thefe fcouts having traced them as far as Jordan,
and found the way full of garments and veffels (which
the Syrians, to lighten themfelves, had caft away in
their hafty flight) returned, and told the king fo.
Whereupon the people, glad of this unexpected deli
verance, went out to ranfack the tents of the Syrians.
Where, befides great riches, fuch ftore of provifions
for food was found, that it being brought into Sama
ria, a meafure of fine flour was fold for a fhekel, and
two meafures of barley for a fhekel, according to the
word of the Lord by Elifha.
That thefe flores might not be imbezzled and
wafted, nor the people be diforderly in taking them,
the king appointed that lord, on whofe hand he
leaned (and who had before flighted the prophet's
prediction) to have the charge of the gate through
which the fpoil of the Syrian camp was to be brought
in. But the hunger-bitten people, impatient of delay,
and prefling hard to come at that they fo much wanted,
trod upon that lord in the gate, and killed him; fo that,
though he faw the plenty, yet he tailed not of it, as
the man of God had before told him. And this juft
punifhment came upon him, not only for his incre
dulity, but for his contempt of the word of the Lord
by his fervant the prophet.
Though Samaria, by reafon of the fiege, was moft pref-
fed with this famine p, yet all the land of Ifrael felt
t 2 Kings viii,
O 2 it

196 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
it for feven years together. Of which the prOphet
Elifha gave timely notice unto that Shunamitifh wo
man, who had fo kindly entertained him, and whofe
fon he had before reftored to life ; advifing her to go,
with her houfhold, and fojourn where fhe could, un
til the famine fliould be over.
She, thus forewarned by the man of God, went
with her houfhold into the land of the Philiftines,
and fojourned there during the time of the famine in
Ifrael, which lafted feven years. But when the feven
years were ended, and the famine was over, return
ing to her own country again, fhe found her houfe and
land poffeffed by others, who, in her abfence, had
entered thereinto. So that fhe was obliged to addrefs
herfelf to the king, and pray to be reftored to her
eftate. Coming for that end to the court, fhe found the
king talking with Gehazi (the old fervant of the pro
phet Elifha) who, at the king's command, was re
counting unto him the great things his mafter the
prophet had done : and in the courfe of his narration,
was juft then relating how his mafter had reftored a
dead body to life (meaning the fon of this woman),
when the woman with her fon came in, to prefent
her petition to the king. Whereupon Gehazi told
the king that this was the woman he had been fpeak-r
ing of, and this was her fon' whom Elifha had re
ftored to life.
This fell out very opportunely and happily for the
poor woman. For the king, who before was taken
with the relation, was new fo affected with the pro
vidence that had brought the woman and her fon
to his prefence, whereby he had the opportunity of
feeing and converting with a perfon that had been
dead, and was raifed again to life, that after he had
inquired of the woman about it, and had received from
her a confirmation of the truth thereof, he gave charge
to one of his officers not only to put the woman into
poffeffion of her whole eftate again, but to reftore her

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 197
her all the mean profits thereof, from the time fhe
had left the land until that day.
About this time Benhadad, king of Syria, was fick qj
and hearing that the prophet Elifha was come to Da
mafcus (which was then the royal city of Syria) he
bid Hazael, one of his fervants, take a prefent with
him, and go meet the man of God, and by him
inquire of the Lord whether he fhould recover ¦ of
that difeafe.
Hazael thereupon, taking a royal prefent, forty
camels burthen of the choice things of Damafcus (a
prefent fitter for a prince to make, than for a prophet
of God to receive) went to meet Elifha. And fetting
himfelf before him, faid, " Thy fon Benhadad, king
of Syria, hath, fent me to thee, faying, Shall I reco
ver of this difeafe ? Go tell him, anfwered Elifha, he
may certainly recover. Howbeit, added he, the
Lord hath fhewed me that he fhall furely die."
In which anfwer, though at the firft fight there
¦may feem to be fomewhat like a contradiction, yet
rightly taken, there is none. For the former part of
the anfwer [thou mayft certainly recover] related to
the nature of his difeafe, which of itfelf was not mor
tal, but curable ; the latter part [he fhall furely die]
related to the foreknowledge the prophet had re
ceived from God, of the treachery Hazael would ufe
againft him ; whereby he would furely take away his
life, to make way for his own acceffion to the
crown. The fenfe whereof, and of the rnifchief he would
afterwards do to Ifrael, caufed the prophet, with a
fettled countenance, to look ftedfaftly on Hazael, till
Hazael was afhamed, and the man of God wept.
Of which Hazael taking notice, afked, " Why
weepeth my lord ?" " Becaufe, anfwered the prophet,
J know the evil thou wilt do unto the children of
Ifrael. For their ftrong-holds wilt thou fet on fire,
their young men wilt thou flay with the fword, and
1 A. M. 3118.
O 3 wilt

i9S SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
wilt dafh their children in pieces, and rip up their-
women with child."
" But what ! replied Hazael, is thy fervant a dog,
that he fhould do this great thing?" Wherein he
feems to exprefs an abhorrence of To great an inhu
manity. And perhaps defigned withal to invalidate
the prophet's words, by intimating how unlikely it
was, that he, a private man of no great condition
(and therefore reprefents himfelf but as a dog) fhould
be able to atchieve fuch great matters ; for the pro
phet anfwered, " The Lord hath fhewed me that
thou fhalt be king over Syria."
This was enough for Hazael. Away he went
from Elifha, and returning to the king his mafter,
reported the prophet's anfwer wrong. For whereas
the prophet bid him fay to his mafter, " Thou
mayeft certainly recover';" he, when his mafter afked
him what the prophet faid to him, replied, " He
told me that thou fhouldft furely recover." But to
make fure that he might not recover, he on the mor
row took a thick cloth, and having dipt it in water,
fpread it upon the fick king's face ; fo that, being
therewith ftifled, he died ; and Hazael thereupon
ufurpftig the throne, reigned in his ftead.
Having fpent fome time in Ifrael and Syria, let
us now look back into Judah, and fee how things
went there.
Jehofhaphat, the good king of Judah, was now
dead, leaving his fon Jehoram (whom four years be
fore he had taken into a participation of the govern
ment) in fole poffeffion of the throne of Judah. But
far unlike to his father was he; for he walkedin the
way of the kings of Ifrael 3, like as did the houfe of
Ahab, and wrought that which was evil in the eyes
pf the Lord. For which this reafon is given, That
he had the daughter of Ahab to wife. So dangerous
a thing it is to take a wife out of a wicked family,
f 2 Chron. xx}. • 2 Kings viii. 2 Chron. xxi,
s»

Fart 111. SACRED HISTORY. 199
So far did this Jehoram forfake the Lord God of
his fathers, that he made high-places in the moun
tains of Judah, and caufed the inhabitants of Jeru
falem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah
thereunto. And fo unnaturally cruel was he, that to
ftrengthen himfelf in his government, he flew all his
brethren, the other fons of his father Jehofhaphat,
fix in number, with divers alfo of the princes.
But he went not either unreproved or unpunifhed.
For there came a writing to him from Elijah the
prophet (as the text hath it) who had been tranflated
fome years before (if, from the likenefs of the names,
Elijah hath not crept into the text, inftead of Elifha,
who was then living. But Tremellius and Junius fay,
Elijah writ it by prophetical forefight, before he was
tranflated, and left it for him). However it was, the
contents of the writing were thus :
" Thus faith the Lord God of David thy father ;
becaufe thou haft not walked in the ways of Jeho
fliaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Afa king of Ju
dah ; but haft walked in the way of the kings of If
rael, and haft made Judah, and the inhabitants-of Je
rufalem, to go a -whoring, like to the whoredoms of
the houfe of Ahab, arid-alfo haft flain thy brethren of
thy father's houfe, who were better than thyfelf: be
hold, with a great plague will the Lord fmite thy
people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy
goods ; and thou fhalt alfo have great ficknefs, by
difeafe of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out, by
reafohvpf the continual ficknefs."
Very^great and very particular are the punifhments
here denounced againft this wicked king, for his great
and very particular fins. All which came on him fuc-
ceffively, in a little time, to the full completing of
the fentence given.
For firft, in his days the Edomites (whom king
David had fubdued, 2 Sam. viii. 14. and who from
that time to this had no king of their own; but
were governed by a vice-roy, or deputy, fet over
them, 1 Kings xxii. 47.) revolted from under the do-
0 4 minion

aeo SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
minion of Judah, and made themfelves a king. And
though Jehoram went forth againft them with his
princes, and all his chariots with him; and fetting
upon the Edomites by night, did fome fmall execu
tion upon them, yet did Edom maintain the revolt,
and was never reduced under fubjection to Judah any
more. Whereby the prophecy of the patriarch Ifaac
(the father of both Edom and Ifrael) foretelling both
Edom's fubjection to Ifrael,, and his breaking after-
ward's Jacob's yoke from off his neck, Gen. xxvii. 40.
feems to have been in great part completed.
At the fame time that Edom thus revolted, revolted
alfo Libnah, a city and territory of good account ;
Which in Jofhua'' s time had akjng.of its own, Jofh. x. 29,
30. and was afterwards given to the children of Aaron,
for a city of refuge for the man-flayer, Jofh. xxi. 13,
And to afflict him the more, the Lord flirred up
againft Jehoram the fpirit of the Philiftines, and of
the Arabians that bordered upon the Ethiopians.
Thefe coming againft Judah, brake into Jerufalem,
and carried away all the fubftance that was found in
the king's houfe, together with his wives and his fons :
fo that he had never a fon left him fave Jehoahaz, the
youngeft of his fons, who is alfo called Ahaziah,
2 Chron. xxii. 1. and Azariah, ver. 6.
Thus was the punifhment denounced againft Jeho^
ram fulfilled upon him, in his people, in his wives,
in his children, and in his goods '. That part only
remained which related to his perfon. For the ac^
complifhment whereof after all the reft, the Lord
fmote him in his bowels with an incurable difeafe ;
under which when he had laboured two whole
years, his bowels, by reafon of his violent ficknefs,
fell out; " Leaving him who had no bowels of com
paffion towards his own brethren (whom he flew)
without bowels to fuftain life in himfelf."
Thus died Jehoram king of Judah (a bad fon of a
good father) without being defired; which his people
/hewed by making no burning for him, like the
' 2 Kings viii. z Chron. xxii. burning

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. aor
burning for his fathers (which was done with perfumes
and fweet odours of fpices) : yet they buried him in the
city of David, though not in the fepulchres of the
kings. His reign is determinately eight years : but
of thofe he is fuppofed to have reigned four as co-
rex with his father ; and the other four zsfole rex, by
himfelf. To him fucceeded his youngeft fon Ahaziah (called
alfo Azariah, 2 Chron. xxii. 6. and Jehoahaz, chap.
xxi. 17.) all his other fons being flain before, in
their father's life-time, by the Arabian army that in
vaded Judah, ibid. But fome diverfity there is in
the account of his age when he came to the crown,
as it is delivered in the books of Kings and Chro
nicles. For in 2 Kings viii. 26. we read, Aha
ziah was two-and-twenty years old when he began to
reign. But in 2 Chron. xxii. 2. we read Ahaziah was
forty-and-two years old when he began to reign.
To accommodate this difference, fome have ima
gined that he was made king while his father
reigned, and after his father's death was confirmed
king, when he was forty-and-two years old. And
this way the marginal note in the Bifhop's bible, on
2 Kings viii. 26. fays it is to be underftood.
But how long or fhort foever his reign was, or at
what age foever he came to it, this king Ahaziah
walked in the ways of the houfe of Ahab ; for his
mother, whofe name was Athaliah, was his counfel
lor to do wickedly. , She is faid to be the daughter of
Qmri, 2 Chron. xxii. 2. which hath made fome call
her Ahab's fifter : but fhe was indeed the daughter of
Ahab, 2 Chron, xxi. 6. and fo the grand-daughter of
Omi. Having fo ill a counfellor, it is not to be wondered
that he took evil courfes, and did evil in the fight of
the Lord, like the houfe of Ahab. For as his father,
while he lived, was not likely to direct him better,
either by advice or example; fo after his death, his
mother, and others of that family, by their pernicious
ccunfels, led him to deftructipn. For by their adr
vice

aoa SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
vice it was that he went with Jehoram, (fon of
Ahab, king of Ifrael) to war againft Hazael king of
Syria at Ramoth-Gilead. Where Jehoram (or Joram,
for fo alfo, by contraction, he is called) being beaten
and wounded, he returned to Jezreel, to be healed
of Ins wounds : and thither alfo went Ahaziah to
vifit him, and bear him company while he lay fick
of his wounds.
Mean while the prophet Elifha (that he might
perform what his mafter the prophet Elijah was com
manded to do, i Kings xix. 16.) calling to him one of
the fons of the prophets, faid unto him, " Gird up thy
loins" (that is, as interpreters generally under/land it,
from the cuftom in thofe eaftern countries of wear
ing garments long and loofe, Gird up thy long coat,
or gown, about thy loins, that it may not, by hang
ing at thy heels, hinder thy fpeedy running) and take
this box of oil in thy hand to Ramoth-Gilead. And
when thou art come thither, look out there Jehu the
fon of Jehofhaphat, the fon of Nimfhi ; and go in,
and make him arife up from among his brethren (or
companions) and lead him to an inner chamber. Then
take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and fay,
Thus faith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over
Ifrael. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not."
With this inftruction the young prophet haftened
to Ramoth-Gilead. Where finding the captains of
the hoft fitting together, he flepped in amongft them,
and faid, " I have an errand to thee, O captain."
But not diftinguifhing him by name, Jehu afked,
" Unto which of us all ?" To whom the prophet re
plied, " To thee, O captain." Jehu thereupon arifing,
went with him into a private room in the houfe, where
the prophet having poured the oil on his head, thus
delivered his meffage to him,
" Thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, I have
anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even
over Ifrael. And thou /halt fmite the houfe pf Ahah
u 2 Kings ix. A. M. 3120,
'\ thy

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 303
thy mafter ; that I may avenge the blood of my fer
vants the prophets, and the blood of all the fervants
of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole
houfe of Ahab fhall perifh ; and I will cut off from
Ahab him that piffeth againft the wall, and him, that
is fhut up and left in Ifrael, And I will make the
houfe of Ahab like the houfe of Jeroboam the fon of
Nebat, and like the houfe of Baafha, the fon of Abi
jah. And the dogs fhall eat Jezebel, in the portion
of Jezreel ; and there fhall be none to bury her. And
having thus faid, the prophet opened the door, and
fled." In this paffage we may obferve, that although
Elifha, fending a young man on this fo important an
errand, took care to give him particular inftruction
and direction how to behave himfelf in every part
of the action, relating not only to the anointing of
Jehu, but to his own fafety in efcaping afterwards,
yet the particulars of the meffage, with refpect to
the end for which Jehu was anointed, and the work
to which he was appointed, namely, the utter deftruc-
tion of Ahab's houfe (contained in ver. 7, 8, 9, 10.
of 2 Kings ix.) it doth not from the text appear that
Elifha did dictate to him. But rather it may be fup
pofed, that the meffenger (being a prophet, though
but young) received the particulars of his meffage
immediately from the Lord.
When the prophet was gone, and Jehu come forth
to his companions again, they afked him, firft, more
generally, ff If all was well w?" Then more particu
larly, <f Wherefore that fanatick, or mad fellow. (fo
were the gppd prophets, even then, by fome cpnr
temptuoufly called) came to him ?"
He would haye put them off with a general an
fwer, telling them ff They knew the man and his
communication" (as much as to fay, " Ye fee he is
one of the prophets, and therefore ye may well guefs
at his bufinefs). But they, not fatisfied with fuch
f 2 Kings ix. 2 Chron. xxii, a general

2o4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
a general anfwer, preffed him to tell them his mef
fage more particularly. Whereupon he told them,
" Thus and thus he fpake to me, faying," Thus faith
the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Ifrael."
As foon as they heard that, not flaying to hear
more, they took their garments, and putting them
under him on the top of the flairs, they, with found
of trumpet, proclaimed him king. He thereupon
wifely taking the captains into counfel, faid to them,
" If it be your mind, let none of you go forth, nor
efcape out of the city" (Ramoth-Gilead, where all this
was tranfacted) to carry tidings of it to Jezreel, where
the king lay fick of his wounds.
Care being taken of that, Jehu forthwith fet
forward for Jezreel, that he might furprize and feize
the king there. But ere he could get thither, the
centinel, or watchman, that flood on the tower of
Jezreel, efpying the company of Jehu on the way,
gave warning thereof. Whereupon king Joram or
dered a fcout or horfeman to be fent forth to meet
them, to inquire if they came peaceably.
As foon as the meffenger met Jehu, he afked him in
the king's name, if he came in a friendly and peace
able manner ? To whom Jehu anfwering fhort, faid,
" What haft thou to do with peace ? Turn thee be
hind me."
The watchman on the tower prefently gave notice
that the meffenger was gone to them; but did not
come back again. Whereupon the king fent forth a
fecond horfeman ; who being come, and in the king's
name afking the fame queftion, " Is it peace ?" re
ceived from Jehu the fame anfwer, " What haft thou
to do with peace ? Turn thee behind me."
When the watchman had given account of this alfo,
and had told them that the marching was like the
marching of Jehu, the fon (that is, the grandfon) of
Nimfhi, for that he marched furioufly, king Joram
called for his chariot, and taking with him his gueft,
Ahaziah king of Judah, (but eachirrhis own chariot)
they went out againft Jehu, whom they met (Provi dence

Part III. SACRED HISTO R Y; aoj
dence fo ordering it) in the very fpot of ground
which Ahab had taken from Naboth the Jezreel ite.
And as foon as Joram came near to Jehu, he alfo
afked the fame queftion, " Is it peace, Jehu ?" And
received from him this rough anfwer, " What peace 1
fo long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and
her witchcrafts are fo many ?"
By that anfwer Joram knew what he was to expect.
Wherefore thinking it better to truft to his heels
than to his hand, he cried out, " There is treachery,
O Ahaziah :" and turning away, fled. But Jehu
drawing a bow with his full ftrength, fmote king Jo
ram between his arms, fo that the arrow went out at
his heart, and he fank down in his chariot. Which
Jehu obferving, bid Bidkar his captain take him up,,
and caft him into the portion of the field of Naboth.
For remember, faid he, how that when thou and I
rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord -laid
this burden upon him, faying, " Surely, I have feen
yefterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his
fons, and I will requite thee in this plat, faith the
Lord." Now therefore take and caft him into the
plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord.
When Ahaziah, the king of Judah, faw this, he
fled by the way of the gardeh-houfe ; and Jehu fol
lowing after him, bid " Smite him alfo in his cha
riot :" which they did ; whereupon he, finding himfelf
mortally wounded, fled to Megiddo, and there died.
From thence his fervants carried him in a chariot to
Jerufalem, and there buried him in his fepulchre,
among his fathers, in the city of David. But his de
finition is exprefly faid to be of God, 2 Chron. xxii.
7. by his going to Joram; and indeed his going to
Joram haftened it, and brought it more immediately
on him : not but that it was due to him, not only as
he was a branch of Ahab's family (being the fon of
Ahab's daughter) to all which utter deftruction was
denounced ; but as he walked, the little time he
reigned, in the way of his grandfather Ahab.
-¦'.-' But

*>6 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
But Jehu, purfuing his courfe, went on to Jezreel"
Whither when the queen dowager Jezebel (Ahab's
widow) heard he was come, fhe refolving to hold up
her grandeur to the laft, painted her face, and tricked
up her head; and as he entered in at the gate, fhe
looking out at a window, upbraidingly afked him,
" Had Zimri peace, who flew his mafter ?"
Jehu thereupon, looking up to the window, afked,
" Who is on my fide ? Who ?" and there looking out
to him two or three eunuchs", he bid them throw her
down, and they did fo : and in the fall fome of her
blood was fprinkled on the wall, and on the horfes j
and Jehu trod her under foot.
This execution done, Jehu went in, and did eat
and drink. But bethinking himfelf of Jezebel, he
faid to fome about him, " Go fee now after this cur-
fed woman, and bury her, for fhe is a king's daughter;
and fo indeed fhe was the daughter of Ethbaal king
of the Zidonians, i Kings xvi. 31. But when they
came to bury her, they found no more of her but the
fkull and the feet, and the palms of her hands ; for
the dogs had eaten the reft. Which when they had re
ported to Jehu, he made this obfervation on it;
<c This (faid he) is the (effect of) the word of the
Lord, which he fpake by his fervant Elijah the Tifh
bite, when he faid, In the portion of Jezreel fhall
dogs eat the flefli of Jezebel : and the carcafe of Je
zebel /hall be as dung upon the face of the field, in
the portion of Jezreel ; fo that they fhall not fay, This
is Jezebel. There fhall not be fo much of her left,
as whereby fhe may be known."
Thus died this wretched queen, notorious for her
wickednefs ; notorious alfo for the eminent judgment
which brought her to this wretched end. Whofe me
mory has been hateful in all ages fince ; and whofe
name, near a thoufand years after her death, was ufed
enigmatically to reprefent the greateft feducer and
"A. M. 3120. idolatrefa

Fart. III. SACRED HISTORY. 207
* idolatrefs in the early time of the Chriftian church,
Rev. ii. 20.
King Ahab had feventy fons in Samaria (under which
term, nephews, or grandfons, are fometimes compre
hended in fcripture-phrafe). Here were heirs enough
to the crown of Ifrael ; and likely enough, one would
think, it might have been, that, out of fo many
fome one or other might have tried his title with Je
hu. Jehu, willing to found the minds of the princes
and rulers of Samaria, who had the care and over-
fight of Ahab's children, fent them a braving letter,
in thefe terms :
" As foon as this letter cometh to you, feeing your
mafter's fons are with you, and then* are with you
chariots and horfes, a fenced city alfo, and armour j
look out even the beft and fitteft of your mafter's
fons, and fet him on his father's throne, and fight for
your mafter's houfe."
When they had read this letter, they were exceed
ingly afraid ; and faid one to another y, " Behold,
two kings ftood not before him; how then fhall we
/land ?" He therefore that was over the king's houfe,
and he that was over the city, together with the el
ders, and thofe that had the education of Ahab's
children, fent to Jehu faying, " We are thy fervants,
and we will do all that thou fhall bid us : we will
not make any king ; do thou that which is good in
thine eyes."
Upon this fubmiffive meffage, Jehu fent them ano
ther letter, in which he wrote, " If ye be mine, and
will hearken unto my voice, then take ye the heads'
of the men, your mafter's fons, and come to me to
Jezreel by to-morrow this time."
When they had received this fecond letter, they,
without hefitation, took the king's fons, being feven
ty perfons, and flew them ; and putting their heads in
ba/kets, fent them to Jehu at Jezreel.
v 2 Kings x.
When

208 SACRED HISTORY. Part III*
When the meffengers told Jehu that they had
brought the heads of the king's fons, he gave order
they fhould be laid in two heaps at the entering iri
of the gate until the morning. And in the morning,
going forth to them, he faid to all the people, " Ye
be righteous : Behold, I confpired againft my ma
fter, and flew him : but who flew all thefe ? Know
now, that there fhall not fall unto the earth any thing
of the word of the Lord, which the Lord fpake con
cerning the houfe of Ahab ; for the Lord hath dorle
that which he fpake by his fervant Elijah."
Having now flain all that remained of the houfe of
Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinf-
folks, and his •priefts, until he had left him none re
maining there, Jehu departed thence, and took his
way towards Samaria, to fee what of Ahab's flock
was yet left there. And as he was at the fhearing-
houfe in the way, he met with the brethren (or rather
brother's fons, 2 Chron. xxii. 8) of Ahaziah late king
of Judah, who feemed not to have known any thing
of this fudden revolution ; for when he afked them,
" Who they were ?" They anfwered, <c We are the
brethren (or near kin/men) of Ahaziah ; and we go
down to falute the children of the king and of the
queen." Whereupon he bid his guards take them
alive ; which they did, and then flew them at the pit
of the fhearing-houfe, even two-and-forty men, not
fparing one of them.
He was gone but a little further on his way, ere
he lighted oh Jehonadab, the fon of Rachab, coming
to meet him. And having faluted him, he afked,
" Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart ?"
To which Jehonadab anfwering, cc It is : " If it be
fo, faid Jehu, Give me thy hand." Jehonadab there
upon giving him his hand, Jehu took him up to him
into the chariot, faying, " Come with me, and fee
my zeal for the Lord." And being come to Samaria,
he flew all that remained to Ahab there, till he had
deftroyed him in his whole race. But

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 209
But Jehu had a principal part of his work yet to
do, which was to deftroy the priefts of Baal ; for the
accomplifhment of which, he thought it neceflary to
join policy with his ftrength. Wherefore having ga
thered all the people together, he told them, " Ahab
had ferved Baal a little, but Jehu would ferve him
much. Now therefore, faid he, call unto me all the
prophets of Baal, all his fervants, and all his priefts,
let none be wanting ; for I have a great facrifice to
offer to Baal; whofoever fhall be wanting, he fhall
not live." But Jehu did this in fubtlety, to the in
tent that he might deftroy all the worfhippers of
Baal. Then caufing a folemn affembly for Baal to be pro
claimed, he fent through all Ifrael (to give notice
thereof) ; and all the worfhippers of Baal came in
fuch numbers, that they filled the houfe of Baal from
one end to the other.
Then ordered Jehu that veftments fhould be
brought forth for , all the worfhippers of Baal z.
Which being done, he and Jehonadab went in among
them, and bid the worfhippers of Baal fearch, and fee
that none of the fervants of the Lord were there with
them, but the worfhippers of Baal only. And when
they went in to offer facrifices and burnt-offerings, Je
hu appointed fourfcore men to watch without; unto
whom he faid, " If any of the men whom I have
brought into your hands efcape, he that letteth him
go /hall die for him."
This done, and the burnt-offering ended, Jehu faid
to the guard and to the captains, " Go in and flay
them : let none come forth." They thereupon going
in among them, fmote them all with the edge of
'nhe fword : and having caft them out, they went to
/the city of the houfe of Baal, and brought forth the
images out of the houfe of Baal, and burnt them.
And having broken dpwn the image of Baal, they
brake down alfo the houfe of Baal, and made it a
* 2 Kings xi. 2 Chron. xxiii.
,. Vol. II. P . draught-

aio SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
draught-houfe from thenceforward. Thus Jehu de
ftroyed Baal out of Ifrael.
Yet for all this, from the fins of Jeroboam the fon
Of Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin, (viz. from follow
ing after the golden calves that were in Bethel and
in Dan) Jehu departed not. For that being not fo
much a religious as a politick piece of idolatry, con
trived at the firft divifion of the kingdom to keep
the Ifraelites from going up to Jerufalem to worfhip,
left they fhould in time take the crown along with
them, and reunite themfelves to Judah, the fame in
tereft and reafon of flate, that fet up thofe calves,
prevailed ftill to keep them up.
So acceptable, however, to God was Jehu's , zeal,
and hearty diligence, in executing his judgments up
on Ahab's houfe, that he thereupon entailed the crown
of Ifrael upon his family unto the fourth generation.
Telling him, " Becaufe thou haft done well in ex
ecuting that which is right in mine eyes, and haft
done unto the houfe of Ahab according to all that
was in my heart, thy children of the fourth genera
tion /hall fit on the throne of Ifrael.
Yet becaufe Jehu, for all this great favour promifed
him, did not take heed to walk in the way of the
Lord God of Ifrael with all his heart, nor departed
from the fins of Jeroboam, the Lord began, even in
his time, to cut Ifrael fhort ; fuffering Hazael, king
of Syria, to fmite them in all their coafts.
For the reft of the acts of Jehu, all that he did, and
all his might, we are referred to the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Ifrael. Which cannot be
either of thofe books which are now extant under
that name ; for very little mention is made of him at
all in either of thofe two books ; nothing in compa-
rifon of what is faid of him in thefe 9th and 10th
chapters of the fecond book of Kings. Whence we
may well conclude, that that book of Chronicles, to
which we are here, and often elfewhere, referred, is
loft. That

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. ail
That which remains of the hiftory Of Jehu is, that
having reigned over Ifrael in Samaria eight-and-twen-
ty years, he flept with his fathers, and was buried in
Samaria, and Jehoahaz his fon reigned in his ftead.
It Was now a very bloody time : for as Jehu had
fried much blood in Ifrael^ fo Athaliah (the queen
dowager of Judah, and mother to the late king Aha
ziah, a right daughter of Jezebel) when /he faw her
fon Ahaziah was flain, ufurping to herfelf the go
vernment of Judah, did, in revenge of her father
Ahab's family, deftroy all the feed royal, that fhe
might utterly root out the flock of gOOd king Jeho^
fliaphat, and feeure to herfelf and her other forts the
kingdom. For Broughton faySj fhe had fons by ano
ther : and that fhe had, may be gathered frorri
2 ChrOn. xxiv. 7.
But though fhe made great havock irt the royal fa
mily, yet Divine Providence hindered her from to
tally extirpating Jehofhaphat's race. For Jehofha-
ba, the daughter of king Joram, and fifter to the late
king Ahaziah, took little Jehoafh (called alfo, by con
traction, Joafh, 2 Chron. xxii. 11.) an infant of a year
old, whom fhe had ftolen from among the king's
fons that were flain, and bid him, with his nurfe, in
a bed-chamber in the houfe of the Lord ; which fhe
had the better means of doing, being herfelf the wife
of Jehoiadathe high -prieft.
Six years together was this young prince concealed,
and brought up by his aunt, unknown to Athaliah,
who, during all that time, reigned over Judah.
But in the feventh year, his uncle J/ehoiada the
prieft, refolving now to bring him forth/ and fet hirri
Up for king, firft ftrengthened himfelf, by taking the
captains and rulers into counfel arid covenant with
him, to maintain and defend both the perfon and
title of the young king. Which covenant he made
them confirm by oath, in the houfe of the Lord;
and then fhewed them the king's fon, little Jehoafh.
Then directing the manner how this great enter-
prize fliould be accompliflied, he gave order that the
P 2 Levites^

212 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Levites, and chief of the fathers, fhould be gathered
out of all the cities of Judah to Jerufalem. Where
being affembled, and having taken the covenant for
fetting up the young prince for king, and maintain
ing his title, Jehoiada the prieft appointed them their
feveral polls. Ordering a third part of the priefts and
miniftering Levites (whofe turn it was to wait in the
temple from fabbath to fabbath) to guard the doors ;
a third part to guard the king's houfe (that is, his
apartment in the houfe of the Lord) and to attend
his perfon ; and a third part to keep one of the princi
pal gates ; leaving the people in the courts of the
houfe of the Lord, with this charge, that if any one
fhould attempt to break in within the ranges, he fhould
be put to death.
Things thus difpofed, and the priefts and Levites
having weapons delivered to them out of king Da
vid's armoury, which was kept in the houfe of the
Lord ; Jehoiada brought forth the king's fon, and fet
the crown upon him, and gave him the teftimony
(the bock of the law, according to the law, Deut.
xvii. 1 8). And having anointed him king, they clapped
their hands and fhouted for joy j~" and with found of
trumpet proclaiming him, faid, (C God fave the
king." The noife that was made by the acclamations of
the people, as they ran to and fro rejoicing, flartled
queen Athaliah, who, little thinking that the end of
her reign, and of her life alfo, was fo near, haftened
to the houfe of the Lord to fee what the matter was.
But when fhe came in, and faw the young king fland-
ing at his pillar at the entering in, with the princes
by him, the guards about him, and the people of the
land rejoicing a, with inftruments of mufic, and trum
pets founding, fhe rent her clothes, and cried out,
" Treafon, Treafon :" herfelf the traitor. But Jehoi
ada the prieft commanded the captains and officers
of the hoft to have her forth without the ranges (that
* A. M. 3127. fhe

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 213
/he might not be flain in the houfe of the Lord) and
to kill any that fliould attempt to take her parti'
Whereupon they laid hands on her, and having
brought her out by the horfe-gate, flew her there with
the fword.
Then did Jehoiada make a covenant between the
Lord and the king with the people; whereby they
bound themfelves to be the Lord's people. Which
done, the people went out to the houfe of Baal, and
brake it down. His altars alfo, and his images, they
brake in pieces : and flew Mattan, the prieft of
Baal, before the altar (according to the law, Deut.,
xiii. 9).
After which, Jehoiada the prieft (having purged
out fome corruptions, which in the former reigns
had been brought into the church) took the captains
of the hoft, with the nobles and governors, and all
the people of the land, and having brought down the
king from the houfe of the Lord, through the high-
gate into the king's houfe, fet him on the throne of
the kingdom. At which all the people rejoiced, and
the city was quiet, after they had flain Athaliah.
Seven years old was Joafh when he began to reign b,
which was in the feventh year of Jehu king of Ifrael,
and he reigned forty years in Jerufalem. And for fo
long of that time as Jehoiada the high-prieft lived,
who inftructed him in the way of God, he did that
which was right in the fight of the Lord. Whence
we may obferve, what great helps good counfel and
good example are to a prince. Yet the high-places
were not taken away, but the people ftill facrificed
and burnt incenfe in the high-places ; which, fo long
as they did it to the Lord, not to Baal, or other
idols, was winked at, though exprefly contrary to
God's command, Numb, xxxiii. 52. and commonly de-
ftructive to themfelves.
Though in the king's minority Jehoiada had fbrae-
Tyhat reformed the ecclefiaftical flate, and the; officers
k 2 Kings xii. 2 Chron, xxiv,
P 3 therein>

si4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
therein, yet he had not done any thing towards re
pairing the houfe of God ; which, through the cor
ruption of former times, had been not only fuffered
to go to decay, but had alfo been fpoiled by that
wicked woman Athaliah and her children, 2 Chron.
Xxiv. 7.
When therefore Jehoafh (or Joafh) was grown up to
reian's eftate, he fet his mind to repair the houfe of
the Lord. And having gathered the priefts and the
^evites together, he gave them in charge to go out
unto the cities of Judah, and gather money of all the
people to repair the houfe of the Lord from year to
year. To this fervice was appropriated all the money of
the dedicated things that was brought into the houfe
of the Lord, the ranfom,. or redemption-money (half a
Zhekel upon every head that was taxable, Exod. xxx.
j 2.) and all the money that came in by free-will of
ferings. This the king ordered the priefts to take,
©very one of his acquaintance, and with this to repair
the breaches of the houfe, wherefoever any breach
fhould be found.
But though he exprefly charged them to haften the
work, yet the Levites haftened it not. So that in the
t-hree-and-twentieth year of king Joafh, they had not
repaired the breaches of the houfe.
The king therefore calling for Jehoiada, and the
other priefts, and blaming them for their negligence
therein, forbad them to receive any more money of
their- acquaintance on that account; and required
them to deliver up what they had received for that
fervice. Upon this reproof, the priefts (taking the money
of the trefpafs-offerings, and of the fin-offerings, to
their own ufe) contented to receive no more money
from the people on the other accounts, nor take up
on them the charges of repairing the breaches of the
houfe. But Jehoiada the prieft, at the king's com
mandment, took a cheft, and having bored an hole in
the lid of it, big enough for money to be put in
at,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 215
at, fet it befide the altar, on the right hand, as they
went in at the houfe of the Lord. And proclamation
being made through Judah and Jerufalem, for all to
bring in to . the Lord the collection which Mofes,
the fervant of the Lord, had laid upon Ifrael in the
wildernefs ; all the princes and people rejoicing there
at, brought in, and caft into the cheft, until they had
made an end. And as oft as they found there was
much money in the cheft, the king's fecretary, and
the high-prieft (or his officer) took it out, and told it,
and putting it up in bags, delivered it to the fur-
veyors of the work, who paid it away to the carpen
ters, builders, mafons, and ftone-cutters, as well for
their workmanfhip, as for the timber, ftone, and other
materials, which were ufed for repairing the houfe of
the Lord.
This fo encouraged the workmen, that they plied
the work, and fini/hed it. And when they had put
the houfe of God in good repair, they brought the
reft of the money that Was left, before the king and
Jehoiada (for though they reckoned not with the men,
who were intrufted with the money for the workmen ;
yet they dealt faithfully in it) and out of that remain
der of the money were made veffels of filver and of
gold, to minifter, and to offer withal, in the houfe
of the Lord. For very likely it is, that in the for
mer wicked reigns, as the houfe of the Lord had
been defaced, fo the veffels of that houfe had been
embezzled and loft, or transferred to the houfe of
Baal ; and having been thereby polluted, were not fit
for the fervice of God any more.
The high-prieft Jehoiada had now attained to a
gpod old age, being an hundred and thirty years old
when he died. And becaufe he had done good in
Ifrael, both towards God, and towards his houfe, in
reftoring the true worfhip of God (which both king
and people kept to all his days) and in fettling the
kingdom again in the houfe of David; therefore they
buried him ip the city of David, and amongft the
kings.
P 4 -. But

216 SACRED HISTORY. Part IIL
But when once this good man's head was laid, the
princes of Judah, who had lived in the former ido»-
latrpus reigns, came and made obeifance to the king ;
and by their flattery prevailing on him, drew him,
with themfelves, to forfake the houfe of the Lord God
of their fathers (upon which they had fo lately be
llowed fo much charge) and to ferve groves and idols ;
for which great trefpafs of theirs, wrath came upon
Judah and Jerufalem from the Lord. Yet he fent
prophets to them (fuch as he raifed up, and employed
on particular occafions) to bring them again unto the
Lord ; but they would not give ear.
Then came the fpirit of the Lord upon Zachariah
(the fon of Jehoiada the late high-prieft) who taking
up his ftanding above the people, faid thus unto
them, " Thus faith the Lord, Why tranfgrefs ye the
commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot profper ?
Becaufe ye have forfaken the Lord, he hath alfo for
faken you."
This fo provoked thofe backfliders, that they con-i
fpired againft him, and Honed him to death, even in.
the court of the houfe of the Lord0, which they
ftuck not thus to pollute with innocent blood ; and
{which was yet worfe) they did it at the command of
the king ; who too ungratefully forgetting the mani7
fold kindnefles which his father Jehoiada had done
for him,, both in faving his life, and fetting him on
the throne, unjuftly and barbaroufly flew his fon.
He being at the point of death faid, " The Lojfd
look upon it, and require it."
Nor "was it long before the Lord did require the
innocent blood of this his fervant, upon both king
and people. For at the end of the year, Hazael king
of Syria, coming up with his hoft, fought againft
Gath (a principal city, which king David had taken
from thp Philiftines, i Chron. xviii. i.) and took
it. And from thence marching up to Jerufalem, he
deftroyed all the princes of Jerufalem j which (truck
f A.M. 3155. fuch

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 217
fuch a terror into king Joafh, that he took all the
hallowed things, which Jehofhaphat, and Jehoram,
and Ahaziah his fathers, kings of Judah, had in
three generations before dedicated, with the things
which he had dedicated alfo, and all , the gold that
was found in the treafures of the houfe of the Lord,
and in the king's houfe, and delivered it to Hazael
king of Syria, that he might depart from Jerufalem.
Remarkably eminent was the judgment of God
upon thefe princes of Judah, that they, who had
been the immediate inftruments to draw king Joafh
from the fervice and worfhip of the true God (in
which, he had been religioufly educated) to the wor
fhip of idols, fhould themfelves be deftroyed fo foon
after by an idolater and worfhipper of idols. And
that it might^the more evidently appear to be a di
vine judgment from God, upon both the king and
people of Judah, for their having forfaken the Lord
God of their fathers, he at this time delivered a very
great hoft of Judah into the hands of a fmall com
pany of men of the Syrian army.
Neither yet did the judgment ftop there, with re
fpect to king Joafh himfelf: but (blood requiring
blood) when the Syrians were departed from him
(who left him labouring under great difeafes) his
own fervants (Zabad, the fon of an Ammonitefs, and
Jehozabad, the fon of a Moabitefs) confpiring againft
him for the blood of the fon of Jehoiada the prieft,
Hew him on his bed, and he died, after he had
reigned forty years. And becaufe he was a king, they
buried him in the city of David, but not in the fe-
pulchres of the kings, becaufe he had forfaken the
way of the Lord,
In the three-and-twentieth year of this Jehoafh king
pf Judah, Jehu' dying, his fon Jehoahaz poffeffed the
throne of Ifrael. But he did that which was evil in
the fight of the Lord, following the fins of Jeroboam
the fort of Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin in the gol
den calves. For which the anger of the Lord being
kindled againft Ifrael, he delivered them into the
hand

218 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
hand Of Hazael king of Syria, and afterwards into
the hand of Benhadad the fon of Hazael, all his days.
Yet when Jehoahaz befought the Lord, the Lord
(feeing the oppreflion wherewith the king of Syria
oppreffed Ifrael) hearkened unto him, and in due
time gave Ifrael a faviour ; fo that they fhook off the
Syrian yoke, and dwelt fecurely in their tents, as they
had done in times pall.
But this deliverance was not wrought by Jehoahaz,
nor in his time (at leaft, not in the time of his fole
reign) but by his fon Joafh, or Jehoafh, either after
his father's death, or as co-rex with him (for fuch
fynarchies, or joint-reigns of father and fon toge*
ther, were very frequent in thofe times, and render
the chronology much more difficult). But Hazael,
king of Syria, oppreffed Ifrael all the days of Jehoa
haz, and reduced him to fo low a condition, that he
left him but fifty horfemen, and ten chariots, and ten
thoufand footmen, having deftroyed the reft by his
frequent victories over them.
The prophet Eli/ha, though very old, was yet
living; and might now to his fatisfaction in one
fenfe, though forrow in another, fee the fulfilling of
that prediction which he had given Hazael, con^
cerning. the ravage and cruelty which he would ex-
ercife upon Ifrael, when he fhould come to wear
the Syrian crown. Which if the fenfe thereof fo af
fected him, when, in the fpirit of prophecy, he only
forefaw it, as then to draw a fhower of tears from his
eyes, what may we fuppofe it now did, when he faw
it actually performed ?
But he had the comfort alfo to forefee and fore
tell the end of itd. For when Joafh, the fon of this
debated Jehoahaz, came to the crown, he going to
vifit the good old prophet Elifha (who was then fal
len fick of the ficknefs whereof he died) wept over
his face, (bewailing the approaching lofs of fo great a
prophet, andtb holy a man, who by lus fore^warnings
d 2 Kings xiii. Of

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 219
ofdangers, his wholfome counfels, and prevalent prayers,
was as a guard and bulwark to the nation) and cried
out," O my father, my father! The chariot of Ifrael,
and the horfemen thereof!" alluding, perhaps, to
the like expreflion, ufed long before by this good
prophet, at the departure of his endeared mafter
Elijah. The prophet, thereupon, as it were reviving, and
knowing that the Lord had determined, by this king
Joafh, to deliver Ifrael from the oppreffion of Syria,
bid him take a bow and arrows ; which when the king
had taken, and at the prophet's direction had laid
his hand upon the bow, ready to draw it; the pro
phet putting his hands upon the king's hands (that
they might draw the bow together) bid him open
the window eaftward (towards Syria) and flioot.
Which when the king had done, the prophet faid,
" The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the ar
row of deliverance from Syria; for thou (faid the pro
phet to the king) fhalt fmite the Syrians in Aphek
(which fignifies ftrength) until thou haft confumed
them." Then the prophet bidding the king take the reft of
the arrows (out of the quiver) and fmite the ground
with them; he did fo, but fmote but thrice, and
/laid. At which the prophet was wroth with him,
and told him, he fhould have fmitten five or fix
.times, and then he would have fmitten the Syrians,
till he had confumed them ; whereas now he fhould
fmite them but thrice.
Yet with that thrice fmiting (the Lord being gra
cious to Ifrael, and having compaffion on them, and
refpect to them, becaufe of his covenant with Abra
ham, Ifaac, and Jacob, for the fake of which he
would not deftroy them, nor caft them from his pre
fence as yet) king Jehoafh, after Hazael's death,
beating Benhadad, the fon Of Hazael, in three feve-
d 2 Kings xiii. 2 Chron. xxv, ral

220 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
ral battles, recovered from the Syrians the cities of
Ifrael, which had been taken from them by Hazael.
While this was doing, Elifha the prophet died, and
was buried ; and in a while after, another man being
to be buried near to the fepulchre of Elifha, it hap
pened that they who attended that burial fpied a
band of foldiers corning on towards them (for the
Moabites had at that time invaded the land); and being
more intent upon their own fafety, than the folemni-.
ty of fnT funeral, they, for hafte, caft the man into the
fepulchre of Elifha. But no fooner was the dead man
let down, fo that he touched the bones of Elifha, but
he revived and ftood upon his feet. Which miracle,
wrought after the prophet's death, feemed to flamp a
divine approbation on the prophetick actions of his
life. Soon after Jehoafh, the fon of Jehoahaz, came to
the crown of Ifrael, Amaziah fucceeded his father
Joafh in the kingdom of Judah \ And he, for a
while, did that which was right in the fight of the
,.Lord ; though not with a perfect heart, nor like his
anceftor king David : for, as if he had taken his fn-
ther Joafh for his pattern, he let the high-places re
main ftanding, and frittered the people to offer facri
fice, and burn incenfe thereon.
The firft public act we read he did, after he was
fettled on the throne, was to flay thofe fervants of
his that had flain his father. But the children of the
murderers he did not flay, having therein regard to
the law of Mofes, Deut. xxiv. 16. wherein the Lord
commanded, " That the fathers fhould not be put
to death for the children, nor the children for the fa-*
thers ; but every man for his own offence."
That piece of juftice performed, he gathered the
men of Judah together; and having made captains
over thoufands, and over hundreds, according to the
houfes of their fathers, throughout all Judah and
e 2 Kings xiv, Bert-i

Part. III. SACRED HISTORY. 221
Benjamin, he numbered them from twenty years old
and upwards, and found them three hundred thoufand
choice men, able to go forth to war, and to handle
fpear and fhield f.
To thefe he added an hundred thoufand mighty
men pf valour, whom he had hired out of Ifrael
for an hundred talents of filver. And with thefe in^
tended to march againft the Edomites.
But there came a man of God to him, and faid,
<c O king, let not the army of Ifrael go with thee,
for the Lord is not with Ifrael, nor with the children
of Ephraim." Then, not finding a readinefs in the
king to comply with this caution, he added, " But
if (notwithftanding this fair warning) thou wilt go on
in thy own will and way, do, make thyfelf ftrong for
the battle ;. but God fhall make thee fall before the
enemy, for God hath power to help, and to caft
down." This put the king to a Hand. Yet confidering
the charge he had been at, he faid to the man of
God, " But if I put off the army of Ifrael, what fhall we
do for the hundred talents, which I have given them ?"
This was a round fum, amounting to thirty-and-feven
thoufand and five hundred pounds,, which the king
thought too much to lofe. But the man of God,
flighting that, told him, " The Lord was able to
give him much more than that."
Upon this king Amaziah, drawing out his merce
nary men that came to him out of Ephraim, fent
them home again ; and ftrengthening himfelf with his
own men, led them forth to the valley of Salt.
Where fetting upon the children of Seir, he fmote
ten thoufand of them"; and taking other ten thoufand
alive, the men of Judah brought them to the top of
the rock ; and from thence catting them down, they
were broken all to pieces.
This victory was fomewhat abated by a lofs .the
conquerors fuftained the mean while. For the If-
f 2 Kings xiv. 2 Chron. xxv. raeliti/h

222 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
raelitifh army, which Amaziah had difcharged, con
fifting of an hundred thoufand mighty men of valour,
took it fo ill that they were fent back, and not fuf-
fered to go with him to the battle, that in their re
turn home, they fell furioufly upon the cities of Ju
dah all the way they went from Samaria, even to
Bethoron, and fmiting three thoufand of them, car
ried away much fpoil.
But this was not by much the worft that Amaziah
fuffered by this expedition. For when' he returned
from the flaughter of the Edomites, he brought
along with him the gods of the children of Seir, and
fet them up to be his gods ; and bowing down him
felf before them, he burned incenfe unto them.
For this the anger of the Lord was kindled againft
Amaziah, and he fent him a prophet, who faid unto
him, " Why haft thou fought after the gods of the
people, which could not deliver their own people
out of thy hand ?" This Was fuch a rational way of
conviction, as one would have thought fhould have
brought the king to a fenfe of his fin by his folly ;
but it had not fo good an effect upon him. For when
the prophet went on with his meffage to him, the
king grew pettifh, and faid angrily to him, " Art
thou made of the king's counfel ? Forbear, why
fhouldft thou be fmitten ? (that is, why fhouldft
thou provoke me to fmite. thee) ?" The prophet then,
finding him hardened beyond counfel, forbore pref-
fing it further on him ; and only faid, " I know that
God hath determined to deftroy thee, becaufe thou
haft done this, and haft not hearkened to his coun
fel by me."
It was not long ere this threatened deftruction
came upon Amaziah, and that by his own means.
For being fomewhat puffed up with his late victory
over the Edomites, and holding himfelf engaged in
honour to revenge the injury lately done him by the
Ifraelitifh army, in facking his cities, he fent a mef
fage to Joafh king of Ifrael in thefe words : " Come,
let us look one another in the face." Which terms, in

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 223
in thofe times, imported a challenge to fight; and
were here intended not for a duel, or fingle combat,
but for a pitched battle.
King Joafh, to fhew his contempt of Amaziah, re
turned him anfwer in this nipping apologue :
", The thiftle that was in Lebanon fent to the
cedar that was in Lebanon, faying, Give thy daugh
ter to my fon to wife. But there paffed by a wild
beaft that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thiftle.
Then he added, Thou fayeft (in thy heart at leaft)
Lo, I have fmitten the Edomites ! and thy heart
lifteth thee up to boaft. Well, abide at home (and
boaft there if thou wilt) ; for why fhouldft thou
meddle to thy hurt, that thou fhouldft fall, and Judah
with thee ?"
This fcornful anfwer whetted Amaziah the more ;
feeing himfelf compared to the thiftle, while Joafh
likened himfelf to the cedar. So that he would not
hearken to any terms of peace, but drew forth his
forces to the field. Which indeed God permitted,
that he might deliver him and his people into the
hand of their enemies, becaufe they had fought after
the gods of Edom.
King Joafh having alfo led forth his men, the
battle was joined at Bethfhemefh (a city belonging
to Judah) which fignifies, The houfe of bondage ; and
fo indeed it proved to Amaziah ; for Ifrael prevailing,
Judah was put to the worft, ands" glad to fave them
felves, who could, by flight.
Amaziah himfelf being, taken prifoner, king Joafh
brought him along with him to Jerufalem, whither
he carried his victorious arms. And being come thi
ther, he brake down the wall of Jerufalem, from the
gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred
cubits in length ; and having taken all the gold and
filver, and all the veffels (of value) that were found
in the. houfe of God, under the charge of the
fons of Obed-Edom, with the treafures of the king's
houfe, and hoftages alfo, he returned to Samaria, leaving

C24 SACRED HISTORY. Fart m.
leaving (as it feems) king Amaziah at liberty at Je
rufalem. But though Amaziah lived many years after this, yet
we read nothing more of him, fave that his people
confpiring againft him in Jerufalem, he fled for fafety
to Lachifh. But they fending fome to Lachifh after
him, flew him there ; and bringing him back to Je
rufalem ' (not with flate in his chariot, but) on horfes,
buried him with his fathers in the city of David.
Joafh, king of Ifrael, was dead fifteen years before,
and had for his fucceffor Jeroboam, his fon ; who,
reigning one-and-forty years, reftored in that time
the coaft of Ifrael, from the entering of Hamath unto
the fea of the plain. To which undertaking he was
encouraged by the prophet Jonah, whom the Lord
fent to him for that end. For the Lord feeing the
affliction of Ifrael, that it was very bitter, and not willing
the name of Ifrael fhould be blotted out from under
heaven, he faved them by the hands of this Jero
boam the fon of Joafh ; though otherwife he was one
that did evil in the fight of the Lord.
To this king's time, it feems, fhould be referred
that great exploit, which (we read in i Chron. v.
18, &c.) was performed by the Reubenites, Gadites,
and half tribe of Manaffeh ; who muftering four-and-
forty thoufand feven hundred and fixty valiant men,
fkilful in war, and able to ufe fword and buckler,
and to draw the bow, made war upon the Haga-
rites ; and being helped by the Lord (who upon their
crying to him in the battle, and putting their truft in
him, was intreated of them, and delivered the Ha-
garites into their hand) gave them a very great de
feat, and took from them a large booty of fifty thou
fand camels, two hundred and fifty thoufand fheep,
two hundred thoufand affes, and one hundred thou
fand prifoners, befides what were flain, which were
many. Thus they profpered, becaufe the war they
had was of God ; and having difpoffeffed thofe Haga-
rites, they dwelt in their places until the captivity.
THE

THE

BOOK

OF THE PROPHET

JONAH.

WHEN the prophet Jonah (whom Jerom in his
prologue to that prophet's book1, fays, the
Hebrews affirm to have been that fon of the
widow of Sarepta whom the prophet Elijah raifed
from the dead, i Kings xvii.) had performed the fer
vice he had been fent on to king Jeroboam, and the
people of Ifrael (mentioned before in 2 Kings xiv. 25.)
the Lord commanded him to goto Nineveh, to cry
againft it, becaufe their wickednefs was come up before
him. Nineveh, the metropolis then of the Affyrian mo
narchy, was very ancient, as having been built foon
after the flood by Nimrod, great grandfon to Noah
(for fo interpreters take the words in Gen. x. 11.
which has fome confirmation from Micah v. 6. J
though being afterwards enlarged by Ninus, it took
* Jonah i.
„ Vol. II. Q_ it

226 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
its name from him. It was alfo a very great city,
about four hundred furlongs in compafs (as pro-
phane writers report) which with us make fifty miles ;
and the text delivers it to be a city of three days
journey, chap. iii. 3. And how populous it was may
be gathered from there being in it more than fix-
fcore thoufand perfons, who did not know the right
hand from the left, chap. iv. 11. which is generally
underftood of infants.
To this fo ancient, fo great, fo populous, and with
al fo wicked a placeb, Jonah had no mind to go, efpe
cially upon fo /harp a meffage as he had to deliver.
Thinking therefore to flee unto Tarfhifh from the
prefence of the Lord, he went down to Joppa, a fea-
port town, to feek a paffage. And having found a
/hip there, ready to fet fail for Tarfhifh, he paid the
fare, and went on board.
But his fear had made him much forget himfelf, in
thinking he could flee from the prefence of the Lord.
Which, to his coft, he foon found ; for the Lord fent
forth a great wind, which raifed a great tempeft in
the fea, fo that the fhip was likely to be broken.
This made the mariners afraid, and fear made them
cry every man unto his God. Then beftirring them
felves to lighten the fhip, by catting forth the wares
that were in it into the fea, when to that end they
came down into the fides of the fhip, there they found
Jonah faft afleep.
The fhip-mafter then routing him up, faid, tc What
meaneft thou, O fleeper ! Arife, call upon thy God,
if fo be that God will think upon us, that we perifh
not." Having got him up, they all agreed to caft lots,
that they might know for whofe caufe. this evil was
come upon them, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then
faid they unto him, " Tell us, we pray thee, for
whofe caufe this evil is come upon us. What is thine
occupation ? *nd whence comeft thou ? What is thy
b A M. 3197. country ?

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 227
country ? And of what people art thou ?" He there
upon telling them that he was an Hebrew, one that
feared the Lord God of. heaven, who made the fea
and the dry land, he let them know how he had dif-
obeyed his God, and fled from the prefence of the
Lord. When they heard this, the men were exceedingly
afraid, and faid to him, " Why haft thou done^this ?
And what fhall we do unto thee, that the fea*may be
calm unto us ?" For the fea grew more and more tem-
peftuous. " Take me up, faid he to them, arid call
me forth into the fea, fo /hall the fea be calm unto
you ; for I know (added he) that for my fake this
great tempeft is upon you."
This ingenuous acknowledgment begat in thofe
failors a compaffion towards poor Jonah. And
though they had foffered fo much by his means, they
were very unwilling to throw him over- board. Where
fore they rowed hard to have brought the fhip to
land. But when they found they could not do it,
for that the fea wrought, and was tempeftuous againft
them, they cried unto the Lord (the true God, whom
Jonah had declared to be his God, the God who made
both fea and land, the God whom he had offended) ;
and they faid, " We befeech thee, O Lord, we be-
feech thee, let us not perifh for this man's fake, and
lay not upon us innocent blood, if, to fave ourfelves
from perifhing, we are obliged to caft him away ; for
thou, O Lord, haft done as it pleafed thee."
Having thus made a fort of excufe to God, and
deprecated his difpleafure, for what they were neceffi-
tated, by a principle of felf-prefervation, to do to a
fervant of his ; they took up Jonah (not without fome
reluctance) and* caft him into the fea, and the fea
thereupon ceafed from its raging. But the fear which
on this occafion had feized them, together with the
fenfe of their deliverance, was fo great, that they offered
a facrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.
Though it pleafed the Lord to punifh Jonah for
his difobedience, yet in the midft of his judgment
Q_2 remembering

223 SACRED H I S T O RY. Part III.
remembering mercy, he had prepared a great fifh
(which our Saviour tells us was a whale, Matt. xii.
40.) to receive Jonah. And this whale fwallowing up
Jonah, he was in the belly of the fifh three days and
three nights, and in that refpect was an apt type of
our bleffed Lord, who for the like time was in the
belly of the earth, the grave.
While Jonah was in that living prifon, and mov
ing dungeon, he prayed unto the Lord his God out
of the fifh's belly \ \And what he then prayed, and
how great the exercife of his fpirit then was, he him
felf recounted afterwards, in thefe words :
" I cried, faid he, by reafon of mine affliction, un
to the Lord, and he heard me ; out of the belly of
the grave cried I, and thou heardeft my voice. For
thou hadft caft me into the deep, in the midft of the
feas, and the floods compaffed me about ; all thy
billows, and thy waves paffed over me. Then I faid,
I am caft out of thy fight, yet will I look again to
wards thy holy temple. The waters compaffed me
about, even to the foul ; the depth clofed me round
about ; the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went
down to the bottom of the mountains ; the earth with
her bars was about me for ever. Yet haft thou
brought up my life from corruption, O Lord, my
God. When my foul fainted within me, I remem
bered the Lord, and my prayer came in unto thee,
into thine holy temple d. They that obferve lying
vanities, forfake their own mercy ; but I will facrifice
unto thee with .the voice of thankfgiving, I will pay
that which I have vowed : falvation is of the Lord.'*
Now when Jonah had undergone his three days
punifhment in the fifh's belly, the Lord commanded
the fifh, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
And Jonah being thus, by a warrant from heaven,
difcharged from his confinement, and fet at liberty
again, the word of the Lord came to him a fecond
time, faying, " Arife, Go unto Nineveh, that great
c Jonah ii. << Jonah iii. city

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 229
city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid
thee." Having fmarted for his former difobedience, Jonah
ftood not now to difpute, nor fought to fhift the fer
vice, but gat him away to Nineveh ; and entering a
day's journey into the city, he proclaimed, " Yet for
ty days, and Nineveh fhall be overthrown."
Though this be the fubftance of the judgment de
nounced, yet it is reafonable to believe that Jonah
preached more than barely this. Both for conviction,
by laying open the fins of the Ninevites, to manifeft
the juftice of the judgment denounced, and for ex
hortation, to bring them to repentance, that they
might efcape it.
However the event was, that the people of Nine
veh believed this meffage to be fent from God ; and
proclaiming a faft, and putting on fackcloth by the
king's command, gave fuch tokens of forrow, repen
tance, and humiliation, that God, thereupon repenting
of. the evil which he had threatened to do unto them,
did it not.
This proved a new trial and trouble to Jonah e,
who hereupon difcovered another infirmity. He had
pofitively denounced deftruclion to Nineveh, and
fixed the time. This clemency of God in fparing
them, he thought would fubject him to the cenfure
of having been a falfe prophet, He flood upon his
reputation, which he doubted would by this means
be impaired ; and for thefe reafons it difpleafed Jonah
exceedingly, fo that he was very angry, and in a kind
of expoftulary prayer, or precatory expoftularion, thus
fpake to-the Lord :
" I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my faying,
while I was yet in my country ? Therefore it was,
that I fled before unto Tarfhifh ; for I knew that thou
art a gracious God, and merciful, flow to anger, and
of great kindnefs, and repenteft thee of the evil. Now
e Jonah iv.
Q^3 therefore,

230 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
therefore, O Lord, take, I befeech thee my life from
me ; for it is better for me to die than to live."
The Lotd gave him a gentle reproof, by afking
him, " If he did well to be angry ?" Whereupon Jo
nah went out of the city ; and having made him a
booth on the eaft-fide thereof, he fat under it in the
/hade, till he might fee what would become of the
city. For having let in a murmuring difcontent, he
was fo unfettled in his mind, that he knew not what
to think, whether God would fpare the city or deftroy
it. Mean while the Lord, refolving to give Jonah a
rational conviction of his partiality to himfelf, and
want of pity to the Ninevites, prepared a gourd, and
made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a
fhadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief,
which the fcorching beams of the fun caufed,
What this gourd was, no body that I have met
with knows. Many conjectures there are about it,
and it has afforded matter for great debate, even in
old time ; efpecially between the two fathers (fo pal
led) Jerom and Auguftine. Jerom, in his Latin,
ttanflation of the bible, adventured to change the.
name of this plant; and inftead of cucurbita, a gourd,
called it hedera, an ivy. This his boldnefs had like,
it feems, to have coft him dear ; for not only Auguf
tine fell upon him for it (which provoked him to fall
foul upon Auguftine again) ; but he was fetched up
to Rome about it (I take the account out of Calvin's
commentary on this place) and was there accufed of
facrilege, as it were, for changing the name of this
plant from a gourd to ivy. Whatever name it fhould
go by, no doubt it was a fpreading leafy plant.
Whence fome have taken it for a wild vine ; others
for a cucumber, or a pompion, and perhaps it might be
the palmetta.
Whatever it was, Jonah was exceeding glad of it ;
but this joy was fhort. For early next morning God
pr^ared a worm, which gnawing the gourd made it
wither. And when the fun arofe, God prepared a ve
hement

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 231
hement eaft-wind ; which, together with the fun, beat
fo fiercely upon the head of Jonah, that he fainting,
not only wifhed (in himfelf) that he might die, but
faid again, " It is better for me to die than to live."
And when God, expoftulating again with him, afked
him, " If he did well to be angry :" he, in a di-
flurbance of mind, anfwered ; " I do well to be angry,
even unto death."
Then came the conviction upon Jonah. Thou (faid
the Lord to him) haft had pity on the gourd, for which
$hou haft not laboured, neither madeft it grow, which
came up in a night, and perifhed in a night ; and
fliould not I fpare Nineveh, that great city, wherein
are more than fixfcore thoufand perfons that cannot
difcern between the right hand and their left, and
alfo much cattle.
As this book pf Jpnah begins abruptly, with a con
junction copulative, [AND the word of the Lord
came to. Jonah] (for fo it fhould be read, and in the
Bifhop's Bible it is. The word of the Lord came ALSO
to Jonah) which has made fome cprnrnentators think,
this was but an appendix to fome other writing of his,
or of fome other concerning him ; fo it ends abruptly
alfo, giving no account what became of the Nine-
yites, or of Jonah himfelf after this.

Q.4 THE

T H E

BOOK

O F

A M O

w

H I L E Jonah was thus exercifed at Nineveh,
the prophet Amos a was employed among the
Ifraelites. He was an herdfmari belonging
to Tekoa, a town in Judea, not far from Jerufalem
(the fame place from which Joab fetched that wife
woman, whom he employed to work king David to
recall his fon Abfalom from banifhment, 2 Sam. xiv. 2.
He dates the beginning of his prophecy from two
years before the earthquake. Of which we have not
any account, that I remember, in the Holy Scrip-
lures, unlefs it be in a tranfient paffage in the book of
.Zechariah (a fucceeding prophet) who, in chap. xiv.
5. mentions an earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah, who was contemporary with Jeroboam
the fecond fon of Joafh king oflfrael ; under whom,
and towards the latter end of whofe reign, this pro
phet Amos prophefied.

» Amos j. A, M. 3198.

Though

234 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Though by birth and habitation he was of Judah,
yet he prophefied in Ifrael, and chiefly concerning
Ifrael. Firft, againft the enemies of Ifrael, the Sy
rians, the Philiftines, the Tyrians, the Edomites, the
Ammonites, and the Moabites, every one diftinctly,
in the firft chapter and beginning of the fecond, de«
nouncing to each their judgment, and the caufe there
of. And by a particular form of fpeech [viz. For
three tranfgreffions and for four\ ufed alike to them all,
he fhews it was not for a few offences that thofe
judgments were denounced ; but that they had run on
in a courfe of finning, and had provoked the Lord to
the height. Then turning to Judah and Ifrael, he
treats them in the fame flile, but fpends the greateft
part of his book upon Ifrael, which, at that time was
by much the worft of the two,
But becaufe to analyfe this, and the reft of the pro
phets, as in courfe they fall in the way, would both
too much fwell the bulk of this book, and too much
break and difcontinue the thread of the hiftory; I
fhall only touch thofe paffages here, which feem to
be hiftorical.
The prophet having denounced great judgments
againft Ifrael in general, as of famine, fire, fword,
captivity, &c, and againft the houfe of Jeroboam in
particular, faying, " I will rife againft the houfe of
Jeroboam with the fword," chap. vii. 9. Amaziah,
the idolatrous prieft of Bethel (hating, and contriving
deftruction to Amos, as generally the falfe prophets dp
to the true) drew up a charge of high-treafori againft
him, and fent it to the king, faying, 'c Amps hath
confpired againft thee in the midft of the houfe pf
Ifrael :" the land is not able to bear all his words,
For thus (faid he) Amos faith, Jeroboam fhall die by
the fword.
This was not only an envious, but a falfe charge b;
for Amos did not fay Jeroboam (himfelf) fhould die
by the fword ; neither did he fo die (fee 2 Kings xiv,
* Amos vii. *9)»

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 235
29). But /peaking in the perfon of God, he faid,
*' I will rife againft the houfe (that is, the pofterity) of
Jeroboam with the fword, Amos vii. 9. which was
fulfilled on Zechariah, the fon of this Jeroboam,
2 Kings xv. 10.
But left this accufation fhould not take place with
the king, the wicked prieft attempted to frighten the
prophet, and make him fly the country.
" O thou feer (faid he to Amos) Go, flee thee
away into the land of Judah,' and there eat bread, and
prophefy there. But prophefy not again any more at
Bethel (where one of the idol-calves was fet up) ; for
it is not only the king's chapel, but the king's court
too." To this intuiting charge the gentle prophet, Amos,
mildly anfwered, " I was no prophet, neither was I
a prophet's fon (as if he had faid, I was not bred at
the univerfity, nor trained up at fchool, to be made
a prophet; neither was I a prophet by fucceflion, nor
yet did I take up the employment as a trade for a
livelihood). But I was an herdfman, and gathered
fycamore fruit (or wild figs) for my living. And the
Lord took me, as I followed the flock, and the Lord
faid unto me, Go, prophefy unto my people Ifrael.
Now, therefore (added he, his fpirit rifing in fome
what an higher ttrain, from a fenfe of this idolatrous
prieft's prefumption, in taking upon him to counter
mand his commiflion) Thou that fayeft, Prophefy not
againft Ifrael, hear thou the word of the Lord : Thus
faifrh the" Lord, Thy wife fhall be an harlot in the
city, and thy fons and thy daughters fhall fall by the
fword, and thy land fhall be divided by line, and thou
fhalt die in a polluted land, and Ifrael lhall furely go
into captivity forth of this land."
What was the iffue of this conteft, between this en
vious prieft and the good prophet Amos, doth not ap
pear ; nor do I find any mention of him in any other
place of the holy text.
THE

THE

BOOK

O F

H O S E A.

CONTEMPORARY with Amos was the prophet
Hofea*, who under this Jeroboam, the fon of
Joafh, king of Ifrael, began alfo to prophefy j
but fo near the end of his reign, that the greateft part
of his prophecies fall under the reigns of his fuccef-
fors, even to the time wherein Ifrael was carried into
captivity. For though no more of the kings of Ifrael
are named in his prophefy, but this Jeroboam, under
whom he began to exercife the prophetic function,
yet he continued to prophefy in the reigns of four
kings of Judah, viz. of Uzziah (who was contempo
rary with this Jeroboam) and of Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah ; in the fixth year of whofe reign that cap
tivity began, 2 Kings xviii., i o. Of which, in feveral
parts of his prophecies, this holy prophet forewarned
them. And indeed, the book of Hofea contains expoftula-
tions between God and his people; exprobations of
» Hofea i. A. M. 3200. their

23? SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
their ingratitude for benefits received; objurgations or
reproofs for their idolatries and manifold fins; admo
nitions to repent, and turn to the Lord ; commina-
tions or threatenings of great judgments and punifh-
ments, if they repented not ; with gracious promifes
of pardon and acceptance, if they did repent, amend,
and heartily return to the Lord.
But no part of it being hiftorical, I fhall only note
to the reader, that as it relates to and treats of the
times of the kings of Ifrael, from the latter part of
the reign of Jeroboam the fecond, to the time of the
captivity of the ten tribes by Salmanezer ; and from
the latter part of the reign of Uzziah, through the
reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, and into the beginning
of the reign of Hezekiah, kings of Judah : fo it may
with belt underftanding, and to moft advantage, be
read along with the hiftories of thofe times, which are
related in the 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18th chapters of the
fecond book of the Kings; and in the 16, 17, and i8di
chapters of the fecond book of the Chronicles.

THE

THE

BOOK

O F

J

O E L.

ABOUT this time alfo, i. e. about the time of
Jeroboam the fecond, it is fuppofed, the pro
phet Joel lived and prophefied3, or a little
after ; for fome refer him to the time of Uzziah,
others to the time of Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
And perhaps he might prophefy under both, as did
Hofea and Ifaiah, with whom it is thought he was
contemporary. As his prophefy is generally held to relate to the
Jews (that is, the houfe of Judah only) ; fo the ge
neral fcope of it is to fet forth in the moft fenfible
manner, the grievous judgments that either were then
already come, or were at hand ready to come upon
them from the Lord, in order to bring them to a
due fenfe of their finful eftate, to an hearty forrow for
it, and true repentance of it ; with direction how to
manifeft their repentance ; and affurance, that if they
did fo, the Lord would yet be gracious to them ; and
* Joel i. A, M. 3200. would

«r4o' SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
would not only remove the famine they fuffered un
der (by removing the drought that had caufed it, and
fending rain, which would produce plenty of good
things for them) ; but would eafe them alfo of the
fears they were in, by removing from them the nor
thern army, which probably might be that of Senna
cherib, the haughty king of Afiyria, who, by Rab-
fhekah, fent them fuch threatening meffages in king
Hezekiah's time.
But eminently remarkable and exceeding precious
are thofe parts of his prophefy, which point at the
glory of the gofpel-times, wherein (amongft other
bleffings) is promifed the general pouring forth of
the fpirit of God upon all flefh, in all degrees and
llations of men, whether high or low, bond or free,
male or female ; the effects of which fhould appear
in their fons and daughters prophefying, Joel ii. 28,
29. Which the apoftle Peter, long after, yet in the
beginning of the Chriftian church, applied to that
great effufion of the fpirit upon the apoftles, and the*
reft of the believers affembled at Jerufalem foon
after the afcenfion of our bleffed Lord, Acts. ii. 16,
&c. Having thus given thefe brief accounts of fuch of
the holy prophets as have fallen into this part of our
hiftory, let us now return to the kings again, under
whoai they prophefied ; and ' leaving the fecond
Jeroboam ftill fitting on the throne of Ifrael, let us
go on a while with the fucceflion of the kings of Judah.
After the death of king Amaziah, who (as is noted
before) was flain by his own fubjects. at Lachifh b,
2 Kings xiv. 19. all the people of Judah took Aza-
riah (called otherwife Uzziah, 2 Chron. xxvi. 1.) and
made him king in his father's ftead.
The firft public act of his, that we read of, was
the building (or perhaps rebuilding rather) of Eloth,
or Elath, a city near the Red-fea, which he had re
covered to Judah.- Afterwards he went forth, and
h 2 Kings xv. 2 Chron. xxvi. warred

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. * 241
warred againft the Philiftines ; and having difmantled
Gath, Jabneh, and Afhdod, cities of prime note in
Philiftia (by breaking down their walls) he built ci
ties about Afhdod, and in other places among the
Philiftines. For God helped him againft the Phili
ftines, and againft the Arabians, and the Nehunims
(fuppofed to be remainders of the Canaanites) and
againft the Ammonites alfo ; who, as a token of fub
jection, gave him gifts, fo that his name fpread abroad,
even as far as Egypt.
And indeed, he had greatly ftrengthened himfelf.
Fop he had an hoft of three hundred and feven thou
fand and five hundred fighting men, well armed with
fhields and fpears, and helmets, and habergeons, bows
and arrows, and flings to caft flones. And over this
hoft, two thoufand and fix hundred of the chief of
the fathers, mighty men of valour, were the principal
commanders. Then for fortifications, he built towers
in feveral parts of Jerufalem ; upon which, and upon
the bulwarks, he planted engines, invented by cun
ning men, to fhoot arrows and flones withal.
He built towers in the defert alfo, and digged ma
ny wells ; which probably he did for the accommoda
tion and fafety of his fervants and cattle, for he had
much cattle, both in the' low country, and in the
plains ; hufbandmen alfo, and vine-dreffers, as well
in the mountains, as in the fruitful fields, %r he
loved hufbandry.
In his youth, and during the greateft part of his
reign, fo long at leaft as Zechariah lived (who had
underftanding in the vifions of God) he fought God,
and did that which was right in the fight of the Lord.
And as long as he fought the Lord, the Lord made
him to profper, and helped him ; fo that he grew
marvellous ftrong. But profperity hurt him ; for when
he was become ftrong, his heart was lifted up to his
deftrudlipn, and he tranfgreffed againft the Lord his
God ; for he would needs go into the temple of the
Lord to burn incenfe upon the altar.
Vol. II. R Which

242 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Which when Azariah the prieft faw, he went in af
ter him, with fourfcore priefts of the Lord, that were
valiant men c, and withftood Uzziah the king, telling
him, it did not belong to him (though he was their
king) to burn incenfe to the Lord ; but to the priefts,
the fons of Aaron, who were confecrated to that fer
vice. Wherefore they bid him go out of the fanc-
tuary : letting him know, that he had tranfgreffed in
coming there, and that what he had done fhould not
be for his honour from the Lord God.
The king had a center in his hand, ready to burn
incenfe, when he received this repulfe from the priefts ;
and his high fpirit not brooking to be fo treated
by his fubjects, he grew wroth with the priefts. But
while in his anger he ftood contending with them, the
leprofy rofe up in his forehead. Which the priefts
obferving, they thruft him out of the houfe of the
Lord : yea, he himfelf hafted to get out, being fen
fible that the Lord had fmitten him.
Nor did he ever recover of this difeafe, but was a
leper to his dying day, and dwelt apart in a diftinct
houfe as a leper ; for he was cut off from having any
aceefs to the houfe of the Lord, and Jotham his fon,
as vice-roy, was over the king's houfe, and admini-
ftered juftice to the people- of the land d during the
remainder of the king's life.
At-length this leprous king died, after a reign of
two and fifty years, and was buried with his fathers ;
that is, in the fame field wherein the royal fepulchres
were, but at fome diftance from them, becaufe he was
a leper. As the prophets Jonah, Amos, Hofea and Joel, be
gan their prophecies under Jeroboam king of Ifrael,
and this Uzziah king of Judah ; fo the noble pro
phet Ifaiah (noble by birth, as being of the blood
royal, and more ennobled by his prophetic gift, efpe
cially after the holy feraphimhad touched his lips with
a live coal taken from the altar) began to prophefy
e A.M. 3240. «" 2 Kings xv. under

Part in. SACRED HISTORY. 243
under this king Uzziah ; but towards the latter end
of his reign, after he for his leprofy lived privately,
and Jotham his fon ruled for him. Within the com-
pafs of which time the firft fix chapters of Ifaiah's
prophecy feem to have been written : and the laft of
them exprefly in the year that king Uzziah died.
When Uzziah was dead % his fon Jotham, who
before had ruled only as pro-rex, reigned as king
for fixteen years, doing that which was right in the
fight of the Lord, as his father Uzziah had done ;
whofe great mifcarriage was his prefumption in en
tering into the fanctuary of the Lord, and attempting
to offer incenfe there : which therefore his fon Jotham,
taking warning by his harm, warily abftairtcd from,
2 Chron. xxvii. 1, 2. But the body of the people yet
acted corruptly, for the high-places not being remo
ved, they ftill facrificed and burnt incenfe there.
Amongft other public acts, Jotham built the high-
gate of the houfe of the Lord ; and befides what he
built on the wall of the tower (which was not a little)
he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the
forefts he built caftles and towers.
Neither was he unfuccefsful in his wars ; for befide
the trouble he had from the kings of Syria and Ifrael,
he fought with the Ammonites, and prevailed againft
them ; fo that for feveral years they paid him yearly
an hundred talents of filver, ten thoufand meafores of
wheat, and as much of barley, of that meafure which
is called a cor, which is computed to contain five bu
fhels and five gallons.

R 2 THE

THE

BOOK

o F

MICAH.

IN the time of this king Jotham began the pro-'
phet Micah to prophefy '•, and continued through
his reign, and the reigns of his fon and grandfon,,
Ahaz and Hezekiah.' Together with the hiftories of
thefe kings, and of their contemporary kings of Ifrael,
his prophecy will be read moft advantageoufly. . For
it relates to both the kingdoms of Ifrael and Judah,-
denouncing great judgments unto them, for their
many and great tranfgreffions therein fet forth ; inter
mingling fometimes fome comfortable promifes of
deliverance arid reftoration, to bear them up from ut
terly fainting under the exercifes they fhould meet*
withal. jj
Let us now, leaving Jotham on the thrpne of Judahj'j'
obferve with what a fwifc motion the wheel of go-.
vernment whirled round in the kingdom of Ifrael.
» Micah i. A. M, 3260.
R 3 Jeroboam

246 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Jeroboam the fon of Joafh being dead b, 2 Kings
xiv. 29. his fon Zechariah fucceeded to the crown of
Ifrael, in the eight-and-thirtieth year of Uzziah king
of Judah. But as he did that which was evil in the
fight of the Lord, as his fathers had done (not de
parting from the fins of Jeroboam the fon of Nebat,
the calvifh idols, wh&reby he made Ifrael to fin) ; fo
he enjoyed the crown but a little while. For at the
end of fix months, Shallum the fon of Jabefh con-
fpiring againft him, fmote him before the people;
and having flain him, reigned in his ftead.
This Zechariah was the fourth from Jehu, and the
laft king of his race ; in whom was fulfilled that gra
cious promife, which the Lord was pleafed to make
to Jehu, as a reward for his courage, zeal, and dili
gence, in executing the judgment which God had
commanded him to execute upon the houfe of Ahab ;
that he and his feed fhould fit on the throne of Ifrael
unto the fourth generation.
But the meafure which Shallum meafured to Zecha
riah was meafured to him again, .with this diffe
rence, that whereas Zechariah reigned fix months,
Shallum reigned but one. For Menahem the fon of
Gadi, going up from Tirzah to Samaria, fmote Shal
lum there ; and having flain him, poffeffed himfelf
of the kingdom.
For an account of the reft of the acts of thefe three
kings, Zechariah, Shallum, and Menahem, we are
referred to the book of the Chronicles of the kings of
Ifrael ; of whom yet no mention is made, fo much as
by name, in either of thofe books of Chronicles which
we have. Which makes it ftill more evident, that that
book, fo often referred to, is loft.
As foon as Menahem was fettled on the throne, he
fmote Tiphfah (a city of Ifrael) and all that were
therein, and in the coafts thereof becaufe they did not
open their gates to receive him, or declare for him,
* 2 Kings xv. a, And

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 247
And fo inhumanly barbarous was he, that when he
had taken the place, he ripped up all the women
therein that were with child.
Thefe were very bloody times, wherein violence,
murders, rapines, and all manner of immoralities, as
well as fuperftitioris and idolatries, reigned ; for all the
kings of Ifrael, from Jehu, did evil in the fight of the
Lord. . So that there was abundant matter for the
prophets [Hofea, Amos, Micah, yea, and Ifaiah too]
to declaim againft.
But when the admonitions, reproofs, and threaten-
ings by the prophets, did not prevail to reclaim the
people, the Lord ftirred up the fpirit of Pul, king of
Affyria (whom fome take to be that king of Nineveh,
then the chief city of the Affyrian monarchy, who is
faid to have repented at the preaching of Jonah) to
come up againft the land, 1 Chron. v. 26. Which
when Menahem, Ifrael's new king, underftood, he
politicly ftooped to Pul j and making him a pre
fent of a thoufand talents of filver (three hundred
feventy-five thoufand pounds) which he raifed out
of all the wealthy men of Ifrael, exacting from each
man fifty fhekels ; he thereby prevailed with king
Pul not only tp withdraw his forces out of the land,
but before he went, to confirm the kingdom in his,
hand. By this means he poffeffed the crown ten years, and •
then dying, left it to Pekahiah his fon, who kept it
but two years. For he following the fteps of his fa
ther, who did evil in the fight of the Lord, and
walking in the fin of Jeroboam the fon pf .Nebat;
Pekah, a captain of his, entering into a corifpiracy
againft him, with Argob and Arieh, and fifty men of
the Gileadites, fmote him in the king's palace in
Samaria ; and having flain him, reigned in his ftead.
But he too, like the reft that went before him, did
evil in the fight of the Lord, not departing from the
fins of Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, who made Ifrael
to firi.
R 4 In

248 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
In the feventeenth year of Pekah's reign, Jotham
king of Judah dying, Ahaz his fon afcended the
throne of that kingdom c, and proved a very wicked
king. For he not only did not that which was right
in the fight of the Lord, like his anceftor king Da
vid ; but he walked in the ways of the kings of If
rael, even the worft of them. For he made molten
images for Baalim (the whole herd of leffer gods
worfhipped by thej heathen). He facrificed, and
burnt incenfe in the high-places, and on the hills,
and under every green tree. Nay, he burnt incenfe
in the valley of the fon of Hinnom (a place not far
from Jerufalem) and made his fon to pafs through the
fire, according to the abominations of the heathen,
whom the Lord had caft out from before the children
of Ifrael.
This pafling through the fire, interpreters fay, was
done either by caufing the child to pafs to Molech
between two fires, made near one to the other for
that purpofe, whereby the child was not killed, but
confecrated to that idol ; or by fhutting up the child
in the body of that idol, which was . made of brafs,
in the fhape of a man (fave that the head was like
the head of an ox) fo great in bulk, that his body was
divided or parted within into feven diftinct chapels
or cells, into one of which the child to be facrificed
being put, was burnt to death by the heat, which a
fire from without fent in through the brafs. And .
that the fhrieks and outcries of the children, thus
tormented, might not be heard by the parents, or
others ftanding by, drums mean while Were beaten ;
from whence the place was called Tophet, which fig
nifies a drum, as Marius d'Afligny tells us in his Hi
ftory of the Heathen Gods, book iii. p. 21, 22. And
probable it is that fo Ahaz his fon (or children) was
ferved d: for whereas the text in Kings fays, " He
made his fon to pafs through the fire ;" the text in
c 2 Kings xvi. A. M. 37.67. d 2 Chifcn. xxviii.
Chronicles

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 249
Chronicles hath it, " He burnt his children in the
fire." For thefe fo many and fo , great abominations,
the Lord puniflied Ahaz and Judah by the kings of
Syria and of Ifrael. But here arifes fome difagree-
ment in the ftory, as it is related in the book of the
Kings, and in the book of the Chronicles.
For in 2 Chron. xxviii. 5, &c. we read, That the
Lord delivered Ahaz into the hand of the king of
Syria, who fmote him, and* carried away a great
multitude of his people captives to Damafcus. And
that he was delivered alfo into the hand of Pekah king
of Ifrael, who fmote him with a great flaughter;
flaying in one day an hundred and twenty thoufand
valiant men of Judah, and carrying away captives to
Samaria two hundred thoufand women and children,
with much fpoil.
On the other hand, in 2 Kings xvi. 5. it is faid,
That Rezin king of Syria, and Pekah fon of Rema-
liah, king of Ifrael, came up to Jerufalem to war :
and they befieged Ahaz, but could not overcome
him. The fame account alfo we have of it by the
prophet Ifaiah ', where he fays exprefly, " That in
the days of this king Ahaz, Rezin the king of Syria,
and Pekah the fon of Remaliah king of Ifrael, went
up towards Jerufalem, to war againft it, but could not
prevail againft it."
To accommodate this diverfity in the relation, let
us fuppofe, either that the account given of this mat
ter in the book of the Kings, and by the prophet
Ifaiah, related to one time, and that which is given
in the book of Chronicles to another ; or, that thofe
two kings of Syria and Ifrael, though with their joint
forces they did befiege Jerufalem, could not take the
city, but were forced to raife their fiege, and then
committed thofe other hoftilities, whereby they flew
and took captive fo many in other parts of the king
dom, e Ifaiah. For

250 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
For there feems to be no ground for fufpicion of
any miftake of the feribe in either place ; the text in
Kings, and in the prophecy of Ifaiah agreeing, though
not written by the fame hand. And although the
account is given but fhort and naked in the book of
Kings, yet in the prophecy of Ifaiah it is fet forth at
large, with many confirming circumftances. And
fo is the other relation alfo, which is given 2 Chron,
xxviii. With refpect to the fiege of Jerufalem, the pro
phet Ifaiah fets forth, That when Ahaz and his people
quivered for fear, at the report of the two kings of
Syria and Ifrael coming with united forces againft
them, the Lord fent him forth to meet Ahaz, and to
bid him take heed and be quiet, and not fear, nor be
faint-hearted, becaufe of the two tails of thofe fmoak-
ing firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with
Syria, and of the fon of Remaliah (who was Pekah,
king of Ifrael) : for though, faid he, they have taken
evil counfel againft thee, faying, " Let us go up
againft Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach
therein for us, and fet up a king (of our own making)
in the midft' of it, even the fon of Tabael (uncertain
whom, or whence : fome think a Syrian, others an
Ifraelite) ; yet thus faith the Lord, It fhall not ftand,
neither- fhall it come to pafs. For the head of Syria
is Damafcus, and the head of Damafcus is Rezin.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head
of Samaria* is Remaliah's fon (Pekah). But within
threefcore and five years fhall Ephraim be broken,
that it be not a people."
Nor is the relation of the many prifoners, which the
Ifraelites took of Judah, and carried captive with the
fpoil to Samaria, lefs fupported with remarkable cir
cumftances. For we read in 2 Chron. xxviii. That when they
brought in their captives to Samaria, a prophet of the
Lord, whofe name was Oded, went out to them, and
thus reproved the Ifraelitifh army, both for the
flaughter they had made, and the prifoners they had
taken : " Behold,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 251
" Behold, faid he, becaufe the Lord God of your
fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them
into your hand, and ye have flain them in a rage, that,
reacheth up unto heaven. And now ye purpofe to
keep under the children of Judah and Jerufalem, for
bondmen and bondwomeri unto you. But are there
not even with you alfo fins againft the Lord your
God ? Now therefore, hear ye me, and deliver the
prifoners again which ye have taken captive of your
brethren ; for the fierce wrath of God is upon you."
This ftirred certain of the heads of the children of
Ephraim (who are here put for Ifrael) to Hand up
againft them that came from the war, and fay to
them, " Ye fhall not bring the captives hither: for
whereas we have offended againft the Lord, ye go the
way to add more to our fins, and to our trefpafs, which
is fo great already, that there is fierce wrath againft
Ifrael." The foldiers thereupon leaving both the captives
and the fpoil before the princes and the congregation,
the principal rulers took the captives ; and having
with the fpoil clothed and fhod all fuch of them as
had been ftripped by the foldiers, they gave them to
eat and to drink, and anointed them (dreffing the
wounds of fuch of them as were hurt) ; and fetting
the feeble of them upon affes, brought them to Jeri
cho to their brethren, themfelves returning to Sa
maria. However it was, this is evident, that although the
Lord had by his prophet affured Ahaz, that the Sy
rians with Ifrael fhould not prevail to take the city
-Jerufalem, and offered to confirm it to him by what
soever fign he would afk ; yet would not that Stub
born king afk any fign (under- an hypocritical pre*
tence, that he would not tempt God) ; neither yet
would he truft to the Lord for prefervation and deli
verance. But he fent to the king of Affyria to come
and help him ; and ' to induce him thereunto, fent
him for a prefent the filver and the gold that was
found in the houfe of the Lord, and in the king's
treafury ;

252 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
treafury ; offering to beceme a tributary tp him, and
giving his embaffadors in charge to fay to the A/Ty
nan monarch in his name, " I am thy fervant and
thy fon : come up, and fave me out of the hand of the
king of Syria, and of the king of Ifrael, which rife
up againft me".
Tiglath-pilefer, the then king of Affyria (called al
fo Tilgath-pilnefer, 2 Chron. xxviii. 20.) was not back
ward to come. Yet before he could come, Rezin
king of Syria had recovered from Judah the city
Elath, which king Uzziah, grandfather of Ahaz, had
taken from the Syrians, and driving the Jews from
thence, replanted his Syrians therein.
But when Tiglath-pilefer was come, he made fliort
work with Rezin f, for drawing up his army againft
Damafcus, he took it ; and having flain king Rezin,
he carried away the people of Damafcus captives to
Kir ; which Tremellius takes to be a city or place in
Media, fubject to the Affyrian monarchy, and from
thence called afterwards Syromedia. And herein Til-
gath-pilefer anfwered his name, which fignifies. He
hath taken away a marvellous captivity.
This fpoiling of Damafcus the prophet Ifaiah fore-
'faw and foretold, not only in fome darker paffages
in the feventh chapter of his prophecy, but openly and
directly in the eighth chapter. Where having typi
cally reprefented his going in unto his wife, fhe
thereupon conceiving, and bearing a fon, whofe name
he called Maher-fhalal-hafhbaz (that is, In making fpeed
to the fpoil, he hafteneth the prey) and his recording
all this by God's command in a great roll, before
fufficient witneffes ; he told them exprefly, that before
that child fhould have knowledge to cry, " My fa
ther, and my mother," the riches of Damafcus, and
the fpoil of Samaria, fhall be taken away before the
king of Affyria, Ifa. viii. 4. And although he joins
there the fpoil of Samaria with that of Damafcus, the
fequel of the ftory will fhortly fhew the completing
f A, M. 3272. of

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 253
of that alfo. And as he there foretold it juft before
it came, fo in the feventeenth chapter of his prophe
cy he fpeaks of it again as come.
Nor did Ifaiah only forefhew this ftroke upon
Damafcus ; but his contemporary, the prophet Amos,
that poor, plain herdfman, foretold it in direct terms.
Thefe are his words: " Thus faith the Lord, For
three tranfgreffions of Damafcus, and for four, I will
not turn away the punifhment thereof, becaufe they
threfhed Gilead (a part of the country of Ifrael) with
threfhing inftruments of iron ; but I will fend a fire
into the houfe of Hazael, which fhall devour the pa
laces of Benhadad (two kings of Syria, father and
fon, great oppreffors of Ifrael). I will break alfo the
bar of Damafcus, and cut off the inhabitant from the
plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the fceptre from
the houfe of Eden ; and the people of Syria (for thofe
three places, Damafcus, Aven, and Eden, are taken
to comprehend the whole kingdom of Syria) fhall
^p into captivity unto Kir, faith the Lord, " Amos i.
3, &c. fee alfo chap. iii. 1 2."
When king Ahaz underftood that the Affyrian
king was come to Damafcus, he haftened thither to
him. And being there, he faw an altar, which, for
the form thereof, much pleafed him : wherefore cauf-
ing a pattern of it to be exactly taken, he fent it to
Urijah the prieft at Jerufalem, for him to make fuch
another by it. The prieft (inftead of inftructing the
king better, as his office required) being, it feems, an
hypocritical time-ferver, built an altar by that pat
tern, againft king Ahaz came back from Damafcus.
Now when the king, being returned, found this
new, altar ready, he not only offered thereon, but
caufed the altar of the Lord (the brazen altar which
ftood before the Lord) to be brought from the fore
front of the houfe of the Lord, and (that it might
not ftand between his altar and the houfe of the Lord)
he fet it on the north fide of this altar of his, com
manding Urijah the prieft to offer all the burnt-of
ferings at this altar, and referve the brazen altar for
him

254 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
him to inquire of the Lord by. And that temporiz
ing prieft did all this juft as the king commanded
him. Nor was this the only innovation that Ahaz made
in the things belonging to the worfhip of God. But
he alfo cut off the borders of the bates (mentioned
in i Kings vii. 27, &c.) and removed the laver from
off them, ver. 38. and took down the fea from off the
brazen oxen, ver. 23. and fet it upon a pavement of
/tones. The covert alfo for the fabbath (which was
built to receive and fhelter the priefts that attended
from fabbath to fabbath) together with the king's en
try, turned he from the houfe of the Lord, becaufe of
the king of Affyria. Which is taken to have been
done, either in flattery, to pleafe the king of Affyria,
by /hewing him how little he regarded the ordinan
ces of the Lord ; or elfe for fear of the king of Affy
ria, and to fecure himfelf, in cafe the king of Affyria
would affail him alfo, which he had fome reafon to
doubt. For though the king of Affyria, at his requeft,
came and fmote his enemies, yet he did no otherwife
help him : nay, he is faid to have diftreffed him, but
not ftrengthened him, 2 Chron. xxviii. 20.
And indeed, if the Affyrian had then come on
againft Ahaz, he was but in an ill condition to have
withftood him. For becaufe of his fore tranfgreffions,
whereby he had made Judah naked, the Lord had
brought Judah low. For on the one hand, the Edo
mites had come again, and fmitten Judah, and car
ried away captives ; on the other hand, the Phili
ftines invading the cities of the low-country, and of
the fouth of Judah, had taken many cities, with »heir
villages, and feated themfelves therein.
But though Ahaz was thus diftreffed, yet did he
ftill trefpafs the more againft the Lord. For he not
only fet up an altar of the heathenifh fafhion, but he
facrificed alfo unto the gods of Damafcus which had
fmitten him. This he did, to make them propitious
to him. For, faid . he, tc Becaufe the gods of the
kings of Syria help them, I will facrifice to them, that
they

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 255
they may help me :" but they were the ruin of him,
and of all Ifrael ; where Ifrael is fet for Judah.
Befides all this, he gathered together the veffels of
the houfe of the Lord, and cut them to pieces, and
then /hutting up the doors of the houfe of the Lord,
he made altars in every corner of Jerufalem ; and in
all the feveral cities of Judah he made high-places,
to burn incenfe in unto other gods, , fo provoking to
anger the Lord God of his fathers.
At length, having reigned fixteen years, he died,
and was buried in the city of Jerufalem ; but they
brought him not into the lepulchres of the kings.
But Ahaz lived to fee Pekah ' king of Ifrael (who
had joined with Rezin king of Syria agairift him)
diftreffed as well as himfelf. For Tiglath-pilefer, the
Affyrian king, having fpoiled Damafcus, the metro
polis of Syria, fell upon Ijon, and Abel-beth-maa-
chah, Janoah and Kedefh, Hazor, Gilead and Galilee,
and all the land of Naphtali (cities and countries be
longing to Ifrael) and earried the inhabitants captive
to Affyria. This perhaps might give encouragement
to Hofttea, the fon of Elah, to confpire againft Pe
kah ; for quickly after this he flew him, and reigned
in his ftead.
Hofhea took the kingdom with all its incum
brances *, which by this time were grown to be many
and great. For though he himfelf paffed in the middle
rank of the bad kings, doing evil in the fight of the
Lord ; but not as feme of the kings of Ifrael that had
been before him ; yet the kings his predeceffors, with
the body of the people, having through a long feries
of time gone- on in a courfe of difobedience and re
bellion againft the Lord, flighting the admonitions,
and difregarding the threatenings of the Lord by his
prophets, had fo highly provoked the Lordy that now
he fent the king of Affyria, whom he called the rod
of his anger, Ifa. x. 5. to call them to an account.
R 2 Kings xvif. So

256 SACRED HISTORY. Part in.
So that Hofhea was fcarce fettled on the throne, when
Shalmanefer, the Affyrian king, came up againft him.
Hofhea, for that time, pacified him with fubmif-
fion, fubjecting himfelf to him as a tributary prince,
and making him ample prefents. But this ferved not
long. For after a while, Hofhea neglected to pay
his tribute, and withal tampered with So, king of
Egypt, to aflift him to caft off the Affyrian yoke,
which he had fo lately taken on him. Which when
Salmanefer underftood, he came up with his forces
through all the land, and laid fiege to Samaria.
Three years Samaria held out the fiege, before the
Affyrian could take it h. But at the three years end
(which was the ninth year of Hofhea) Shalmanefer
took Samaria, and fhutting up king Hofhea in prifon,
and in bonds, he carried Ifrael away captives into
Affyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor, by
the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Among thefe captives, Tobit, then a young man,
was one, whofe ftory hath a diftindt book in -the
Apocrypha. Thus were the ten tribes difpofleffed of the land of
Canaan, the land promifed to Ifrael their father, whofe
name they bore. And that the juftice of God may
appear in thus difinheriting them, the caufe is. fet
forth, with great amplification, in this 17th chapter of
the fecond book of Kings, from ver. 7. to 24. But
is contracted into this brief furn, chap, xviii. 12.
" Becaufe they obeyed not the voice of the Lord their
God, but tranfgreffed his covenant, and all that Mo-
fes, the fervant of the Lord, had commanded; and
would not hear them, nor do them."
All the prophets of God, who prophefied in thofe
times, foretold this captivity. As the prophet Ifaiah,
chap. viii. 4. and chap. ix. 9. to the end. The pro
phet Hofea, chap. viii. ver. 5, 6, 7. 8, 9, and chap.
x. ver. 5, 6, 7. 14, 15. and chap. xiii. 16. The
h A. M. 3284. prophet

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 257
prophet Amos, chap, iii; 9. to the end ; chap, v. 2,
3. 5. vi. 7. and vii. 17. And the prophet Micah,
chap. i. 5, 6, ore. and chap. ii. 3, 4, &c.
The Ifraelites being thus carried out of their own
land into Aflyria, the Affyrian king drew forth divers
colonies Of his people from Babylon, and from Cu-
thah, and from Ava, and from Sepharvaim (places
belonging to that monarchy) and fending them into
the land of Canaan, placed them in the cities of Sa
maria, inftead of the children of Ifrael ; and they pof-
fefling Samaria, dwelt in the cities thereof.
This repeopling of Samaria, and the other cities
of Ifrael, is afcribed to Efarhaddon, Efra iv. 2. But
he being the grandfon of Salmanefer, by whom the
country was depopulated, it may be confidered whe
ther it be probable the country lay wafle, and unin
habited, for fo many years as were between the grand
father and grandfon ; and whether they who were fent
by Efarhaddon might not be a fecond colony.
However, they who came firft, at their firft com
ing to dwell there, met with but rough entertainment.
For not fearing the Lord (that is, not performing
any fort of worfhip to him, but polluting the holy
land with their feveral forts of foul idolatries) the
Lord fent lions among them, which flew many of
them. This ftruck fuch terror on the reft, that they fent
meffengers to the king of Affyria, to complain of this
grievance ; who acquainted him, that the nations
which he had removed, and placed in the cities of
Samaria, were infefted, and many of them flain by
lions, which the God of the land had fent among
them, becaufe they, not knowing the manner how
that God ufed to be ferved, had not performed any
worfhip to him.
The king thereupon, that he might provide for the
fafety of the people, gave order that one of the priefts,
that had been brought with the other captives out of
the land of Ifrael, fliould be carried back thither
again, that he might dwell there, and teach thefe new
Vol. II, S inhabitants

258 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
inhabitants the manner or way of worfhip of the God-
of the land.
Notwithftanding which, as the colonies confifted
of a medley of divers forts of people drawn out of
feveral provinces and nations1 ; fo every nation of
them made gods of their own (according to the man
ner of the place they came from) and put them in the
houfes of the high-places, which the Ifraelites (called
here the Samaritans, becaufe Samaria was the metro
polis, or chief city of that kingdom) had made, every
nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.
For the men that came from Babylon fet up Suc-
cothbenoth for their god; which Godwyn tells us,
from the Hebrew doctors, was the picture of an hen
with her chickens. Mofes and Aaron, 1. iv. c. 7.
They that came from Cuth (or Cuthath) made
Nergal their god : which Godwyn {ubi fupra) fays,
the Hebrew doctors interpret, Galium fylveftrim ; and
Wilfon calls it a woodcock. Chriftian Dictionary, verba1.
Nergal. But D'Afligny fays, Nergal. was a continual fire.
Hift. of the Heathen Gods, book firft, p. 103.
The men of Hamath fet up Afhima for their god,.
reprefented by a goat. Godwyn, ubi fupra.
The Avites had two; Nibhaz, fuppofed to be the
fame with Anubis, which the Egyptians worfhipped
in the image of a dog ; and Tartak, in the- form of
an afs. Godwyn, ib.
They that came from Sepharavina had two alfo.
Adramelech and Anammelech.. Which Godwyn (ubi
fupra) fays, had the reprefentation, the former of a
mule, the latter of an horfe. But becaufe the Se-
pharavites are here faid to burn their children in the
fire to thefe gods of theirs, fome have thence con
jectured, that thefe two idols were the fame with,
Moloch (or Molech) whofe name they have affumed.-
Hift. of Heathen Gods, 1. i. p. 92.
That thefe contemptible gods might not want fuit-
able attendants, thefe new planters made to them-
1 2 Kings xvii. felves.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. ^9
felves, of the loweft amongft them, priefts of the high-
places, which facrificed for them there. And thus
they patched up a mongrel religion, fearing the
Lord (that is, pretending to worfhip him) yet fer-
ving their own gods; paying indifferently their devo
tions to Bethel's calf, and their own idols, with the
fame rites, and after the fame manner, as the Ifrae
lites had formerly done, according as they were in-
ftructed by their Ifraelitifh, but apellate, priefts.
But as for the Ifraelites who were gone into capti
vity, all their afflictions and diftreffes, even this laft
and greateft of perpetual bondage, did not reclaim
them ; but they went on in their accuftorned evil
courfes, not fearing the Lord, nor doing nor keeping
the ftatutes, ordinances, law, and commandment, which
the Lord had given to the children of Jacob, whom
he named Ifrael.
This was the end of the Ifraeliti/h kingdom ; that
is, of the ten tribes Which revolted from Rehoboam
the fon of Solomon, and fet up Jeroboam the fon of
Nebat againft him. And this was the beginning and
rife of that mungrel -people, who (from the city and
country of Samaria, where they lived) were afterwards
called Samaritans ; enemies to the Jews, and, as fuch,
rejected by them.
But Judah's day was yet fomewhat lengthened.
For though Ahaz (the laft of her kings that we
have yet mentioned) had by his egregious wickednefs
drawn her judgment fomewhat forward ; yet his fon
-and fucceffor, Hezekiah (a good fon of an evU father)
by his obedient and humble walking with the Lord,
may be thought to have for a while protracted it.
For he is faid to have, done that which was right in the
fight of the Lord, according to all that his anceftor
David diet.
He began early to give evidence of his zeal for
God, and for the true worfhip of God k. For in the
firft year of his reign (which was the five-and-twen-i
k 2 Kings xviii. 2 Chron. xshx.
S 2 tieth

a6o SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
tieth of his age) and in the firft month of the year,
he caufed the doors of the houfe of the Lord (which his
father had fhut up, 2 Chron. xXviii. 24.) to be opened
and repaired. Then having gathered the priefts and
the Levites together, he gave them in charge, firft to
fanctify themfelves, and then to fandtify the houfe of
the Lord God of their fathers, by carrying the filfhi-
nefs out of the holy place. " For, faid he, our fa
thers have trefpaffed, and done that which was evil in
the fight of the Lord our God, and have forfaken him,
and turned away their faces from the habitation of
the Lord, and have even turned their backs upon it.
They have alfo fhut up the doors of the porch, and
have put out the lamps, and have not burned incenfe,
nor offered burnt-offerings in the holy place unto the
God of Ifrael. Wherefore the wrath of the Lord was
upon Judah and Jerufalem, and he hath delivered them
into their enemies hands, as ye have feen. For our
fathers, ye know, have fallen by the fword, and our
wives and children were in captivity for this." Where
in it is probable he had an eye to the flaughter,
which Pekah, late king of Ifrael, had made of the
men of Judah, and the great humber of prifoners
taken in the time of king Ahaz his father, 2 Chron.
xxviii. 6. and 8.
Then going on he tells them, cc Now it is in my
heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of If
rael, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
Now therefore my fons (faid he) be not negligent ;
for the Lord hath chofen you to ftand before him, that
ye may ferve him, and minifter unto him, and burn
incenfe before him."
The Levites and the priefts, thus authorifed and
encouraged, gathered their brethren together, and,
having fanctified themfelves, came, according to the
commandment of the king, to do the Lord's bufi-
nefs, in cleanfing the houfe of the Lord. And the
priefts, going into the inner part, brought out all the
uncleannefs that they found in the temple of the Ixird
to the Levites j who taking it of them, carried it out
abroad,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 261
abroad, and caft it into the brook Kidron (a rivulet
which ran in the valley between Jerufalem and the
mount of Olives, and in the New Teftament is called
Cedron, John xviii. 1). And fuch diligence they
did ufe therein, that beginning on the firft day of
the firft month, they came on the eighth day to the
porch of the Lord. And having in eight days clean-
fed the houfe of the Lord, they cleanfed the outward
court in eight days more ; fo that by the fixteenth
day of the fame month they had made a full end.
Having then reported to . king Hezekiah that they
had cleanfed all the houfe of the Lord, and the altar
of burnt-coffering, and the fhew-bread table, with all
.the veffels belonging to each ; and moreover, that
they had looked up all the veffels, which his father
king Ahaz had caft away in his tranfgreffion, and had
prepared and fanctified them, and fet them before the
altar of the Lord; the king, with his rulers, went
early up to the houfe of the Lord, and offered burnt-
offerings and facrifices in fuch abundance, that the
priefts were too few to flay them, and were glad to
accept the help of their brethren the Levites (who
were more upright, and forward to fanctify them
felves, than were the priefts) until the work was ended,
and till more of the priefts had fanctified themfelves.
And thus was the fervice of the houfe of the Lord
fet in order, to the mutual rejoicing of both king and
people, The way being thus fairly opened to a thorough
reformation, and fo good a progrefs made therein j
the next ftep was the keeping of the paffover ': which
by reafon of the divifion of the kingdom, -and the
frequent commotions !, difturbances, and troubles that
happened thereupon, had not been kept in 'due man
ner for a long time.. But now, the king haying ad-^
vifed with his princes about it, it was determined^
that fince it could not be. kept iiv that firft month
(which was the regular time for it) becaufe " neither
\ % Kings xviii, a, Chron.. xxxv
: \ 3 3 had

a62 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
had the priefts yet fanctified a fufficierit number of them
felves for die work, nor could the people have timely
notice to affemble themfelves together at Jerufalem to
it ; it fhould be kept in the fecond month, and procla
mation thereof fhould be made from Beerfheba even
unto Dan (the whole length of the land of Judea) ;
that fo not only the two tribes of the kingdom of Ju
dah, but all fuch alfo of the ten tribes of Ifrael, as,
having efcaped the hands of the kings of Affyria, were
not gone into captivity (for the Affyrian befom had
not fwept all away) might have notice of it.
To that end, letters were difpatched by poft, from
the king and his princes, throughout all Ifrael and
Judah ; and thofe that were directed to the remnant of
Ifrael were thus worded :
" Ye children of Ifrael, turn again unto the Lord
God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Ifrael, and he will re
turn to the remnant of you that are efcaped out of the
hand of the kings of Affyria. And be not ye like
your fathers, and like your brethren, who trefpaffed
. againft the Lord God of their fathers, and were there
fore given up byJiim to defolation, as ye fee. Now
be not ye ftiff-hecked, as your fathers were, but yield
yourfelves unto the Lord, and enter into his fanctuary,
which he hath fanctified for ever, and ferve the Lord
your God, that the fiercenefs of his wrath may turn
away from you. For if ye turn again unto the Lord
your God, your brethren and your children fhall
find compaffion before them that have led them cap
tive, fo that- they fhall come again into this land ; for
the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will
not turn away his face from you, if ye return to
him." With thefe letters the polls paffed from city to
- city, through the countries of Ephraim and Manaffeh,
even unto Zebulun ; but they laughed them to fcorn,
and mocked them. So little of good had that great,
calamity, which had fo lately befallen their brethren,
wrought upon them. Neverthelefs, divers of Afher, and

Part. HI. SACRED HISTORY. 263
and of Manaffeh, and of Zebulun too, humbled them
felves, and came to Jerufalem.
But in Judah, the power of God (figuratively jex-^
preffed by his hand) wrought fo effectually, that with
one heart they applied themfelves to do the com
mandment of the king and of the princes, which they
were fenfible proceeded from the word of the Lord.
So that there affembled at Jerufalem much people,
a very great congregation, to keep the feaft of un
leavened bread in the fecond month.
But becaufe the falfe worfhip muft be done away,
before the true can be rightly and acceptably perform
ed, the firft thing they did, being thus met together,
was the taking away all the idolatrous altars that were
in Jerufalem, and calling them into the brook Ki-
dron. Which done, and the priefts and the Levites
having fanctified themfelves, they killed the paffover
on the fourteenth day of the fecond month (obferving
the right day, though they could not for that time
pbferve the right month) and brought in the burnt-
offerings into the houfe of the Lord.
And becaufe many in the congregation were not
fanctified (for a multitude of the people out pf E-
phraim, Manaffeh, Iffachar, and Zebulun, had not
cleanfed themfelves, who yet were admitted to eat
the paffover, though againft the law, Levit. vii. 20.)
the Levites were charged to kill their paffovers for
them (which, had they been clean, they themfelves
fhould have done, Levit. i. 5). And good king He
zekiah (knowing how much the inward preparation
of the heart exceeded the outward ceremonious cleanf-
ing) offered this atoning prayer to the Lord for them,
faying, " The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth
his heart to feek God, even the Lord God of his fa
thers, although he be not cleanfed according to the
purification of the fanctuary." And fo acceptable to
the Lord was this pious requeft, that he hearkened
tp Hezekiah, and healed the people,
S 4^ The

264 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
The reft of this great folemnity (the greateft that
had been performed in Jerufalem fince the time of
-king Solomon) the reader may fee in the remainder
of. this chapter, 2 Chron. xxx.
Now when all this was finifhed, all Ifrael that were
prefent went out to the cities of Judah by king He-
zekiah's command, and brake the images in pieces,
and caft down the groves, and threw down the high-;
places and the altars out pf all Judah and Benjamin,
and out of that part of Ephraim and Manaffeh alfo
which was fubject unto Judah (of which fee 2 Chron.
xiii. 19.) until they had deftroyed them all.
Nor fpared he the brafen ferpent, which Mofes had
made by the command of God, Numb. xxi. 8, 9. But
becaufe the children of Ifrael had burnt incenfe to it,
he brake it in pieces, and in contempt called it Ne-.
bufhtan, that is, a piece of mere brafs.
Then, that he might make a thorough reformation,
he regulated the priefts and Levites, with refpect!
both to their courfes pf waiting, and the refpective
fervices they were tp perform in the hpufe of the Lord,
and about his worfhip. And that they might be en
couraged in their attendance, according to the law of
the Lord, he commanded the people to give them
their portion ; which thereupon was brought in fo plen
tifully, that they all had enough, to eat a,nd to fpare ;
fo that ftore-hpufes were provided to lay up what was
left, and ftewards appointed to take the; charge and
care of receiving and diftributing it.
Thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, working
that which was good and right in truth before the
Lord his God : for in every work that he undertook,
in the fervice of the houfe of God, he fought his God,
according to the law, and the commandments, and
did it with all his heart. And indeed he clave to
the Lord, and departed not from following him, but
kept his commandments, trufting in the God of Ifrael ;
fo that after him was none like him among all the
kings of Judah, nor any that were before jiim, viz,
fince

Part III. SACRED ^HISTORY. 265
fince the divifion of the kingdom. And the Lord,
who is never fhort on his part, was with him, and
profpered him whitherfoever he went,
In his father's time (who, for his own and his
people's fins, was brought low) the Philiftines had
invaded the low country, and the fo'uth of Judah,
and had taken many cities with their villages from
Judah, which they poffeffed themfelves of, "and dwelt
in, 2 Chron. xxviii. 18. thefe Hezekiah recovered
from them, and gave the Philiftines a full defeat.
His father Ahaz had alfo, through fear, fubjected
himfelf and the kingdom to the king of Affyria,
2 Kings xvi. 7, This being uneafy to Hezekiah, he
refufed to ferve the Affyrian any longer, and forbore
to pay him tribute. Whereupon, in .the fourteenth
year pf king Hezekiah, Sennacherib, then king of
Affyria, entering with an army into Judah, incamp-
ed againft the fenced cities, and thought to win
them. So we read it in 2 Chron, xxxii. 1, But in
2 Kings xviii. 13. it is faid exprefly, that he came up
againft all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them;
with which agrees the prophet Ifaiah, chap, .xxxvi.
1. Yet taking this latter to be fpoken by a trope
of the whole for a partm, it may be underftood that
he, in the pride and haughtinefs of his heart, thought
to have won them all j but being reftrajned, took only
fome of them.
However, Hezekiah forefeeing that, after he had
taken the out-cities, he would aim at Jerufalem, the
royal feat of Judah, thought fit, while he had time,
to make it as ftrong as he could. Wherefore taking
counfel with his princes and chief officers, and fet
ting many hands to the work, he caufed all the foun-t
tains of water, which were without the city, to be
flopped- And cutting of t\\e brook [Gihpn] which
ran through the middle, of the land, he brought it
down to the weft flde pf the city of Dayid ; that fo
he might both fecure himfelf of a fufficient fupply of
» 2 Kings xviii. 2 Chron. xxxii. water,

266 SACRTlD HISTORY. Part III,
water, and ftraiten the enemy for want of it. Then
he repaired the wall that had been broken down, fup-
pofe by Joafh king of Ifrael, in the time of Ama
ziah king of Judah, 2 Chron. xxv. 23.) and having
raifed it up to the towers, he ftrengthened it with
another wall without. He repaired alfo the fortrefs
(called Millo) in the city of David. And having
made darts and fhields in abundance, he fet captains
of war over the people, and caufing them to be
muttered before him, he fpake comfortably to them,
bidding them be ftrong and courageous, and be not
afraid, nor difmayed, becaufe of the king of Affyria 5
for (faid he) there are more with us than with him.
With him, indeed, is an arm of flefh, but with us is
the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our
battles. But although the people were fomewhat hearten
ed by thefe encouraging words; yet Hezekiah con-
fidering the ftrength of the Affyrian, and what he
had done already, thought it fafer for him to fubmit,
and thereby fave his country from flaughter, fpoil, and
rapine, that to try it out by the fword. ,
Wherefore fending his ambaffadors to the Affy
rian king, who then lay with all his forces before
Lachifh, (aoity belonging to the tribe of Judah, Jofh,
xv. 39.) he by them acknowledged his offence, in-
treated him to withdraw his army, and promifed to
bear what penalty be would lay upon him.
The Affyrian king thereupon appointed him to pay
three hundred talents of filver, and thirty talents of
gold. The three hundred talents of filver, at three
hundred feventy-five pounds each talent, came to one
hundred and twelve thoufand and five hundred pounds :
and the thirty talents of gold, at four thoufand five
hundred pounds a-piece, came to one hundred thir-
ty-and-five thoufand pounds ; fo that the whole fum
was two hundred forty-and-feven thoufand and five,
hundred pounds.
To pay this tine, Hezekiah took all the filver that
was found in the houfe of the Lord, and in the trea
fures,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 267
fures of the king's houfe. And that not fufficing, he
found it neceffary to cut off the gold from the doors
of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which
he had over-laid with gold ; for it feems when he
opened the doors of the temple (which his father had
fhut) and reftored the worfhip of God; in the begin
ning of his reign, he had over-laid the doors and pil
lars with plates of gold. But when the Affyrian king
had gotten the money, inftead of raifing the fiege,
and withdrawing his forces, he fent three of his prime
commanders (Tartan, Rabfaris, and Rabfhakeh) from
Lachifh, with a great hoft againft Jerufalem, with
intent (as is fuppofed) to place a garrifon therein for
the king of Affyria.
Thefe coming to Jerufalem, and demanding to
fpeak with the king, he fent forth to them three prime
minifters of flate, Eliakim, who was comptroller, or
over the houfehold, with Shebna the fecretary of
ftate, and Joab the recorder. But when, by the com
ing forth of thefe, the Affyrians perceived that entrance
was denied them ; Rabfliakeh, in the name of his mafter
Sennacherib, fpake thus unto them:
" Speak ye now (faid he) to Hezekiah, Thus faith
the great king, the king of Affyria, What confidence
is this wherein thou trufteft ? Thou fayeft, I have
counfel and ftrength for the war ; but they are but
vain words. On whom therefore dofl thou rely, that
thou rebelleft againft me ? Thou trufteft (it may be)
upon the ftaff of this broken reed, even Egypt, on
which, if a man lean, itwill go into his hand and pierce
it ; for fuch is Pharaoh king Of Egypt unto all that
truft in him. But if ye fhall fay unto me, We truft
in the Lord our God (I anfwer, What reafon have ye
to truft in him whom ye have fo openly done de-
fpite unto ? for) is not that he, whofe high-places and
whofe altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath
faid to Judah and Jerufalem, ye fhall worfhip before
this (only) altar in Jerufalem ?"
Then, to exprefs the higheft contempt of Heze-
kiah's ftrength, and to deride his weaknefs, he added,
" Now

263 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
" Now therefore, I pray thee, give hoftages to my
lord the king of Affyria, and I will deliver thee two
thoufand horfes, if thou be but able on thy part to
fet riders on them. And if thou be not, how then
wilt thou be able to put to flight one captain of the
leaft of my mafter's fervants ? But befides, it is in vain
for you to rely upon the Lord ; for am I now come
up without the Lord againft this place to deftroy it ?
No, no ; the Lord faid to me, (e Go up againft this
land, and deftroy it."
Rabfhakeh, it feems, delivered this meffage in the
Jewifh language ; and that troubled Hezekiah's mi-.
pifters, left the Jews that were within hearing upon
the wall fhould be thereby difcouraged. Wherefore
they defired Rabfhakeh to fpeak to them in the Syrian
language, which they told him they underftood, and
pot talk any longer with them in the Jews language,
in the hearing of the people that were on the wall.
But Rabfhakeh, deriding their fear, thus replied
to him that made that requeft : " Hath my mafter
font me to fpeak thefe words to thy mafter and thee
only ? Hath' he not fent me to the men which fit on
the wall ; that they may know before-hand what they
muft truft to, if they ftand out againft my mafter, to
wit, to eat their own dung, and drink their own urine ;
that is, to undergo the utmoft extremities of a clofe;
^nd long fiege."
Then raifing his vpice, and directing his fpeech tq
the people on the wall, he cried in the Jews language,
" Hear the word of the great king, the king of Af»
fyria." Upon which the peopl? giving attention, he.
went on : ,'
« Thus faith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive
you 5 for he fhall not be- able tp deliver you out of
my hand. Neither let Hezekiah make you truft in.
the Lord, faying, The Lord will furely deliver us,
and this city fhall not be delivered into the hand, pf
the king of Affyria.
" Hearken not unto Hezekiah ; for thus faith the
king of Affyria, make an agreement with me, by j,
prefer^

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 26*9
prefent, and come out to me, and then eat ye every
man of his own vine, and of his own fig-tree, until
I come, and take you away to a land like your own ;
a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vine
yards, a land of oil of olive, and of honey, that ye
may live, and not die. And hearken not unto He
zekiah, when he deceiveth you, faying, The Lord will
deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations de
livered at all his land out of the hand of the king of
Affyria? Then recounting the places he had won",
he went on, afking, Where are the gods of Hamath,
and of Arphad ? Where are the. gods of Sepharvaim,
Henah, and Ivah ? Have they delivered Samaria out
of mine hand ? Which of all the gods of the coun
tries hath delivered their country out of my hand, that
the Lord fhould deliver Jerufalem out of my hand?"
Here Rabfhakeh flopped, expecting probably that
the people would have expreffed their minds ; but
the people held their peace, and anfwered him not;
for the king's commandment was, " Anfwer him not
a word." But when Eliakim, with the other two officers,
came back to king Hezekiah with their clothes rent,
and told, him the words of Rabfhakeh ; the good
king, renting his clothes alfo, covered himfelf with
fackcloth, and went into the houfe of the Lord, to
beg help and deliverance from him ; fending mean
while Eliakim and Shebnah, with the elders of the
priefts, covered alfo with fackcloth, to Ifaiah the pro
phet, to ftir him up to feek the Lord for them.
Thefe, coming to Ifaiah, faid, " Thus faith He
zekiah, This is a day of trouble, and of rebuke and
blafphemy (to wit, in Rabfhakeh's condemning the
taking away the high-places, &c). For the children
are come to the birth, and there is not ftrength to
bring forth (meaning, perhaps, to finifh the reforma
tion begun). It may be the "Lord thy God will hear
the Words of Rabfhakeh, whom" the king of Affyria
" z Kings xix. Ifaiah xxxvii. his

270 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
his mafter hath fent to reproach the living God, and
will reprove them. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for
the remnant that are left, fince ten tribes of twelve
are already carried away, and fo many cities now taken
in Judah."
The good prophet, not difmayed with the Affyrian
threats, gave them this fhort, but comforting an
fwer :
" "Thus fhall ye fay to your mafter, Thus faith
the Lord, be not afraid of the words which thou haft
heard, with which the fervant of the king of Affyria
hath blafphemed me. Behold, I will fend a blaft (or
fpirit) upon him, and he fhall hear a rumour, and
/hall return to his own land."
Mean while Rabfhakeh, the Affyrian herald, hav
ing fummoned the city Jerufalem to yield, and re
ceived no anfwer, was returned, to give the king
his mafter an account of his undertaking, and found
him warring againft Libnah (a city belonging to the
priefts, Jofh. xxi. 13. and 1 Chron. vi. 57. which,
in the reign of Joram, fon of Jehofhaphat king of
Judah, had revolted from Judah, 2 Kings viii. 22.)
for Rabfhakeh had heard that Sennacherib had de-
parted.from Lachifh.
At Libnah it was that Sennacherib heard the ru
mour (which God by the prophet had faid he fliould
hear) ; which was, That his own country was invaded
by Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, who was come out to
fight againft him. Wherefore refolving to return
home with all fpeed, to defend his own land (which
the blaft, or fpirit, that God fent upon him, difpofed
him to) he fent meffengers again unto king Heze
kiah, with a fecond fummons, in thefe haughty
terms :
" Let not thy God, in whom thou trufteft, deceive
thee, by telling thee Jerufalem fhall not be delivered
into the hand of the king of Affyria. Behold, thou
haft heard what the kings of Affyria have done unto
all lands, by deftroying them utterly : and /halt thou
be delivered ? Have the gods of the nations delivered them

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 271
them which my fathers, have deftroyed, as Gozan,
and Haran, and Kezeph, and the children of Eden,
which were in Thelazar ? Where is the king of Ha-
math, and the king of Arphan, and the king of the
city of Sepharvaim, of Henah, and of Ivah?"
The former fummons was delivered by word of
mouth, but this was fent by a meffenger in a letter ;
which when king Hezekiah had received and read,
he went up into the houfe of the Lord, and having
fpread it before the Lord, he poured forth his fup
plication before the Lord in thefe words :
" O Lord God of Ifrael, who dwelleft between the
cherubims, Thou art the God, even thou albne, of
all the kingdoms of the earth ; for thou haft made both
heaven and earth.. Bow down, O Lord, thine ear, and
hear; open thine eyes, O Lord, and fee, and hear all
the words of Sennacherib, who hath fent to reproach
the living God. True it is, O -Lord, that the kings
of Affyria have deftroyed the nations and their lands,
and have caft their gods into the fire ; for they were
no gods, but wood and ftone, the work of men's
hands ; therefore they have deftroyed them. Now
therefore, O Lord our God, I befeech thee fave thou
us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth
may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou
only." To this fervent prayer, the Lord vouchfafed to re
turn an anfwer, by his prophet Ifaiah, who fending
to Hezekiah, faid :
" Thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, That which
thou haft prayed to me againft Sennacherib, king of
Affyria, I have heard, and this is the word which the
Lord hath fppken concerning him : The virgin, the
daughter of Zion, hath defpifed thee, and laughed thee
to fcorn : The daughter of Jerufalem hath fhaken her
head at thee. Whom haft thou reproached and blaf-
phemed ? and againft whom haft thou exalted thy
voice, and. lifted up thine eyes on high ? even againft
the Holy One of Ifrael. Then rhetorically exaggerat
ing his haughty threats, he goes on : By thy meffen gers

272 S AC RED HISTORY; Part III.
gers thou haft reproached the Lord, and haft faid,
With the multitude of my chariots I am come tip to
the height of the mountains, to the fides of Lebanon*
and will cut down the tall cedar-trees thereof, and
the choice fir-trees thereof, and will enter into the
lodgings of his borders, and into the foreft, and his
fruitful country. I have digged, and drank ftrange
waters, and with the fole of my feet have I dried up
all the rivers of befieged places. (Then, to" take
down his pride, and let him fee that he had arrogated
to himfelf what was due to the Lord, whofe inflru-
ment only he was, the prophet thus interrogates him) :
Haft thou not heard, that I have dbne it long ago,
and that of ancient times I have formed it ? Now have
I brought it to pafs, that thou fhouldft be to lay
wafle fenced cities into ruinous heaps. (And to fhew
that he had not prevailed fo much by his own
ftrength, as by God's having weakened them whom he
fubdued, the prophet adds) ; therefore their inhabitants
were of fmall power, they were difmayed and con
founded, they were as the grafs of the field, and as
the green herb, as the grafs on the houfe-top, and as
corn that is blafted*before it be grown up. But I
know thy abode, thy going out, and thy coming in,
and thy rage againft me. Becaufe thy rage againft
me, and thy tumult is come up into mine ears;
therefore will I put my hook in thy nofe, and my
bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the
way by which thou cameft. Then giving Hezekiah
a fign, to confirm the certainty of his deliverance,!
the prophet concludes after this manner; Therefore
thus faith the Lord concerning the king of Affyria,
He fhall not come into this city, nor fhoot an arrow
there, nor come before it with fhield, nor caft a bank
againft it. By the way that he came fhall he re
turn, and fhall not come into this city, faith the
Lord; for I will defend this city, to fave it, for
mine own fake, and for the fake of my fervant
David." But

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 273
But die deliverance was quicker than the fign. For
in that very nightj the angel of the Lord went forth",
and fmote in the camp of the Affyrians an hundred
fourfcore and five thoufand, amongft which were all
the mighty men of valour, and the pleaders and cap
tains in the camp of the king of Affyria ; fo that in
the morning, behold they were all dead corpfes.
Thus this haughty king, with fliame of face, re
turned into his own country, and dwelt at Nineveh ;
whither divine vengeance followed him. For not
long after, as he was worfhipping in the houfe of
Nifroch his god (which fome take to be the figure of
Noah's ark, others, the image pf an eagle) his twp
fons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, fmote him with the
fword ; and efcaping into the land of Armenia, made
way for Efarhaddon, another of his fons, to afcend
the Affyrian throne.
The occafion of this regi -parricide, not touched in
the facred text, is in other ftory thus delivered :
When Sennacherib was got home, with the lofs qf
fo great an army, he demanded of fome about him
what .the reafon .might be, that the ir.refiftab.le God
of heaven fo favoured the Jewi/h nation. To which
he was anfwered, that Abraham, from whom they
defcended, by facrificing to him his only fon, had
purchafed his protectidh to his progeny. Whereupon
the king replied, " If that will win him, I will fpare
him two of my fons, to gain him to my fide." Which
when his fons Sharezer and Adrammelech heard, they
refolved to prevent .their own deaths by his. See Pri-
deaux's introduction to reading hiftory, p. 164.
To thefe times may be referred thofe proprieties of
Ifaiah, which are contained in chap. x. and in chap.
xiv. 25. and xxx. 31. and xxxi. 8. and that of the
prophet Micah, chap. v. 6.
Thus the Lord faved Hezekiah, and -the inhabitants
of Jerufaleni, from the hand of Sennacherib king of
Affyria p, and from all others ; and both guided and
0 A. M. 3291. p ^ Chr. 32.
Vol. II. T guarded

274 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
guarded them on every fide. And fo evident it was
that this deliverence was wrought by the immediate
hand of God, that many thereupon brought gifts un
to the Lord at Jerufalem, and prefents alfo to king
Hezekiah ; fo that he was magnified in the fight of
all nations from thenceforward. And indeed he had
exceeding much riches and honour, fo that he made
himfelf treafuries for filver, and for gold, and for pre
cious flones, and all manner of pleafant jewels ; an
armory alfo for warlike weapons, and flore-houfes to
receive the increafe of corn, wine and oil ; flails alfo
for all manner of greater cattle, and cotes (or folds)
for flocks ; for he had very great poffeflions of flocks
and herds, God having given him fubftance in abun
dance. But in the midft of all this affluence of riches and
honour, it pleafed God to vifit him with a mortal
ficknefs, and at the fame time to fend his prophet
Ifaiah to him, to bid him fet his houfe in order (and
fettle his affairs) for he fliould die.
When Hezekiah had received this forrowful mef
fage, he turned his face towards the wall (that out
ward objects might not diflract his thoughts), and
pouring forth his foul in prayer to the Lord, he faid,
" Remember me, O Lord, I befeech thee, how I have
walked before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart,
and have done that which is good in thy fight."
This fhort prayer, poured forth with plenty of
tears, proved fo effectual with his gracious God, that
before Ifaiah (who, as foon as he had delivered his
meffage, departed) was gone out into the middle court
of the king's houfe, the word of the Lord came to
him again, faying, " Turn again, and tell Hezekiah,
the captain of my people 9, thus faith the Lord, the
God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer,
I have feen thy tears ; behold I will heal thee, fo that
on the third day thou fhalt go up unto the houfe of
the Lord. Nor only fo, but I will add unto thy
' 2 Kings xx, Ifa. xxxviii. days

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 275
days fifteen years. And. I will deliver thee, and this
city, out of the hand of the king of Affyria (if he
fliould hereafter attempt any thing againft thee, or
it) ; and I will defend this city for mine own fake, and
for the fake of my fervant David."
This fudden return of the prophet, with a meffage
fo directly contrary to the former, made Hezekiah
take the boldnefs to afk the prophet what the fign
fliould be that the Lord would heal him, and that
he fhould go up unto the houfe of the Lord on the
third day. To which the prophet anfwered, that
the fign which the Lord would give, to affure him
that he would perform what he had fpoken, fliould
be at his own choice, whether to have the fhadow go
ten degrees forward, or as many backward, on the
fun -dial.
Hezekiah, thinking it lefs marvellous for the fha
dow to go down ten degrees, chofe to have the
fhadow return back ten degrees. Whereupon the
good prophet Ifaiah crying to the Lord to give this
confirming fign to the fick king, he brought the fha
dow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone
down on the fun-dial r, which king Ahaz had caufed
to be made. And the prophet then ordering a lump
of figs to be laid on the king's fore, he recovered.
As foon as he was recovered, he committed to writ
ing this memorial of his affliction and forrow, and of
his thankful acknowledgment to the Lord for his
recovery :
" I faid, in the cutting off of my days, I fhall go
to the gates of the grave : I am deprived of the re-
fidue of my years. I faid, I fhall not fee the Lord,
even the Lord in the land of the living : I fhall be
hold man no more, with the inhabitants of the world.
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me, as a
fhepherd' s tent : I have cut , off, like a weaver, my
life. He will cut me off with pining ficknefs : from
day even to night wilt thou make an end of me.
A. M. 329J.
T 2 Like

276 SACRED HISTORY. PartM.
Like a crane, or a fWalloW, fo did I chatter : I did
mourn as a dove ; mine eyes failed with looking up
ward (which is the pofture of fuppliants). O Lord,
I am oppreffed, eafe thou me. What fhall I fay ?
He hath both fpoken unto me, and himfelf hath dOneit.
I fhall go foftly all my years, in the bitter-heft of my
foul. O Lord* by thefe things men live, and in all
thefe things is the life of my fpirit : fo wilt thou re
cover me, and fnake me to live. Behold, for peace
I had great bitternefs ; but thou haft, in lovfe to my
foul, delivered it from the pit of corruption ; for thou
haft caft all my fins behind thy back. For the grave
cannot praife thee ; death cannot celebrate thee ; they
that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
The living, the living, he fhall praife thee ; as I do
this day : the father to the children fhall make knOwn
thy truth. The Lord was ready to fave me ; there
fore we will fing my fong-s to the ftrihged inftru
ments, all the days of our life, in the hoiafe of the
Lord." The fame of this great miracle (of the fun's alter
ing his courfe s, and going backward) being fpread
far abroad, came to the ear of Merodach-Baladah, the
fon of Baladan king of Babylon ; who thereupon fent
ambaffadors with a prefent to king Hezekiah, both
to congratulate his recovery (for he had heard that he
had been fick) and to inquire more particularly about
that great wonder. And now for a further trial, that
Hezekiah might fee, and be made yet more fenfible
of, his Own weaknefs, God left him to act according
to his own affections. To that purpofe we read, in
2 Chron. xxxii. 31.
He, thus left to the conduct of his own difcretiOh,
thought he could not entertain the Babylonifh -ambaf
fadors more honourably, or with greater demonftra'-
tion of hearty kindnefs and refpect to their mafter,
than by /hewing them the glory and ftrength of his
hoiafe and kingdom. Wherefore leading them to the
* 2 Kings xx. Ifaiah xxxix. /lore*

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 277
ftpre-houfes of his moft precious things, he /hewed
them the filyer> the gold, the jewels, the fpicery, and
the precious ointments ; his armory alfo, and all his
treafures ; there was nothing remarkable in his houfe,
or in ajl his dominion, that he fhewed them not.
When he had done thus, the prophet Ifaiah came
tp him, and afked him whence thpfe arnbaffadors
came, and what they came about. And the king tel
ling him they came frpm Babylon: " What, faid
the prophet, have they feen in thy houfe ?" " Truly
all, replied the king, that was tp be feen, in my houfe,
they j^aye fegn ; for there is nothing among my trea
fures that I have not fhewed them." " Then hear the
word of the Lord," faid the prophet, " Behold, thp
days fhall come, that all that is thine houfe, and that
which thy fathers have laid up in ftore unto this day,
/hall be carried into Babylon; nothing thereof fhall
be left, faith the Lord. And pf thy fons which thou
/halt beget, fhall they fake away, and they fhall be'
eunuchs in the palace of the king of B.abylon."
The good king, who had erred through human
weaknefs, not ftubborn wilfulnefs, Jiurnbly bpwing
to the judgment, replied: " Good is the word of the
Lord, which thou haft fpoken ; efpecially feeing there
fhall be peace .and truth in my .days.'-' This is thajt
which is hinted at, >n 2 Chron. xxxii. 26. where we
read, that Hezekiah humbled himfelf for the pride of
his heart, &c. Which thews he had fome oftentatioa
pr vain-glory in /hewing his treafures,
We now draw near to his end '. And as he was,
perhaps, the only man in hiftory, that had a leafe of
his life j fo this byfinefs pf his too much opennefs to
the Babylonian arnbaffadors, happening about the
beginning of thofe fifteen years which t^he Lord had
granted h,i.m, it is not to be doubted but that he diql
many things in the remaining part of that term, for
the honour of God, and the good of his people, more
than are recorded in the books which we have. Put
1 2 Kings xx. 2 Chron. xxxii.
Ti the

278 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
the unhappy lofs of that book of the Chronicles of
the kings of Judah (to which we are here referred for
a further account of his acts) having deprived us of
the memoirs of the latter part of his life, we muft
clofe his flory with this fhort account : that he made
a pool, and a conduit, and brought water into the
city. And that when the term affigned him was ex
pired, he flept with his fathers, and was buried in
the chiefeft of the fepulchres of the fons of David ;
and that all Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerufalem,
did him honour at his death.
We read of two great minifters of flate under this
king Hezekiah, Eliakim and Shebna"; who were
fent forth to receive the king of Affyria's meffage by
Rabfhakeh, and afterwards to confult the prophet
Ifaiah about it, 2 Kings xviii. 17, 18. and chap.
xix. 2. The former of thefe was doubtlefs a very
good man, but the later was ftark naught. So that
the prophet Ifaiah was fent by the Lord not only to
reprove him, but to denounce fore judgments againft
him. The prophet, therefore, in the name of the
Lord, told him, that fie would not only throw him
out of his offices (the places of honour and profit he had
got) and place Eliakim in them ; but he would carry
him away alfo into captivity, and would violently
turn and tofs him, like a bull, into a large country,
where he fhould die. And he would give his office
to Eliakim (whom he, it feems, had fupplanted, and
had gotten from him the office of treafurer) and
would make Eliakim a father to the inhabitants of
Jerufalem, and to the houfe of Judah.
Unlike to Hezekiah was his fon and fucceffor
Manaffeh ; who at twelve years old came to the crown w>
and reigned (firft and laft) five-and-fifty years in Je
rufalem. For he did that which was evil in the fight
of the Lord, like unto the abominations of the hea
then, whom the Lord had caft out before the child
ren of Ifrael. He built again the high-places, which
» Ifaiah xxii. " 2 Kings xxi. 2 Chron. xxxiii. A. M. 3310. his

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 279
his father Hezekiah had broken down ; and he reared
up altars for Baalim, and made groves (as Ahab king
of Ifrael had done), and worfhipped all the hoft of
heaven, and ferved them ; and built altars, not only
in the two courts of the houfe of the Lord, but in
the houfe of the Lord alfo.
And he fet a carved image (an idol pf his pwrt
making) in the houfe of God. He alfo caufed his
children to pafs through the fire, in the valley of the
fon-of Hinnom. And he obferved times, and ufed
enchantments, and practifed witchcraft, and dealt with-
familiar fpirits, and with wizards. And befides all
this, he fh?d innocent blood in fuch abundance, that
he is faid to have filled Jerufalem therewith, from one
end to the other.
Among the reft that helped to make up that purple
ftream, it is more than probable the innocent blood
of that right noble, and truly evangelical prophet
Ifaiah, was fpilt. For though the holy text gives no
account of his death, yet ecclefiaftical writers deliver,
that under this king Manaffeh he was in his extreme
age, after he had lived more • than an hundred years,
and prophefied more than fixty of them, moft bar*-
baroufly martyred by being fawed in two. To which,
not improbably, the author to the Hebrews might
refer, when he faid, " They were fawed afunder,
Heb. xi. 37.
So far did -this Manaffeh, by thefe his horrible im
pieties provoke the Lord to anger, that the Lord
fent his "prophet to him, with this meffage; "Be
caufe Manaffeh king of Judah hath done thefe abo
minations, and hath done wickedly, above all that
the Amorites did which were before him, and hath
made Judah alfo to fin with his idols : therefore thus
faith the Lord God of Ifrael, I am about to bring
fuch calamities upon Jerufalem and Judah, that who-
foever fhall hear of it, both his ears fnaii tingle. For
1 will ftretch over Jerufalem the line of Samaria (that
is, deliver her up to captivity, as I did Samaria) and
the plummet of the houfe ¦ of Ahab (which was a total
T 4 deftruction).

fgo SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
deftructioh). And I will Wipe Jerufalem, as a man
wipeth a difh, turning it upfide down. And I will
forfake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver
them into the hand of their enemies ; and they fhall
become a prey and a fpoil to all their enemies."
Thefe dreadful denunciations of judgment not
working the defired effect, becaufe both king and
people turned the deaf ear, the Lord let loofe the
Affyrian upon them : nay, it is faid, he brought upon
them the captains of the hOft of Affyria; and they taking
Manaffeh arrjong the thorns (where, poor guilty man,
he thought to hide himfelf) bound him with fetters,
and carried him to Babylon. ~*
Being now in Babylon, a captive, and in fetters, he
had time to confider what he had done, and whom
he had fo audacioufly finned againft. And now, bow
ed by affliction, he befought the Lord his God ; and
humbling himfelf greatly before the God Of his fa
thers, he prayed unto him. And the Lord was in-
treated of him, and brought him again to Jerufalem,
2nd reftored him to his kingdom ; and then Manaffeh
acknowledged that the Lord was God.
He Who defires to read the prayer of Manaffeh,
which he made when he was bound in Babylon ",
may find that which bears his name in the Apocry
pha, between the ftory of Bel and the Dragon, and the
firft book of the Maccabees. But in that which is
called the Bifhop's bible, it is placed (I know not
Why) between the fecond book of Chronicles, and the
book of Ezra,
To manifeftthe fincerity of his repentance by deeds,
as Well as by words, Manaffeh, after his return from his
Babylonifh captivity, took away the ftrange gods, and
the idol out of the houfe of the Lord, together with
all the altars which he had built in the mount of the
houfe of the Lord, and in Jerufalem, and caft them
out of the city. And then repairing the altar' of the
Lord, facrificed thereon ^burnt-offerings, and thank-
* 2 Kings xxi. 2 Chron. xxxiii. offerings,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 281
offerings, and commanded Judah to ferve the Lord
God of Ifrael. Neverthelefs the people did facrifice
ftill in the high-places, yet unto the Lord their God
only ; fo that they did not now facrifice directly to
idols, but to God, in the idols places.
And as he made this reformation in religion, fo
for the greater fecurity of his kingdom, he not only
put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah,
but built a wall (or perhaps carried on rather, and
finifhed, or repaired, that out-wall which his father
Hezekiah had begun, 2 Chron. xxxii. 5.) without the
city of David, on the weft-fide of Ghion, in the valley,
even to the entering in at the fifh-gate ; and compaf
fed the tower (called Ophel) about; having raifed it up
to a very great height.
But having fallen fo foully as he had done, though
he was reftored in a good degree, yet I obferve, that
when he died, he was not buried (as his father was,
and as the good kings were) in the royal fepulchres ;
but he was buried in the garden of his own houfe,
called the garden of Uzzah.
His fon Amon, who fucceeded him, had great ad
vantages over his father Manaffeh, to have done well.
For though Manaffeh ./prang from an excellent fa
ther, whofe example was enough to inftruct a fon,
yet he being but a child when his father died (of
but twelve years of age when he came to the crown)
was the more liable to be corrupted, and milled.
Whereas Amon was two-and-twenty years old when
he began to reign, and had his father's mifery for a
warning to him. The iron fetters, which his father
wore in Babylon, might have deterred him (one
Would think) from running that courfe which had
brought his father to them, but they did not. For he
did, evil in the fight of the Lord, as his father Manaf
feh had done ; and forfaking the Lord God of his
fathers, he walked not in the way of the Lord, but
following his father's fteps, ferved the idols that his
father ferved, and worfhipped them, facrificing unto
all the carved images which his father had made. Thus

282 SACRED HISTORY. Part III-
Thus he followed the worft part of his father's life,
but not the beft ; for he did not humble himfelf be
fore the Lord, as Manaffeh his father had humbled
himfelf; but he trefpaffed more and more. Where
fore the Lord fuffered his fervants to confpire againft
him, and they fleW him in his own houfe, after he had
reigned two years.
His death, as bad as he was, was revenged upon his
murderers. For the people of the land flew all them
that had confpired againft him, and then took his fon
Jofiah, a child of eight years old, and made him king
in his father's ftead.
This was that king, who was prophefied of by name
above three hundred years before he was bprn, i Kings
xiii. 2. Him therefore the Lord having efpecial re
gard unto, fo feafoned with divine graces in his
childhood, that while he was yet young, he began to
feek after the God of David his father, and did that
which was right in the fight of the Lord, walking in
all the good ways of David y, without declining to the
right hand or to the left.
In the twelfth year of his reign (which was the twen
tieth of his age) he began the reformation in Judah,
commanding Hilkiah the high-prieft, with others of
the priefts and door-keepers, to bring forth out of the
temple of the Lord all the veffels that had been
made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the
hoft of heaven ; which he burnt without Jerufalem,
in the fields of Kidron, and carried the afhes of them
unto Bethel (a city in the tribe of Benjamin, which
upon the divifion of the kingdom belonged to Ifraeli
but was afterwards taken from Jeroboam the fecond,
by Abijah king of Judah, 2 Chron. xiii. 19). And
becaufe that had been a chief place of idolatry, where
Jeroboam the fon of Nebat had fet up one of his calf
idols, Jofiah fent the afhes of thefe idolatrous things
thither, to exprefs his contempt of that place.
y 2 Kings xxii. 2 Chron. xxxiv, A.M. 3367. The

Part III. SARXED HISTORY. 283
The idolatrous priefts, which the kings of Judah
had ordained to burn incenfe in the high-places, in
the cities of Judah, and in the parts round about Je
rufalem, he put down ; with them alfo that burnt in
cenfe unto Baal, to the fun, and to the moon, to the
planets, and all the hoft of heaven. Which priefts,
Tremellius and Junius called Atratos, black-coats, be
caufe they were pullis veftibus indutos, ex Juperftitiofo
ritu-, that is, cloathed with black garments, out of a Ju-
perftitious rite. Annot. on 2 Kings xxiii. 5. The Bi-
fliop's Bible calls them Chemarims, both here, and in
Hofea x. 5. and in the marginal note give this as
the reafon of their being fo called, that they did wear
black apparel.
The good king going on with his reformation, not
only brought forth the grove (which fome take to be
an idol, having the refeniblance of a grove Carved.
upon it) from the houfe of the Lord, unto the brook
Kidron, without Jerufalem; and burning it there,
/lamped it to fmall powder, and caft the powder there
of upon the graves of them that had facrificed there
unto ; but brake down alfo the houfes of the Sodomites,
that were by the houfe of the Lord, where the wo
men wove hangings for the grove.
He took away the horfes that the kings of Judah
had given to the fun, and burned the chariots of the
fun with fire.
The altars alfo, that were on the top of the upper
chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had
made for the worfhip of the hoft of heaven (defcribed
by the prophets Jeremiah, chap. xix. 13. and Zepha-:
niah, chap. i. 5.) and the altars which Manaffeh had
made in the two courts of the houfe of the Lord,
did the king beat down ; and breaking them into
pieces, caft the duft of them into the brook Kidron.
The high-places, which were before Jerufalem, on
the right hand of that noted mount, which, from
the fruit it bore, was ufually called the mount of
olives ; but from the many filthy idols that were fet
up in it, is here, in contempt, called the mount of
corruption,

a$4 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
corruption, (which high-places king Solomon had
long before built for Afhteroth, the abomination of
the Zidonians, and for Chemo/h, the abomination of
the Moabites, and for Mileom, the abominatipn of
the Ammonites) thefe did the king defile. And
breaking in pieces the images of all forts, and cutting
down the groves, he filled their places with the bones
of men. Topheth alfo, which is in the valley of the
children of Hinnom, he defiled, that no man might
thenceforth make his fon or daughter paf? through
the fire to Moloch. All which particulars are here
enumerated, that the reader may fee to what an heighi-
of impiety God's own peculiar people ", the offspring
of faithful Abraham, of humble Ifaac, and of plaig
Jacob, were then arrived.
When thus this zealous king had cleanfed Jenifer
Jem, he went forth to the cities of Judah, and of
Manaffeh, Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali i
and having brought all the idolatrous priefts out of the
cities of Judah, he defiled the hjgb'pl*ees whe^e the
priefts had burnt incenfe, and brake them down,'
both publick and private, from one fide of Judah t§
the other.
But when he was come to Bethel, where Nebat'?
fon had fet up his golden calf, he brake down both
the altar and the high-place, and ftamped them tQ
powder, and burned the grove. And as he turned
himfelf about, efpyiflg the fepijitehres that were there
in the mount, he fent and took the bones out of them, •
and burning them upon the altar," polluted it, ac^
cording to the word of the Lord, which the man of
God had proclaimed againft it more than three him'
dred years before.
Then obferving an infcription upon a tomb, h§
afked, " What title is that which | fee ?" And th?
men of the city telling him it was the fepulchre of
the man of God who came from Judah, and pro
claimed againft the altar of Bethel the things which
* 2 Kings xxiii. 2 Chron. xxxiy. he

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 285
he had now done to it : " O let him alone, faid the
king : Let no man move his bones." So they let his
bohes reft, with the bones of the old prophet, that
had miffed him tP his deftruction (and who was bu
ried in the fame grave with him, 1 Kings xiii. 31.)
Who is here faid to have come out of Samaria,
2 Kings xxiii. 18. but there, to have dwelt in Bethel,
1 Kings xiii. 11.
Nor did Jpfiah thus at Bethel only -, but in all the
cities of Samaria (that is, of Ifrael, whereof Samaria
was the chief) which were then fubject to the kings of
Judah, he took away all the houfes of the high-
places, which the kings of Ifrael had made to provoke
the Lord to anger, and did to thefn as he had done
at Bethel.
As for the priefts, thofe of them that were of the
Levitical Order, and had defiled themfelves with the
idols, he removed from their facerdotal ftrnctitm^
not admitting them to '-cottte 'to minifter at the altar
Of the, Lord at .Jerufalem, yet 'permitting them to
eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.
But as for the other priefts who were priefts of the
high-places (fuch as they 'Whom Jeroboam, and other
idolatrous kings of Ifrael and Judah, had made and
fet up) he facrificed them on their altars, and burn*
their bones upon them.
But though the king himfelf Wa's thus zealoufly af
fected fo'r carrying on the work of reformation, yet
the generality of the people feem to have come but
unwillingly to ita. So that he was fain to ufe his
kingly authority, to reftrain them from idolatry.
And the prophet Jeremiah, who entered upon his
prophetic function much about this time (viz. in the
"thirteenth year of this king, Jer. i. 2.) complained
much of them, in his ii, iii, and ivth chapters.
The king's next care was'forTepairing the temple.
Wherefore being 'returned from his vifitation-progrefs
to Jerufalem, in the eighteenth year ef his reign, he
» 'Jereftiak, fent

286 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
fent his chancellor Shaphan, with Maafiah the gover
nor of the city, and Joah the recorder, to Hilkiah the
high-prieft, with order to caft up the money that had
been brought into the houfe of the Lord by the of
ferings of the people, and to deliver it to the fur-
veyors of the work, that they might pay it to the
workmen, for materials and workmanfhip in re
pairing the breaches of the houfe of the Lord.
While they were looking up the money, Hilkiah
found the book of the law given by Mofes (fuppofed
by fome to be the very autograph b, or firft draught,
written by Mofes's own hand) which he gave to
Shaphan, to deliver to the king.
How long this book had lain hid, is uncertain.
The laft mention I find of it, was in Jehofhaphat's
time, more than two hundred years before ; but the
finding it now was of great fervice. For when Sha
phan brought it to the king, and read in it before him,
the king obferving what judgments were therein
threatened to all them that fhould break the laws
therein contained, and confidering how fhort his an-
ceftors and his people had been of keeping them, com
manded Hilkiah the prieft, with divers of the king's
principal fervants, to go and inquire of the Lord for
him, and for them that were left in Ifrael and Judah,
concerning the words of that book : fearing the wrath
of God would be poured out upon them, becaufe their
fathers had not kept the word of the Lord, to do af
ter all that was written in that book.
Hilkiah thereupon, and the reft whom the king had
appointed to go with him, went to Huldah the pro-
phetefs, the wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe,
who dwelt in the college in Jerufalem.
This affords, an obfervation not unfit to be confv
dered, namely, That thefe great minifters, and the
high-prieft himfelf, fhould chufe to^o, on fo folemn
an occafion, and on fo important a bufinefs, and that
too from the king, tp learn the mind of the Lord j
b Kings xxiii. 2 Chron. xviii. from

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 287
from a woman, a prophetefs : when, befides what
other prophets there might then be (for Zephaniah
prophefied in the days of this king c, and there are
prophets mentioned, with the priefts and the people,
when the book of the covenant was read, 2 Kings
xxiii. 2.) that eminent prieft and prophet Jeremiah
(who by this time had been exercifed in the prophe
tic office between four and five years) living but at
Anathoth, about three miles from Jerufalem, muft
needs be well known, and converfant there. Yet fo
it was, that to a woman they went, to inquire of the
Lord for both king and people.
And having imparted their bufinefs to her, they re
ceived from her this anfwer :
" Thus faith the Lord God of Ifrael, Tell ye the
man that fent you to me (to wit, the king of Judah)
Thus faith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil up
on this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof;
even all the curies which they have read in the book
before the king of Judah. Becaufe they have forfaken
me, and have burned incenfe unto other gods, that
they might provoke me to anger by all the works
of their hands ; therefore my wrath fhall be poured
out upon this place, and fhall not be quenched."
" But as for the king of Judah, who fent you to
inquire of the Lord, fo fhall ye fay unto him : Thus
faith the Lord God of Ifrael, concerning the words
which thou haft readd, becaufe thy heart was tender,
and thou didft humble thyfelf before God, when thou
heardft his words againft this place, and againft the
inhabitants thereof; and. in token of thy humbling
thyfelf, didft rend thy clothes, and weep before me ;
I have even heard thee alfo, faith the Lord : Behold,
I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou fhalt be
gathered tP thy grave in peace ; neither fhall thine
. eyes fee all the evil that Twill bring upon this place,
and upon the inhabitants thereof."
c Zephan. i.i. d 2 Chron. xxxiv.
When

288 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
When they had reported this anfwer to the king,
he, having fent and gathered together all the elders
of Judah and Jerufalem, went up into the houfe of
¦the Lord, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants
of Jerufalem with him ; the priefts alfo, and prophets,
and all the people, both fmall and great : and there
the king read, in their hearing, all the words of the
book of the covenant, which was found in the houfe
of the Lordc. Which done, the king, ftanding in
his place at a pillar, made a covenant before the
Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his com
mandments, his teftimonies, and his ftatute.s, with all
his heart .and with all his foul, to perform the words
of the covenant, which were written in that book;
and be engaged all the people alfo, that were prefent,
to ftand to that covenant.
The fame year, being the eighteenth of his reign,
king Jofiah kept the paffover unto the Lord in Je-
nrfalem ; the particular account and defcription where
of the inquifitive reader may find in 2 Chron. xxxv.
from ver. 1 to 18. Where this general account is
given of it, That neither did all, or any, of the kings
of Ifrael (or of Judah) keep fuch a paffover as this
which Jofiah kept ; nor was any paffover like to
that kept in Ifrael, from the days of Samuel the
prophet. FrOm this eighteenth year of his reign, to the one
and thirtieth (which was his laft)I find.no particular
account of his acts, unlefs fome parts of the reforma
tion which he wrought fliould be referred to this lat
ter time of his age, after he had received the book of
the Jaw. For in 2 Kings xxiii. 24. his putting dowa
the workers -with familiar fpirits, and the wizards, the
teraphim, and the idols, &c. is faid to be done, that
he might perform the wprds of the law, written in
the book which Hilkiah the prieft found in the houfe
of the Lord. But probably much of that time might
' -2 Kings aadii. 2 Chron, jocxv. be

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 289
be fpent in repairing and adorning the temple; Fof
immediately after the account of this famous paffover*
it follows in the text, 2 Chron. xxxv. 20. " After all
this, when Jofiah had prepared the temple, Necho
king of Egypt came up," &c.
This coming up of the Egyptian king was to
fight againft Carchemifh, a place then belonging to
the king of Affyria, not far from the river Euphra
tes. And Jofiah, probably at firft not underftanding
his intent in this expedition, but fufpecting- he had
a defign upon him, went forth againft him> But
when Pharaoh-Necho underftood that Jofiah had
taken the afield, he fent arnbaffadors to him, who in
his name Ihould fay to him, " What have I to do
with thee, thou king of Judah, I come not againft
thee this day, but againft the houfe of Affyria, (2 JCings
xxiii. 29.) wherewith I have war; for God commanded
me to make hafle? Forbear therefore to refift God*
who is with me, left he deftroy thee."
The annotators on the Bible tell us, in their mar
ginal note on 2 Kings xxiii. 2.9. that Pharaoh being
to pafs with his army through king Jofiah's country,
he feared he would have done him harm, and there
fore would have ftayed him. It feems he was not
willing to truft the Egyptian king with an army in
his country.
However it was, Jofiah having advanced with his
army fo far, would not turn his back upon him, nor
take his word; which, it feems (though he did not
then know fo much), came from the Lord. But dif-
guifing himfelf, that he might not be made the com
mon mark, he went down to fight with him in the
valley of Megiddo, which belonged to Manaffeh.
But notwithftanding his difguife, the Egyptian arch-
>ers found him out, and gave him a mortal /hot.
Whereupon the king faid to his fervants, " Have me
away, for I am. fore wounded."
¦ His fervants thereupon fhifting him from that cha
riot into the next, brought him to Jerufalem ; and he
died, and was buried in one of the fepulchres of his
Vol. II. U fathers ;

©9cv SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
fathers -, and all Judah and Jeryfalem mourned fof
him. But none did more lament the untimely lofs of
this good king, than that good man the prophet
Jeremiah ; who thereupon (though fometime after,
and probably at feveral times) compofed that thre>-
nody, or mournful fong, which 'bears the title of
S'be Lamentations of Jeremiah.
Therein he fets forth the manifold tranfgreffions
which his people had run into, and mournfully be
wails their deplorable condition, from the extreme
miferies which he forefaw would come, and afterwards
faw did come, upon them after the death of Jofiah.
So great was the love that the people of Judah
bare to this king, that the frnging-men and finging-
women, o*pon mournful occafions, in after-timesy
were injoined to commemorate, in their lamenta
tions, the untimely death . of this excellent king.
And fo great was the forrow they .exprened for his
death, that the prophet Zechariah above an hundred
years after remembered it ; and compared the mourn?
ing which he then prophefied fhould -in after-times
be in Jerufalem, to the mourning of Hadadrimmen
{the place where Jofiah received his mortal wound)
in the valky of M.egiddo, Zech. xi-i. it.
Nor was the love of the people ill-placed on fo
excellent a king ; for, befides the particular inftances
before related of his piety and virtues, this general
eulogy is given of him, " That like unto him there
was no king before him, that turned to the Lord
with all his heart, and with all his foul, and with all
his might, according to all the law of Mofes; nei
ther after him arofe there any like him :" unhappy,
perhaps, in this only, that by this unadvifed and wil1
ful act of his, in going to fight with the king of
Egypt without caufe, he both fhortened his own life*
and deprived himfelf of the benefit of that part of
the divine promife, that he fhould be gathered to his
grave in peace, 2 Chron. xxxiv, 28. But

Part. lit SACRED HISTORY. 291
But although this king had been fo eminently good,
and had done fo much for the reclaiming of his
people, and appeafing the anger of the Lord ; yet
the Lord turned not from the fiercenefs of his gneat
¦wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled flgainft Ju
dah, becaufe of all the provocations which Mafiaffeii
had given him : but the Lord faid., I will remove
Judah out of my fight, as I have removed Ifrael
/who was gone into captivity already) ; and I will
caft off this city of Jerufalem, which I have chofen,
aaad the houfe of which I faid, " My name ihall be
there." Henee it is, that the prophets of that time com
plained fo grievoufly of the people, and denounced
.the judgments of the Lord againft them, even to the
deftruclion of their city, and their own captivity ; as
*lid Jeremiah in the iv, v, vi. xiv, xv, xvi. xix. aod
stxth chapters of his prophecy, and the prophet Ze-
phaniah in his : with whom may be joined the pro
phet Habakkuk f; who is thought to have lived in the
latter part of Jofiah's reign, or under his fons, a littl*
before the captivity by the Chaldeans, which he fore
told, Hab. i. from ver. 5. to ver. 12.
When Jofiah was dead, the people took Jehoahaz,
his fourth fon, (called Shallum, 1 Chron. iii. 15.)
and anointing him, made him king in his father's
ftead. He was three- and- twenty years old when be
began his reign, which was very fhort, yet long
enough to fhew his propenfity to evil, For though
he reigped but three months, yet in that time he did
that which was eyil in the fight of the Lord, accord
ing as bis wicked anceftors had done.
At the three months end, Pharaoh- Necho, king of
Egypt (though he came not forth with any defig@
jagainft Judah, yet being fet upon by king Jofiah,
and prevailing) improved his victory at Megiddo fo
far as to make the crown of Judah tributary to
Egypt. Wherefore depofing Jehoahaz, he fet up
f Habakkuk. A. M. 3398.'
U 2 Eliakim,

292 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Eliakim, another of Jofiah's fons, to be king in his
room, changing his name to Jehoiakim ; and laid an
eafy tribute on the land, of an hundred talents of fil
ver, and a talent of gold ; but forty and two thoufand
pounds in all ; which money Jehoiakim raifed by
a. general tax upon the land, rating every man to
wards it according to his ability. And this taxation,
it is probable, the prophet Jeremiah had refpect to,
when in his mournful complaint he faid of Jerufalem,
" She that was great among the nations, and prin-
;cefs among the provinces, how is fhe become tribu
tary ! Lamen. i. i .
¦ As for Jehoahaz himfelf, Pharaoh-Necho, when he
dethroned him, firft put him in bonds at Riblah (a
city of Syria) where he left him in fafe cuftody,
whilft he purfued his expedition againft the Affyrian ;
and afterwards, at his return, took him with him to
Egypt, where he died, as the prophet Jeremiah had
foretold he fhould, Jer. xxii. 10, n, 12. There he
bids the king and people of Judah not weep for the
dead (by which he is fuppofed to mean king Jofiah)
neither lament him (for his own fake) but weep fore
for him that goeth away, for he fhall return no more,
nor fee his native country. " For, faid he, thus-faith
the Lord concerning Shallum (which was the right
name of Jehoahaz) the fon of Jofiah king of Judahi
who reigned inftead of Jofiah his father, and who
went forth out of this place, he fhall not return
hither any more."
About this time it may be fuppofed the prophet
Nahum lived, and prophefied s : yet there is, I know,
diverfity of opinions concerning his time. The
Jews place him in the time of Manaffeh. The anno-
tators on the Bifhop's Bible fet him before Manaffeh,
and about the time of Hezekiah. Jerom alfo places
him under Hezekiah, about the time that Senache-
rib befieged Jerufalem, after the ten tribes were gone
into captivity. But Tremellius and Junius refer
* Nahum. him

Part III. SACRED HISTORY." 293
him to the latter part of Jofiah's reign. Which feems
the more likely, as being nearer to the deftruction of
Nineveh and the Affyrian monarchy, which Nahum's-
prophecy did more particularly relate to. Neither
did this prophet only prophefy againft Nineveh ; but
the prophet Zephaniah alfo, who began to prophe
fy in the days of Jofiah king of Judah, Zeph. i. 1.
prophefied directly againft Affyria in general, and of.
the defolation of Nineveh in particular, chap. ii. ver.
13, &c. But the Affyrian rod (as it is called, Ifa.
x. 5.) had not yet done all its work.
Jehoiakim, who received both name and kingdom
from Pharaoh-Necho king of Egypt 6, being five-and-'
twenty years old when he began foreign, is faid to
havereigned in Jerufalem eleven years (if there be
not a miftake in the account). But not taking warn
ing by his brother's punifhment, he alfo did evil in
the fight of the Lord, as his brother had done-; and
fo much the worfe, by how much the longer.
. In the beginning of the reign of this king, the
Lord commanded his prophet Jeremiah to ftand in
' the court of the Lord's houfe, and deliver his mef
fage to all the people of Judah that came to worfhip
there, Which meffage was to exhort them to repent
and amend their ways, that he might not bring on
them the, eyil he had purpofed. And to affure them,.
that if they did not hearken to his - admonition,
amend their lives, and walk in his law, then would
he make that houfe like Shiloh (which, though "the
ark of the Lord had abode there more than three
hundred, years, he had given up to an utter deftrue-
tion) and would make that city (Jerufalem) a curfe
(or pattern for curfing) to all the nations pf the
earth. ' This meffage fo enraged the priefts and falfe pro
phets (of which there were more than a good many)
that, fetting the people on, they feized on Jeremiah',
and told him that for, his- thus prophefying deftrucr
* A, M. 3398, l 2 Kings xxiii. 2 Chron. xxxvi.
U 3 tion

*9* SACRED HISTORY, Part fflV
tion to the temple and defolation to the <fiey, h«
fhould ftirely die. And all the people were -gathered
againft Mm- in the houfe of the Lord.
But when the princes of Judah had notice given
them of this tumult, they came up from the king's^
houfe unto the houfe of the Lord, and fat down in
the entry of the new gate of the Lord's houfe to
hear the caufe, And then the priefts and the falfe
prophets, who were his accufers, exhibited their charge
againft him unto the princes and to all the people,
faying, « This man is worthy to die; for he hath
prophefied againft this city, as ye (faid they, appeal
ing to the people) have heard with your ears."
The prophet, having heard their charge, did not
deny the fact, but defended if, faying unto the princes,
and to all the people prefent, " The Lord fent me to
prophefy againft this houfe, and againft this city,
all the words that ye have heard. Therefore now
amend your ways and your doings, and obey the
voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will re
pent him of the evil he hath pronounced againft you.
As for me (added he) behold, I am in your hand, to
do with me as feemeth good to you, But know ye
for certain, that if you put me to death, ye fhall furely
bring innocent bloodk (that is, the guilt of fhedding
jnnocent blood) upon yourfelves, and upon this city,
and upon the inhabitants thereof : for of a truth, the
Lord hath fent me unto you, to fpeak all thefe words
in ypur ears,"
When the princes had heard Jeremiah's defence,
they and all the pepple (whem the priefts had before
mined and drawn in to join with them againft the
good prophet) gave judgment on Jeremiah's fide;
and faid to the priefts, and to the falfe prophets,
" This mart is not worthy to die ; for he hath fpoken
to us in the name of the Lord our God."
fr Jer.xxvi. And

PartllL SACRED HISTORY. 295
- And to confirm this their judgment by precedent,
certain of the elders of the laftd rofe up, and thus
/pake to the afiembly ;
" Micah* the Morafthite prophefied in the days
of Hezekiah king of Judah, and fpake to all the
people of Judah, faying. Thus faith the Lord of hofts,
Zion fhall be ploughed like a field, and Jerufalem fhall
become heaps, and the mountain of the houfe as the
high-places- of the foreft, Mfe, iii. 12. Did Heze
kiah, and all Judah, put him to death ? Nay, did not
the-,king fear the Lord, and befought the Lord, and
the Lord repented him of the evil which he had
pronounced againft them ? Wherefore, if we fhould
anfwer your bloody minds herein, we might procure
great evil againft our fouls."
It feems as if the priefts and falfe prophets, to bal-
lance this precedent of the prophet Micah, did urge
another and frefliec precedent, of one, that for pro-
phefying (as Jeremiah had done) againft that city
and land, had been lately put to death, even under
this prefent king; for thus it follows in the text.: '
*f And there was alfo a man that prophefied in the
name of the Lord, Urijah the fon of Shemaiah of Kir
jath-jearim. He prophefied againft this city, and
againft this land, according to ail the words of Je
remiah. And when Jehoiakini the king, with all his
mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the
king fought to put him to death ; which he hearing,
of, and being afraid, fled into Egypt. But Jehoia
kim the king fent men into Egypt after him ; and
theyy fetching him from thence,, brought him -to the
ting, who caufed him to be flain with the fword, and
his dead body to be caft into the graves of the cpm-
mon people."
This was a feefh inftance, and in point of fact it
was an apt precedent againft Jeremiah, So that it
might, in all likelihood, have gone hard at this time
with the good prophet, had not the Lord raifed him
up a true and powerful friend in the court; which
was Ahikam. For thus it follows: " Neverthelefs,
U 4 the

296 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
the hand of Ahikam, the fon of Shaphan, was with
Jeremiah, that they fhould not deliver him into the
hand of the people, to be put to death." Now Sha
phan, we may remember, was chancellor to king Jo
fiah, and Ahikam was one of his principal counfellors,
whom he fent with the high-prieft and others to in
quire of the Lord by the prophetefs Huldah, 2 Chron.
Xxxiv. 20, 21.
The prophecies of this book, as well as divers of
the other prophets, are much mifplaced with refpect
to the order of time wherein they were given forth ;
which is fuppofed to have happened through the neg
ligence of the priefts in thofe times, who had the
charge of regiftering- and keeping them.
For the manner was, when any of the prophets had
written any thing by way of prophecy, he caufed it to
be affixed to the gate of the temple, where it remained
for certain days, that all might read and take notice
of it. And after it had ftood there the appointed
time, the priefts took it into the temple to record it
in a book ; but, for want of diligence and due care
to enter them in courfe, as they were written, they
left them in that diforderly manner in which we have
them. But befides that, it muft be confidered that divers
of the prophets (more efpecially Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel) wrote in very troublefome times ; Eze
kiel and Daniel in the captivity, and in Babylon ; and
Jeremiah, when all things, both in church and flate,
were in very great diforder, and the firft copy of his
book was deftroyed by king Jehoiakim, Jer. xxxvi.
23. So that it is not to be wondered at, that they are
fo mifplaced as they are, but rather to be thankfully
admired that we have them at all.
The account of times alfo, and computation of years,
wherein fome chief actions mentioned by the prophets
were performed, are fo differently delivered, that it is
hard, if poffible, to reduce them tp a certainty. But
that

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 297
that not being the chief end of my prefent undertake
ing, I fhall be the lefs regardful of it.
We obferved before, that Jehoiakim was made king
by Pharaoh-Necho king of" Egypt, under tribute,
2 Kings xxiii. 34, Soon after which, Affyria prevail-:
ing againft Egypt, 2 Kings xxiv. 7. whether Jehoiar.
kim took occafion from thence to with-hold hrs trL-.
bute and deny fubjection to the Affyrian ; or whe
ther only God brought it on him for- his evil courfes;'
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (the feat, or chief
city of the Affyrian monarchy, after the , deftruction'
of Nineveh) came up againft him ; and befieging. Je
rufalem, took both it and him, and carried him, with
part of the veffels of the houfe of God, to Babylon;
Where, after he had been kept a while, he is fuppofed
to have been fent back to Jerufalem by the king of
Babylon (upon his fubmiffion and promife of fidelity
for the future) and eontinueda tributary king to
Nebuchadnezzar, as he had been before to Pharaoh-
Necho. This exprefly I do not find in the Holy Scripture,
yet there are fome paffages in it that glance that way ;
and as it is the common opinion, fo it may fome
what help to make out the time of his reign, and
give more room for the prophecies that -belong to
it. '¦ ' : ...
At this- time alfo, and with him it is thought, and
very probably, that the prophet Daniel, with- his. three
companions, Hananiah, Mifhaeli and Azariah, were
carried to Babylon. For Daniel himfelf delivers,
that at the time when Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoia
kim and the yeffels of the Lord's houfe, he fpake
unto Afhpenaz, the mafter of the eunuchs, that he
fhould bring with him to Babylon fome of the chil
dren of Ifrael, of the feed of the king and of the
princes, fuch as were well-favoured and without ble-
mifh, of good parts and well educated ; that, being
inftructed in the language andlearning of the Chal
deans, they might be fit to ferve the king in his pa
lace ; and that the eunuch thereupon made choice of
thefe

e98 SACRED HISTORY. Put HI,
thefr few, Dart. i. 3*4. 6. where, leaving them for a
while among the Chaldeans, to be trained up for fa<
tore fervice, let us go on and fee how it fared in
the mean time with the prophet Jeremiah.
Fie, being freed by the means of good Ahikam,
for this time, from the danger he was in by his cne-.
mies the priefts, went on the more boldly in the work
of the Lord. And in the fourth year of king Jehoiav
kirn, he delivered again a meffage from the Lord to
the people of Judah and Jerufalem j in which, after
be had, in an expoftulatory reproof reminded them
of the matry warnings and admonitions that from.'
time to time had been given them, and of their obfti-
nate difobedience ; he told them, in the name of the
Lord, " That becaufe they had not hearkened to hisf
Words, the Lord would bring Nebuchadnezzar his
fervant (them lately fettled on the Affyrian throne)
with all the northern nations that were under him,
againft the land of Judah, and city of Jerufalem, an<J
would make them ferve the king of Babylon feventy
years." Yet, to leave them a door of hope, he alfo told
themy that after they had borne that feventy years fer-
vitude, as a punifhment for their tranfgreffions, he
would turn their captivity, and would punifh the Af*
fyrians and the Chaldeans and all the other nations
that had afflicted them for their iniquities ; which he
confirmed to them by the type of a cup of wine*
called the wtne->cup of the fury of the Lord; which
the prophet was required to take at the hand of the
Lord> and te caufe all thofe nations (in a typical re
presentation) to drink thereof, in token of the calami
ties and diftreffes that fhould come upon them.
About this time alfo the prophet was commanded
to make him bonds and yokes ', as a confirming type
of the captivity which was to come upon the people :
but the execution of this command feems to have
1 Jer. xxvii. been

PwtllL SACRED HISTORY. *$$
been deferred tilt Zedekiah's time, Jer. xxvii. Ver,
3. 12.
Mean while Jehoiakim, after he had ferved Nebu
chadnezzar three years m,, withdrew his fervice from
him, and rebelled againft him. Whereupon Nebu->
chadnezzar came up again againft Judah to deftroy
it, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign. But be
fore he came to Jerufalem, he fought with Pharaoh*
Necho, king of Egypt, in Carche-mifb by the river
Euphrates, and beat him, as the prophet Jeremiah
had foretold he fhould, Jer. xlvi.
The coming up of this Affyrian army frighted the
Rechabites, the pofterity of Rechab, who came of Je-
thro, or Hobab, the Kenite, and made them- betake
themfelves- to Jerufalem for fafety. They were a
people, who by the inftitut-ion of Jonadab their
founder built not houfes, but dwelt in tents.
By thefe the Lord intending to convince and re
prove Jehoiakim and the Jews, he commanded Jere--
miah the prophet to bring thefe Rechabites into one
of the chambers of the houfe of the Lord, and to givf ,
them wine to- drink. The prophet did go, and hav
ing fet pots of wine before them, invited them to
drink. But they refufed, alledging that Jonadab, the
fon of Rechab, their father, had commanded them,
that neither they nor their children Zhould drink any
wine for ever, nor build any houfe, nor fow feed, nor
plant any vineyard; but to dwell in tents all their
days, that they might live many days in the land
Wherein they were ftrangers ". And they affirmed that
they had obeyed the voice, and kept the charge of
Jortadab their founder, in all that he had charged
them ; having drank no wine, neither they nor their
wives, their fons, nor their daughters. Neither had
they built houfes to dwell in, nor poffeffed vineyards,
nor fowed fields-; but had dwelt in- tents, and had
obeyed and done, according to all- that their father
Jortadab had commanded.
M 2 Kings xxiv. ' n Jer. xxxv. No\p

5©o SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Now had the prophet gained his point. Where
fore, having commended the Rechabites for having fo
ftedfaftly adhered to and obferved the command of
their father Jonadab, and promifed them a reward
from the Lord, he turned it upon the inhabi
tants of Judah and Jerufalem ; upbraiding them,
that they who were the feed of Abraham, and pecu*
liar people of the Lord, fhould be lefs regardful of
the commands of God, whom they called their father,
and who had been more than a father to them, than
the Rechabites, who were not of the /lock of Ifrael,
bad been of the, commands of their anceftor Jo-r
nadab. .-. But this not working the defired effect upon the
people of Judah and Jerufalem, the Lord commandt
ed his prophet Jeremiah" to get him a, roll of a book,
and write therein all the prophecies which the Lord
had given him againft Ifrael, and againft Judah, and
againft other nations, from the firft of his beginning-
to prophefy, in the thirteenth year of Jofiah ; to fee
if the houfe of Judah, when they fliould hear all the
plagues fummed up together, which the Lord for
their tranfgreffions had threatened to bring upon
them, would return every man from his evil way,
that the Lord might forgive their iniquity and fin.
Jeremiah thereupon calling to him Baruch the
fcribe (who ufually was his amanuenfis) dictated to
him, and he wrote from the prophet's mouth all the
words which the Lord had fpoken unto him* upon a
roll of a book; that is, upon a book that was to roll
up. When it was finifhed, the prophet bid Baruch take
it (inafmuch- as he himfelf was fhut up, that he
might not go into the houfe of the Lord) and read
in it the words of the Lord, in the hearing of all
the people in the houfe of the Lord, upon the fafl-i
day. This, it feems, was a faft of their own appoint
ing, as (we are told) their manner was, when they
8 Jer. xxxvi. feared

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. jot
feared war, or any great plague from God, as now
they did by the Babylonians. " It may be (added he)
they will prefent their fupplication before the Lord,
and will return every one from his evil way : for great
is the anger and the fury which the Lord hath pro
nounced againft this people."
What is meant here by the prophet's faying, he
was fhut up, or in what manner he was fhut up, fo
that he could not go into the houfe of the Lordy is
fomewhat uncertain. The Bible-nPte fays, "• He was
/hut up in prifon through the malice of the priefts."
They, no doubt, were malicious enough to have!done
it ; but it doth not appear he was fo fhut up.' Nay,
it rather appears he was at liberty; for in vet. 19.
the princes advifed Baruch, that he and Jeremiah
fhould hide themfelves, and let nobody know where
they were. And hid they were, ver. 26. which Je
remiah could not have been, if he had been in pri
fon. Tremellius and Junius fuppofe three ways of his
being fhut up, and leave us to take which of the three
we like beft. The firft is, that the king had : for
bidden him to go into the temple to fpeak to the
people ; but the prophets of God did not ufe to ob-
ferve fuch prohibitions of their prophetic miniftry.
The fecond is, that the chief priefts had excommu
nicated him, and therefore he might not go; but that,
in all likelihood, he would have lefs regarded. The
third is, that God, to provide for the fafety of his
prophet, and to punifh the people, would -not let
him go amongft them ; this, of the three, feems the
more likely.; and fo, his being fhut up, was by a
ftop in himfelf, a reftraint in his fpirit or mind.
i However, according to Jeremiah's direction, when
the faft-day was come, Baruch went and read in the
book the words of the Lord, in the houfe of the Lord,
to all the people of Jerufalem and thofe that came
from the cities of Judah thither. Which when Mi-
Gaiah (the fon of Gemariah, in whofe chamber the
book was read) had heard, he went down into the
fecretary's office in the king's houfe, where all the
princes

3o* SACJtEP HISTORY. Part III.
princes fat, apd declared wnte them what h$ had
heard put of the book which Barueh had read to &hg
people. Whereupon the prjjjces fe$t to Baruch to come t©
them, and bring the roll -with him, which he did.
Then they bid him fit down ^.nd read it to them,
-which he did alfo. But when they had heard it, they
were all of them afraid. And having examined foiflj
fcbout it, and fatisfied themfelves that it was the
prophet's words, or of his dictating, and that Ba*
njch was but the penman ; they advifed him to go
gnd hide himfelf] both he and the prophet] and let
no man know where they were. For (laid they) w$
will afturedly fell the king of all thefe words. And
accordingly, laying op the rplj in the feeretary's
office, they went into the court to the king, and tpJ4
him what they had heard read.
It being the ninth month with them (which takes
j# part of the tenth with us) the king fat in his v/'mr
fier-houfe, having §. fire on the hearth before him;
and upon the report the princes had made of the roll
which Baruch had read to them, the king fent Jehudj
(one of his attendants) to fetch it; who having
brought it, read it in the hearing pf the king, and
of all the princes that flood befide him.
But he had not read above three or four leayej
(that i.s, fhree of four paragraphs, or fpaces in ths
roll) when the king, difpleafed with it, cut it in
pieces with a pen-knife ; aud (though three of h^s
princes interceded with him, that he would not) he
eaft it into the fire that was on the hearth, rill all lie.
roll was eonfo.med.
This /hewed a great obftinacy and impenitence, in
the king, and in the reft of his feryants. And indeed
they were not difmayed, nor rent their garments, a?
the hearing of fuch fcerrifelg judgments deoounced
againft rhjem ; but the khjg was fo far from that,
ifiat he feat fome officers to apprehend Baruch, and
the prophet Jeremiah. Byt they were difappointed,
for the Lord had hid his fervants from them.
On

Pair HI. SACRED HISTORY. 303
On this prefomptjuous act of the king, the Lord
commanded the prophet to take another roll, and to
swite in it ail the words which were in the firft roll,
which the king had burnt : and withal, that he
fliouid fay to Jehoiakim king of Judah, " Thou haft
fetirnt this roll, becaufe therein was written, that the
king of Babylon fhall certainly come and deftroy
this land. Therefore thus faith the Lord concerning
|ehoiaki.m king of Judah, he fhall have none to fit
upon the throne of David ; and his dead body fhall
be eaft out, in the day to the heat, and in the night
to the froft. I will punifh him, and his feed, and $1%
fervants, for their iniquity; and I will bring upo«
them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerufalem, and
upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pro
nounced againft them." But they hearkened not.
The like fearful judgments did the prophet denounce
againft this wicked king, in the 224 chapter of his
prophecy, from Ver. 15. to 20. where having briefly
pouched fome of the virtues of hi* father, the good
king Jofiah9, and his profperous reign as the effect
thereof, he charges this king, that his eyes and his
heart were altogether fet upon his covetoufnefs, and
to ftied innocent blood ; to opprefs, and to do vio
lence. And then pours forth this judgment upon him,
** Thus faith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, the fon
of Jofiah king of Joidah, They fhall not lament for
him, as they that /ay, Ah, my brother5! or, Ah, fifter J-
They .fhall not lament for him, fo much as to /ay, Ah
Lord •! or, Ah, his glory ! but he /hall be buried with
the burial of an afs, dragged and caft forth beyond
the gates of Jerufalem."
.Thus did the Lord give warning upon warning r:
but when no warning would prevail, nof any threat
ening was regarded, the Lord at length gave up
this hardened. Jring into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
who took Jehoiakim, and bound him in fetters, in*-
4 Jer. xxii. * 2 Chron. xxxvi. A. M. 3409. tending

304 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
tending to have carried him to Babylon, if he had
not died on the way.
Jehoiakim left a fon behind him, named Jehoiachin
(called alfo Jeconiah, i Chron. iii. 16.) a youth, if
not a very child. It is true, he is faid, in the book
of Kings, to be eighteen years old ; but in the book
of the Chronicles he is faid, to be but eight years old
when he began to reign; Whatever his age was, he
fucceeded his father in the throne; and as young as
he was, did evil in the fight of the Lord as his fa
ther had done. From which, and the*meffage that
was thereupon fent' him, it is more reafonable to think
him eighteen, than but eight years old.
For to him the prophet Jeremiah was fent with this
meffage, " As I live, faith the Lord, though Co-
niah (fo in contempt he curtailed Jeconiah) the fon
of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the fignet upon my
right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence ; and I will
give thee into the hand of them that feek thy life, and
whofe face thou feareft, even Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
And I will caft thee out, and thy mother that bare
thee, into another country where ye were not born,
and there fhall ye die ; but to the land whereunto they
defire to return, thither fhall they not return."
Then to obviate an objection which might be made
in favour of the king on this wife, " Is this man, Co-
niah, a defpifed broken idol ? Is he a veffel wherein
is no pleafure ? If not, wherefore, doft thou fay, they
fhall be caft out, both he and his feed, into a land
which they know not ¦?". The prophet makes this ge-»
neral appeal. " O Earth, earth, earth, hear the
word of the Lord : Thus faith the Lord, Write this
man childlefs ; a man that fhall not profper in his
days : for no man of his feed /hall profper, fitting
upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in
Judah." ' 2 Kings xxiv. The

Part III. SACRED HISTORY, 3,9,5
The judgment here denounced was quickly exe
cuted. For in the fame year Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon came up, and befieged Jerufalem } and
Jehoiachin, not able or not daring to defend it,
quickly yielded. And by that time he had reigned
tlir.ee months and ten days at the moft, he went out,
with his mother, his princes, his fervants, and his of
ficers, to the king of Babylon, who carried them all
away to Babylon, with the mighty men of valour, to
the number of ten thoufand in all. Amongft whoiri
was MordecB, coufin and . guardian to Queen Either,
Efth. ii. 5, 6, 7. And with them he took alfo all the
treafures of the houfe of the Lord, and of the king's
houfe, that he could find ; and the chief of the handi
craft/men, as fmiths snd carpenters, &c. leaving the
pooreft fort of the people behind.
In the- room of this Jeconiah, Nebuchadnezzar fet
up Mattaniah his uncle, third fon of king Jofiah,
whofe name he changed to Zedekiah ; and he is faid tp
have reigned eleven years.
But he alfo, though he had feen the ruin of his
two brothers Jehoahaz, or Shallum, and of Jehoiakim,
or Eliakim, and of his coufin Jeconiah, or Jehoia
chin5, took not warning by their miferies; but did
evil in the fight of the Lord, as they had done, and
4id not humble himfelf before Jeremiah the prophet,
though he fpake to him from the mouth of the
Lord, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 12.
The Lord thereupon fhewed the prophet, in vifion,
the flate both of them that were gone into captivity,
and of them that yet remained. This was reprefented
to him by two bafkets of figs ; the one, comparatively
at leaft, very good, and the other ftark naught.
The good figs were an emblem of that part of Ju
dah which was lately carried away captive to Babylon,
whom the Lord faid he had fent into the land of
the Chaldeans for their good, and promifed that he
s A. M. 3409..
Vol. II. X would

3o6 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
would fet his eye upon them for good, and would
bring them (in their pollerity) back again, and fettle
them in that good land. But the evil figs (which
were fo bad they were not eatable) were a figure of
king Zedekiah, with' his princes and people ', that re
mained yet in the land of Judah ; amongft which,
they were comprehended who he forefaw would run
to Egypt for fuccour. All whom the Lord, by his
prophet, threatened to deliver up, to be removed into
all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, that they
might be made a reproach and a proverb, a taunt
and a curfe, in all places whither he fhould drive
them. " And, added he, I will fend the fword, the fa
mine, and the peftilence among them, 'till they be
confumed from off the land which I gave to them
and to their fathers."
The prophet ", it feems, in Jehoiakim's time, had
by the command of the Lord made bands and yokes,
and put them upon his neck, as types or emblems
of the bondage which the Lord had long and often
threatened to bring upon the people of Judah, as well
as upon other lands. And now the Lord commanded
him to fend of thefe bands and yokes to the feveral
kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Zidon,
by their arnbaffadors, who came to Zedekiah at Jeru
falem; with command, that they fhould let their
matters know, that the Lord had given all their lands
to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, his fervant ;
and to wai»n them, that they fhould not hearken to
their prophets, diviners, dreamers, enchanters, for-
cerers, who perfuaded them otherwife, but fhould fub-
mit to him at their perils.
But to Zedekiah king of Judah the prophet went
himfelf, and faid, " Bring your necks, both thou
and thy people, under the yoke of the king of Ba
bylon, and ferve him and his people, and live : for
why will ye die by the fword, by the famine,' and by
* Jer. xxiv. d Jer, xxvii. the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 307
the peftilence, as the Lord hath fpoken againft the
nation that will not ferve the king of Babylon ?" that
will not floop to his judgments, by fubmitting them
felves to his rod (the Affyrian, Ifa. x. 5.) which he
had appointed for their correction'.
Then, having cautioned the king againft his falfe
prophets, who foothed him up with pleating but
falfe /lories, he turned himfelf to the priefts and to
the people ; whom alfo he warned, not to hearken to
their prophets, who told them they fhould be fo far
from going captives themfelves, that the veffels of the
Lord's houfe, which had been carried to Babylon,
fhould fhortly be brought back again : for he affured
them, they prophefied a lie to them. And he
bid them put their prophets upon the trial; that if
they were prophets indeed, and had the word of the
Lord with them, as they pretended, they fhould
make interceflion to the Lord of hofts, that the veffels
which were yet left in the houfe of the Lord, and in
the king's houfe, go not to Babylon after the reft:
which that they fhould, he now again exprefly fore
told. " This fo nettled the falfe prophets, that one of them,
whofe name was Hananiah*, foon after fet upon Jere
miah in the houfe of the Lord, before both priefts
and people : and taking upon him to prophefy, in
the flyle and phrafe of the true prophets, he faid,
" Thus fpeaketh the Lord of hofts the God of If
rael, faying, I have broken the yoke of the king of
Babylon. Within two full years will 1 bring again
into this place all the veffels of the Lord's houfe, that
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away, and
carried them to Babylon. And I will bring again to
this place Jeconiah the fon of Jehoiakim king of Ju
dah, that went into Babylon, faith the Lord : for I
will break the yoke of the king of Babylon."
The prophet Jeremiah heard all this. And being
willing to fhew his good affection to his people and
* Jer. xxviii.
X a country,

308 SACRED HISTORY. Part IIL
country, only faid, " Amen," I wifh it might be fo, and
that the Lord would perform what thou haft fpoken,
but the iffue will prove which of us is in the right.
This foft anfweF 'emboldened Hananiah to go
further. Wherefore ftepping to Jeremiah, he took
irom off his neck the yoke, which, for a ' fign of the
captivity, the Lord had commanded him to wear,
and brake it in the prefence of the people ; faying
withal, in confirmation of his former predictionj
" Thus faith the Lord, Even fo will I break the yoke
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, from off the
neck of all nations, within the fpace of two full
years." The prophet Jeremiah (whofe tongue Was- not, as
the others was, his own, to fpeak both when and
what he pleafed) made him no anfwer at that time,
but went his way, And now, no doubt, Hananiah
the falfe prophet was cried up among the people,
as having foifed Jeremiah, and got the day. But
the Lord would not fuffer Hananiah, who had offered
fuch indignity to himfelf and his prophet, to go off
fo. Wherefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah
the prophet (after that Hananiah had broken the yoke
from off his neck) bidding him go and tell Hananiah:
" Thus faith the Lord, Thou haft broken the yokes
of wood ; but thou fhalt make for them yokes of iron.
-For thus faith the Lord of hofts, the God of Ifrael, I
have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all thefe na
tions, that they may ferve Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon, and they fhall ferve him ; arid I have given
him the beafts of the field alfo."
Having thus contradicted Hananiah's falfe prophe
cy, he went on and faid, " Hear now, Hananiah,
the Lord hath not fent thee, but thou makeft this
people to truft in a lie. Therefore, thus faith the
Lord, Behold I will caft thee from off the face of
the earth ; and this year thou fhalt die, becaufe thou
haft taught rebellion againft the Lord." And the
Lord

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 309
Lord made good his word, for Hananiah died the
fame year.
Some time after Jeconiah, with the queen his
mother, and the princes of Judah, was carried captive
to Babylon, Zedekiah his uncle (whom Nebuchad
nezzar had made king in his ftead) fent arnbaffadors
it feems (upon fome occafion, perhaps to pay his tri
bute) to Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon. By thefe the
prophet Jeremiah fent a letter, directed to the. refi-
due of the elders which were carried away captive,
and to the priefts and the prophets, and to all the
people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away cap
tive from Jerufalem to Babylon.
The tenor of this letter was y, to let them know
from the Lord, and in his name, that their prefent
taptivity was by God's appointment, who had caufed
them to be carried away from Jerufalem to Babylon ;
and that it fhould be a long captivity, of feventy
years continuance : that therefore they fhould not
fuffer themfelves to be deceived by their falfe prophets
and dreamers that were among them (who would per-
fuade them, they fhould quickly return to their own
land again); but that they fhould fettle contentedly,
•(in fubmiffion to the will of God) in the places where
they were put (which is fet forth by building, plant
ing, and marrying for propagation and increafe) and
r fhould feek the peace of the city (where city is, by
fynecdoche, put for the nation) whither the Lord
had caufed them to be carried, and pray unto the
Lord for it> becaufe in the peace thereof they fhould
have peace.
Then for their encouragement, he gives thern a
comforting promife from the Lord, , that when the
feventy years fhould be expired, he would vifit them
in good will, and would bring them back again into
their own land ; and would afterwards be gracious to
them, and anfwer them when they Ihould call upon
him, * Jer. xxix.
X 3 And

jio SACRED HISTORY. Part in.
And becaufe it is accounted (Solamen miferis, focios
habuijj'e doloris) fome fort of comfort to the afflicted,
that they are not alone in fufferings, but that others
alfo tafle of the fame bitter cup with them ; he told
them, the Lord would vifit their brethren that were
not gone into captivity with them,' but remained yet
at Jerufalem, both king and people, with forer judg
ments than he had done them : for he would punifh
thefe with the fword, with the famine, and with the
peftilence ; and would make them like thofe vile
figs (which the Lord had /hewed him in a vifion,
chap, xxiv.) which for their badnefs could not be
eaten ; and he would give them up to be carried
away to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be made a
curfe, and an aftonifhment, and an hiffing, and a re
proach, among all the nations whither he would
drive them ; becaufe they had not hearkened to his
words, which he had fpoken to them by his fervants
the prophets.
Then from the general turning to particulars, he
denounced an exprefs and terrible judgment from the
Lord againft two of the falfe prophets (whom thofe
captive Jews had boafted of, ver. 15.) Ahab and Ze
dekiah by name, which he bid all the captives take
notice of; which was, that becaufe thefe two men
had prophefied a lie unto them in the name of the
Lord, therefore the Lord would deliver thofe two
men into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby
lon, who fhould flay them before their eyes : as it
feems he did, by burning them alive. For it follows
in the prophet's letter ; " And of them fhall be taken up
a curfe, by all the captivity of Judah which are in
Babylon ; who, (when they would wifh the greateft
evil to any one) fhall fay, The Lord make thee
like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of
Babylon roafted in the fire."
The caufe of this great feverity on Nebuchadnez
zar's part, may reafonably be fuppofed to be their
prophefying that the Jewifli captives fhould fpeedily
Be delivered out of his hand. Which was lopked upon

Part III. SARCED HISTORY. jii
upon as a moving of fedition, a raifing of rebellion,
and a difturbing of the peace of the Babylonifh go
vernments But the true caufe of the Lord's difplea-
fure was, becaufe they had done villainy in Ifrael,
having committed adultery with their neighbours
wives, and fpoken lying words in the name of the
Lord ; words which he had not commanded them.
Upon the receipt of this letter, one Shemaiah (who
made himfelf fomebody among the captive Jews in
Babylon) took upon him to write to Zephaniah the
prieft (who was next in place to Seraiah the high-
prieft, Jer. Iii. 24.) and to the reft of the priefts at
Jerufalem, foothing up Zephaniah, as if the Lord
had made him fuch a prieft as Jehoiada the high-
prieft was of old, to imprifon and flock offenders.
Then complaining to him of Jeremiah, for having
written to them in Babylon that this captivity would
be long, and that therefore they fhould build, plant,
and fettle there ; he reprefented Jeremiah as a mad
man, a prophet of his own making; and therefore
would have prieft Zephaniah put him into prifon,
and in the flocks there.
Zephaniah, having received this letter from She
maiah, read it to Jeremiah. Whereupon the word
of the Lord came to Jeremiah, requiring him to fend
again unto all them of the captivity, and to fay unto,
them, in the name of the Lord, concerning She
maiah (whom he called the dreamer) " Becaufe She
maiah hath prophefied unto you, and I fent him not,
but he hath caufed you to truft in a lie, therefore
thus faith the Lord, I will punifh, Shemaiah and his
feed : he fhall not have a man to dwell among this
people, neither fhall he behold the good that I will
do for my people, faith the Lord, becaufe he hath
taught rebellion againft me."
The good prophet, having thus difcharged his duty
to thofe that were already gone into captivity, return
ed to warn them that remained behind; that they,
by turning from their evil ways, and returning to the
Lord> might have prevented their pwn captivity and
X 4 ruin.

jii SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
ruin. Aftd the better to furrtifh him with frefh matter
of argument to perfuade them, the Lord fent hint
down to the potter's houfe ; where, by obferving the
power the potter had over his clay, to make or mar
his work at his pleafure, he might thence take occa
fion to inculcate fo the people the uncontroulablff
power which the Lord had over them. Which when
he had done, they defperately anfwered, " We will
walk after our own devices, ahd we will every one do
fhe imagination of his evil heart '." The Lord there-"
upon threatening them by his prophet, to fcattef
them, as with an eaft-Wirtd, before their enemies, and
make their land defolate ; they flattered themfelves,
that becaufe they had the law among them, and the
priefts and their own prophets on their fide, they were
out of danger of the mifchiefs threatened. " For the
law (faid they) fhall not perifh from the prieft, nof
counfel from the wife, nor the word from the pro
phet." And therefore concluding Jeremiah was wrong,
they combined againft hirn, and faid, " Come, let us
devife devices againft Jeremiah, and let us fmite him
with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any
Of his words."
This moved the afflicted prophet to pour forth his
complaint unto the Lord againft them. And the Lord
thereupon bid him get him a potter's earthen bottle ',
and taking with him fome pf the moft ancient both
of the people artd pf the priefts, go forth to the val
ley of the fon of Hinnom (called Tophet) and there
proclaim the Words that he fhould tell him (which
Were dreadful thfeatenings of extreme calamities, ex*
preffed in Jer. xix. from- verfe 3. to 14.) and then
break the bottle before them, as a type of the break
ing of that people to pieces. All which the prophet
performed ; and then coming back from Tophet, he
took up his /landing in the court of the Lord's houfe,
and faid to all the people :
x Jer. xviii, * Jer. xix. " Thui

Part HI. SACRED HISTORY. 315
" Thus faith the Lord ofhpfts, the God of Ifrael,
Behold I will bring upon this city, and upon all her
towns, all the evil that I have pronounced againft it ;
becaufe they have hardened their necks that they
might not heat my word."
Pafhyr, fon of Immer the prieft, being at that time
a chief governor in the houfe of the Lord, when he
heard Jeremiah prophefy thefe things, not only ftruck
him, but put him in the flocks that Were in the high-
gate of Benjamin by the houfe of the Lord, and
kept him in the flocks all night ; but 011 the morrow
he took him out again. Then faid Jeremiah to him,
" The Lord hath not called thy name Palhur b, which
fignifies increafing liberty (for he had taken liberty
from the prophet) ; but Magor-miffabib, that is,
Fear round about. For thus faith the Lord, Behold,
I will make thee a terror to thyfelf, and to all thy
friends, and they fhall fall by the fword of- their ene
mies, and thine eyes fhall behold it. And I will
give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon,
and he fhall carry them captive into Babylon, and
fliall flay many of them with the fword. And thou,
Pafhur, and all that dwell in thine houfe, fhall go
into captivity, and thou fhalt come to Babylon, and
there thou /halt die, and fhalt be buried there, thou
and thy friends, to whom thou haft prophefied lies."
Now becaufe the exercife which Jeremiah had with
this perverfe people, as well thofe of them that were
gone to Babylon, .as thofe that remained in Jerufalem
(of which he mournfully complains in the reft of this
20th chapter) was very great, the Lord raifed him
up a fellow-labourer, who, by taking part of the
work, might make his burden fomewhat the lighter j
and by prophefying the fame thing, might confirm
his prophecies among the people, and therein be a
comfort Unto him.
This was Ezekiel the prieft, who, having been car
ried to Babylon among the captives, when king Je-
b Jer, xx. hoiachin

314 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
hoiachin (alias Jeconiah) was carried away, was, in
the fifth year of that king's and his own captivity,
called to the office of a prophet, and made to fee the
vifions of God. And having been, by the glorious
difcoveries of the Lord unto him, encouraged
ftrengthened, inftructed, and fitted for the feryice (of
which he gives an account in his three firft chapters'1)
he was commanded to take a tile (or plank) and having
pourtrayed upon it the city Jerufalem, to lay fiege againft
it, and build a fort againft it, and caft up a mount
againft it, and fet a camp againft it, and plant bat
tering rams againft it, round about, all in portrai
ture ; and then to take an iron pan, and fet it for an
iron wall between him and the city.
By thefe, and, by certain other poftures and actions,
as by lying a certain time on his left-fide, then a cer
tain time on his right- fide, and uncovering his arm;
by making filthy bread, of mixed and unufual grain ;
and by eating his bread by weight, and drinking his
water by meafure, the prophet exhibited unto his
people a plain type of the fiege that fhould fhortly be
laid againft Jerufalem, the force and ftrength of the
batteries, and the manifold hardfhips and miferies
which the befieged fhould thereby fuftain. All
which he defcribes in his fourth chapter.
And in his fifth chapter, by another type, of fhav-
ing his head and beard % dividing the hair by weight,
burning a third part of it with fire, cutting another
third part with a knife, fcattering another third part in
the wind, and binding up a fmall part in the fkirt of his
garment, and then cafting fome of that fmall part al
fo into the fire, he fet before his people the deftruc*
tion and difperfion of the refidue of the Jews, after
Jerufalem fhould be taken.
The next year (which was the fixth of that capti
vity f ) as the prophet Ezekiel was fitting in his houfe,
among the captives of Babylon, having the elders of
Judat (then captives there) before hirn; the hand
' Eezek. ii. iii. e Chap. viii. f Chap. iv. 5. (that

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 315
(that is, the power) of the Lord fell upon him ; and
the fpirit lifting him up between the earth and the
heaven, brought him in a vifion to Jerufalem ; where
the Lord leading him from place to place, fhewed
him the abominations, as well private as publick, of
the men of Judah and Jerufalem.
And having gone through all that; he fhewed him,
by another vifion of fix men with their deftroying
weapons in their hands, the flaughter that fhould be
made of thefe wicked people ; and the prefervation of
the few godly ones amongft them, by the vifion of
a man, with an inkhorn in his hand, going before
thofe flaughter-men, and fetting a mark upon the
fore-heads of them that fliould be fpared. Which,
with other like vifions tending to fet forth the fin
and judgment of that people, and his being brought
back again in vifion, by the fpirit of God to Chal-
dea, and his relating to his fellow-captives what in
thofe vifions the Lord had fhewed him, are delivered
and defcribed in his 9th, 10th, and nth chapters,
Very punctual and very particular is this prophet,
in fetting down the dates of his vifions; and that
fometimes not a year only, or a month, but to a ve
ry day.
This firft vifion he dates on the fifth day of the
.fourth month in the thirtieth year, which was the
fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity ; but from whence
this thirtieth year fhould commence, the text doth
not exprefs. It is pretty generally underftood to be
from the - time that the book of the law was found,
2 Chron. xxxiv. 15. which was in the eighteenth
year of the reign of Jofiah, who reigned four
teen years after. Which fourteen years, with the
eleven years of Jehoiachim, and five years of Je
hoiachin's captivity, make up the thirty years.
Thus did the Lord, by thefe two eminent pro
phets, vifit his people with warning after warning, and
both by very frgnificant types, and direct and pofitive
prophecies, endeavoured to reclaim them. But at
length, after very many warnings and threatenings given

3.16 SACRED HISTORY. Part III*
given and flighted, the Lord brought upon king Ze
dekiah g and his people the deftruction fo often fore
told ; which Zedekiah himfelf was inftrumental to
haften. For he rebelling againft Nebuchadnezzar,
Who had made him king, Nebuchadnezzar came up
with all his army againft Jerufalem, and pitching
againft it; built forts againft it round about.
This fiege was laid on the tenth day of the tenth
month, in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign h ; and
was fhewed by the Lord to Ezekiel inChaldea, at a great
diftance, on the very felf fame day. And then alfo
did the Lord, by feveral frefh types (as that of fetting
On a pot with water ', and teething therein the choice
of the flock, with the fcum in it ; and that other, of
faking away fuddenly the prophet's wife, and for
bidding him to mourn for her death) fet forth both
the fin and the punifhment of the people, which
Ihould not be lamented.
The city being now fhut up, the Lord fent his
prophet Jeremiah to king Zedekiah with this mef
fage ". " Thus faith the Lord, the God of Ifrael ;
Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he fhall burn it with fire, and
thou fhalt not efcape out of his hand, but /halt furely
be taken, and be delivered into his hand ; and thou
/halt fee the king of Babylon, and he fhall fpeak with
ihee face to face, and thou fhalt go to Babylon."
Then, a little to alleviate this hard meffage, the
prophet affured him from the Lord, that he fhould
not die by the fword, but Ihould die a natural death;
and that he Zhould be lamented, and his funeral per
fumed with burning of odours, in like manner as had
been done for the former kings, his predeceffors.
After the prophet had delivered this meffage to
king Zedekiah, he with his people, thinking to atone
for former fins by fome fhew of reformation, agreed
together, to proclaim liberty to the Hebrew fervants
of either fex. Accordingly, both king, princes, and
s Jer. Iii. h z Kings xxv. l Ezek. xxiv, k Jer. xxxiv. chief

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 317
chief of the people entered into a covenant before th*
Lord, that none fhould ferve himfelf of his brother a
Jew ; but that every one ihould let his m&n-fervant,
and maid-fervant, being an Hebrew, or Hebrewefs,
go free (at the end of fix years fervice, according as
the law directed, Exod. xxi. 2. Deut. xv. 12). And
this covenant, it feems, they ratified by the antient
and folemn ceremony of dividing a calf (or heifer)
into two parts, and paffing between the parts ; which
imported a fort of imprecation on themfelves, that
they might be fo cut afunder, in cafe they did not
keep the covenant they then entered into.
Upon this proclamation the fervants were fet free ;
but the infincerity of the matters quickly appeared.
For in awhile after this ', the army of the king of
Egypt coming to relieve Jerufalem, the Chaldeans
hearing of their coming, raifed their fiege from be
fore Jerufalem, and went to meet and fight the Egyp
tians. The Jews thereupon pleating themfelves with the
perfuafion that the Egyptians (in this cafe their
Friends) would beat the Chaldeans (their enemies)
and that therefore their danger was over, repented
their having manumitted their fervants ; and reducing
them into fubjection again, caufed them to return to
their refpective fervices, chap, xxxiv. 11.
This tergiverfation fo highly provoked the Lordj
that he forthwith fent his prophet Jeremiah to them,
giving him in charge to fay : " Thus faith the Lord^
the God of Ifrael ; I made a covenant with yoyr fa
thers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,
the houfe of bond-men, that every man fhould 1*$
his brother an Hebrew, go free from him, when he
had ferved him fix years ; but your fathers did npt
obey me. And now ye were turned, and had done
right in my fight, in proclaiming liberty every man
to his neighbour, and ye had made a covenant before
me in the houfe which is called by my name. But
1 Jer. xxxvii. ye

3i8 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
ye have tuuged back, and polluted my name (fo is
the breach "of covenant called that is made in his
name) and ye have caufed every man his fervant,
and his handmaid, whom they had fet at liberty at
their pleafure, to return to their fervices m, and have
brought them into fubjection, to be your fervants
and handmaids again.
" Therefore thus faith the Lord, Since ye have
not hearkened unto me, iri proclaiming liberty (and
keeping to it) : Behold, I proclaim liberty for you,
faith the Lord, to the fword, to the peftilence, and
to the famine ; and I will make you to be removed
irito all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men
that have tranfgreffed my covenant, and have not
performed the words of the covenant which they made
before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and
paffed between the parts thereof, even the princes of
Judah and Jerufalem, the eunuchs and the priefts,
and all the people of the land that paffed between
the parts of the calf, them will I give into the hand
of their enemies that feek their life; even into the
hand of the king of Babylon's army which are gone
from you : for behold, I will command, faith the
Lord, and caufe them to come again to this city,
and they fhall fight againft it, and take it, and burn
it with with fire ; and I will make the cities of Ju
dah a defolation without an inhabitant."
Upon this probably it was, that king Zedekiah
fent Jecuhal, and Zephaniah the prieft to the pro
phet Jeremiah, to defire him to pray unto the Lord
their God for them. But the anfwer the prophet
gave them from the Lord, was this :
" Thus /hall ye fay to the king of Judah, who fent
you to me : Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come
forth to help you, fhall return into their own land;
and the Chaldeans fhall come again, and fhall fight
againft this city and take it, and burn it : therefore,
thus faith the Lord, deceive not yourfelves with a
m Jer. xxx i v. conceit.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 319
conceit, that the Chaldeans fhall furely depart from
you, for they fhall not depart. Nay, though ye had
fmitten the whole army of" the Chaldeans" that fight
againft you, and had left none of them but wounded
men ; yet fhould even they rife up, every man from
4iis tent, and fhould burn this city with fire."
The prophet was not yet put in prifon, but went
up and down amongft the people at liberty.; and in
tending to take this opportunity (now that the Chal
dean army being rifen from the fiege, the gates were
open and the way was clear) to leave Jerufalem, and
to go into the land of Benjamin (perhaps to his own
city Anathoth, which was not far off) he walked
forth in order thereunto ; but when he was in the
gate of Benjamin, where the guard was kept, Irijah,
a captain of the guard, charged him that he was
going to fall away to the Chaldeans, and feized him
for a defer ter.
Jeremiah bluntly told him it was falfe, and that
he was not falling away to the Chaldeans ; but the
captain would not hear him, but had him away to the
princes. They were in fuch a rage at the prophet,
that they fell on him and beat him ; and not content
with that, they committed him to prifon too, in the
houfe of Jonathan the fecretary (for there, for the
greater fecurity, they had made tlfe prifon) ; and into
the innermoft dungeon was poor Jeremiah put.
After ihe good prophet had lain in this filthy pri
fon many days, king Zedekiah fent, and took him
out, and had him brought privately to his houfe ;
where, between themfelves, the king afked him, if
there was any word from the Lord (meaning, con
cerning him). " Yes, replied the prophet, there is;
for thou fhalt be delivered into the hand of the
king of Babylon. But (added he) what (or wherein)
have I offended againft thee, or againft thy fervants,
or againft this people, that ye have put me in pri
fon? I told you indeed, that the king of Babylpn
8 Jer. xxxvii. fopuld

pa SACRED HISTORY. Part HI,
/hould come againft this city and land, and ye all fee
it is true : .where then are your prophets that prophe
fied the contrary ? Yet if, notwirhftanding my prophe
cy is fo apparently true, I muft needs lie in prifon for
it: Hear now, I pray thee, O my Lord the king,
and let my fupplication be accepted by thee, that
thou caufe me not to return to the houfe of Jona
than, left I die there."
The king thereupon commanded that they fhould
commit Jeremiah to the court of the prifon (a more
commodious place for him) and that they fhould give
him every day a piece of bread out of the Baker's-
ftreet, fo long as there fhould be any bread left in the.
city. While the prophet remained in this prifon, where
he could fpeak to the people ", he ceafed not to warn
them of the miferies that would inevitably come upon
them, if they held out till the place was taken ;
telling them from the Lord, " This city fhall furely
be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's
army, which fhall take it, and he that remaineth in
this city fhall die by the fword, by the famine, and
by the peftilence; but he that goeth forth to the
Chaldeans fhall live ; for he lhall have his life for a
prey." But when the princes underftood that Jeremiah had
fpoken thus to the people, they went to the king,
and befought him that he might be put to death ;
alledging, that by fuch fpeeches he weakened the
hands of the men of war that remained in the city,
and indeed of all the people ; and that it was there?
by evident, he fought not their welfare, but their
hurt. The king (not good in himfelf, and now, in a
ftreight, not in condition to conteft with his princes)
told them, f{ They might do what they would with
him." Whereupon, without more ado, they took
Jeremiah, and caft him into the dungeon that was in
• Jer. xxxviii. the

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 321
the court of the prifon, letting him down with cords ;
and there being no water, but much mire in the
place, the good man funk down, and ftuck faft in the
mire. Now had his enemies got their defire ; and there,
in all likelihood, had this holy prophet perifhed, had
not God raifed up an inftrument for his deliverance,
fuch as was leaft to be expected.
There was in the king of Judah' s court an Ethio
pian, or blackmoor, called Ebed-melech, which name
imports, a fervant of the king; and he was indeed one
of the king's eunuchs. When this man had heard
that they put the prophet into the dungeon, he went
boldly to the king (then fitting in the gate of Benja
min) and faid to him, " My Lord, O king, thefe
men have done evil, in all that they have done to
Jeremiah the prophet : for they have caft him into
the dungeon ; where, befides all other annoyances, he
is like to die for hunger."
The king then bidding Ebed-melech take with him
from thence thirty men,* and go take Jeremiah the
prophet out of the dungeon before he died, the
noble moor taking with him the men, went into the
houfe under the treafury, and taking from thence old
caft clouts and rotten rags, let them down by cords
to Jeremiah into the dungeon, advifing him to fatten
the cords fo as to prevent galling him. Which when
the prophet had done, the men whom Ebed-melech
had brought him drew him up by the cords out of
.the dungeon, and put him into the court of the pri
fon again, where he had been a prifoner before.
This kindnefs to his prophet, the Lord fo accepted,
that while Jeremiah was yet, a prifoner in the court
of the prifon, he commanded him to fay to Ebed-
melech the Ethiopian, " Thus faith the Lord, the
God of Ifrael, behold, I will bring to pafs my words
on this city, for evil and not for good, and thou
/halt live to fee them accompliflied; but I will de
liver thee in that day, faith the Lord, and thou fhalt
Vol, II. Y not.

322 SACRED HISTORY. Part in.
not be delivered into, the hand of the men whorti
thou feareft. For I will furely deliver thee, and thou
/halt not fall by the fword ; but thy life fhall be given
thee for a prey, becaufe thou haft put thy truft in me,
faith the Lord."
After the prophet Jeremiah was brought back from
the dungeon to his former prifon, king Zedekiah fent
for him to be brought to him into the houfe of die
Lord ; and having him there by himfelf, defired him
not to hide any thing from him of that whereof he
/hould now afk him.
The prophet, having met with fuch hard ufage, was
willing now to make better terms, efpecially feeing
he was not under any conftraint from the Lord, but
Was to anfwer the king's requeft. Therefore, before
he anfwered the king, he afked him, if he would
promife not to put him to death, in cafe what he
/hould declare to him fhould not pleafe him : and
whether, if he gave him counfel he would take it.
To this latter, the king made no reply; but to the
former, relating to the prophet's fafety, the king
fware to him by the Lord (who having given him his
life, could take it away if he brake his oath) that he
would not put him to death, nor deliver him to
thofe who fought his life.
Then faid the prophet to the king, " If thou
furrender the city, and go forth to the king of Baby
lon's princes, then thy foul fhall live, and thou and
thy houfe, and this city-/hall not be burned with fire.
But if thou wilt not go forth unto the king of Baby
lon's princes, then fhall this city be given into th«
hands of the Chaldeans, and they fhall burn it
with fire ; and thou fhalt not efcape out of . their
hands." But, faid the king, I am afraid of the Jews that
are fallen to the Chaldeans, left, if I fhould yield
myfeif to the Chaldeans, they fhould deliver me to
thofe Jews to be mocked by them.
" Nay; faid the prophet, obey, I befeech thee,
the voice of the Lord which I have fpoken to thee; and

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 323
and lean affure thee the Chaldeans fhall not deliver
thee to thofe Jews, but it fhall be well unto thee, and
thy foul fhall live. But if thou refute to go forth,
this is the word which the Lord hath /hewed me :
all the women that are left in the king of Judah's
houfe (the remainder of thofe that were carried away
with Jeconiah and his mother) fhall be brought forth
to the king of Babylon's princes, and they fhall dis
cover how thy friends have fet thee on, and have pre
vailed againft thee, and have now left thee in the
mire. So all thy wives and thy children fhall be
brought out to the Chaldeans, and thou thyfelf thalt
hot efcape out of their hand, but fhalt be taken by
the king of Babylon, and thou lhalt be the caufe that
this city fhall be burnt with fire."
The king, having heard what the prophet had to
fay, charged him at parting not to let any man
know, what difcourfe had paffed between them at the
peril of his life. " But (faid he) if the princes fhould
hear that I have talked with thee, and thereupon
come and afk thee what thou haft faid tome, andi
to thee ; let them know thou didft prefent a petition
to me, that I would not fend thee back to the prifon
in Jonathan's houfe, to die there." Accordingly,
when the princes had heard that Jeremiah had been
with the king, they came and examined him what
had paffed between them ; and he putting them off,
as the king had directed him, the matter was not
difcovered. Though the king carried it outwardly fomewhat
fair, excufing himfelf by fome pretended neceflities
from following the counfel which the Lord, by his
prophet, had often given him ; yet he was naught and
falfe. Which made the prophet Ezekiel break forth
thus againft him : " O thou prophane wicked prince
of Ifrael, whofe day is come, whofe iniquity fhall
have an end ! Thus faith the Lord God, remove the dia
dem, and take off the crown," &c. Ezek. xxi. 25,
26: « Y 2 The

324 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
The prophet Jeremiah having often, on divers
Occafions, foretold the taking of Jerufalem, and the
deftruclion thereof q, and that both king and people
fhould go into captivity ; now, to perfuade them that
they who fhould furvive the determined time of that
captivity fhould return, and poffefs their land again,
himfelf turned purchafer, even while he was a prifoner.
For Hanameel, his uncle Shallum's fon, coming to
him in the prifon, and defiring him to buy of him
his field which was in Anathoth in the country of
Benjamin (the right whereof, by the law of inheri
tance, belonged to him as being the next of kin,
Levit. xxv.) the prophet, knowing that this thing
was ordered of the Lord, (that having been already
made known to him) he did not hefitate, but forth
with bought the field of his coufin Hanameel for
feventeen fhekels of filver (which he paid by weight,
as the manner then was, not by tale). And having
caufed the field to be conveyed to himfelf by written
deeds, figned, fealed, and well witneffed, he delivered
thofe purchafe-deeds, both the original which was
enrolled and the counterpart thereof, unto Baruch
his fcribe, in the prefence of his coufin Hanameel,
and of the witneffes that had fubfcribed them, and
before all the Jews that fat in the court of the prifon j
charging Baruch before them all, that he fhould
put thofe evidences into an earthen veffel, that being
to be hidden in the ground, they might not be de
faced or fpoiled, but might continue found and
whole for many days. " For, faid he, thus faith
the Lord of hofts, the God of Ifrael, houfes, and
fields, and vineyards fhall be poffeffed again in this
land." The fiege of Jerufalem had now continued long,
and the provifions of the city being by that mean's
much fpent, the famine which God by his prophets
had threatened them with, as one part of their pu-
9 Jer. xxxii, nifhment,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 325
nifhment, was now gr6wn ftrong upon them. The
bread was fo near fpent when Ebed-melech took Je
remiah out of the dungeon, that he thought there
had been none left in the city then, Jer. xxxviii. 9.
But now there was none indeed, Jer. Hi. 6. And fo
far did the famine prevail, that Ezekiel's prophecy
may be fuppofed to have been then fulfilled uppn
them, " That the fathers fhould eat their fons, and
the fons their fathers," Ezek. v. 10. To which alfo
the prophet Jeremiah may be thought to have had
reference, when, recounting fome of the calamities
the people endured, he faid : cc The tongue of the
fucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth
for thirft : the young children afk bread, and no man
breaketh it to them. They that did feed delicately
are difconfolate in the ftreets : they that were brought
up in fcarlet, embrace dunghills. The hands of the
pitiful women have fodden their own children : they.
were their meat, in the deftruclion of the daughter of
my people," Lam. iv. ver. 4, 5. io.
When the befieged were brought through their
own obflinacy to thefe extremities,, the city at length
was taken by ftorrn r, on the ninth day of the fourth
month, in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign;
the Chaldeans, after a fiege of eighteen months,
winning the middle gate, and the princes, of the
king of Babylon taking poffeflion of it.
As foon as king Zedekiah and his men- of war faw
the Chaldeans had forced the gate, and were got
into the city, they all fled ; and leaving the city by
eight, went out by the way of the gate which was*
by the king's garden, between the two walls, and^the
king took the way towards the plain. But the Chal
dean army lying round about the city, they that,
were on that fide where the king went, out, purfuing
after him, overtook him in the plains of Jericho,
and all his, army being fcattered from him, they took
{he king, and brought him up to the king of Ba-
' A. M. 3420.
y 3 bylon,.

326 SACRED HIJTOR Y. Part III.
bylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamoth, where he
gave judgment upon him.
And, in the firft place, he flew the fons of Zede
kiah before his eyes ; then he flew alfo the princes
of Judah who had withheld the king from hearken
ing to the prophet, and yielding himfelf as the Lord
required. And when he had puniflied Zedekiah with
thefe terrifying fights, he put out his eyes, and bind
ing him in fetters of brafs, carried him fo bound to
Babylon, where he kept him in prifon to the day of
his death.
The city thus taken, the king a captive, the princes
and nobles moft of them flain, and the men of war
fled8; the next thing was to take the plunder, and
deftroy the place. To that end foon after came Ne-
buzaradan, captain of the guards or marfhal to the
king of Babylon, and having broken down the walls
of Jerufalem, he burnt the houfe of the Lord, and
the king's houfe, and all the great men's houfes, and
deftroyed the city with fire.
Then taking the refidue of the people that yet re
mained in the city, together with thofe that during
the fiege had yielded themfelves to the Chaldeans,
he fent them prifoners to Babylon, leaving only fome
of the poor of the land for vine-dreffers and for huf-
bandmen, unto whom he gave vineyards and fields to
till. The riches of the temple he fent alfo to Babylon ',
and therewith Seraiah the chief-prieft, and Zepha
niah (his fuffragan) the fecond prieft with fome of the
door-keepers. Some prime men alfo, whom he found
in the city (who belike wanted either opportunity or
courage to attempt an efcape) he took and brought
to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who caufed them
to be put to death there. Among thefe was an eu
nuch that had the charge of the men of war, and
the mufter-mafter-general of the king of Judah's
* Jer. xxxix, & xi. « Chap. Iii. army,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 327
army, with fome others that were officers near the
king's perfon.
The king of Babylon having underftood what
pains the prophet Jeremiah had taken to bring the
king of Judah and his princes to a timely furrender,
and what hardfhips he had undergone for fo doing,
had given a ftrict. charge to Nebuzaradan, to have an
efpecial regard to the prophet ; and not only to take
care that he fuffered no harm, but to do for him what-
foever he himfelf fhould defire.
Nebuzaradan therefore, with the princes of the
king of Babylon, fent to fetch Jeremiah from the
prifon to them u. But having (through forgetfulnefs,
or much bufinefs) flipt the feafon, they who had the
charge of tranfporting the captives had taken him,
it feems, among the reft, and carried him away in
chains as far as Ramah. From thence therefore
they fent for him back, and when he was come Ne
buzaradan thus fpake unto him :
" The Lord thy God, who pronounced this evil
upon this place, hath now brought it, and done ac
cording as he had faid. Becaufe ye have finned
againft the Lord, and have not obeyed his voice,
therefore is this thing ,come upon you. But now,
behold, I loofe thee from the chains which were upon
thine hand ; and if it feem good unto thee to come
with me into Babylon, come, and I will provide
well for thee. But if thou hadft rather tarry here,
behold all the land is before thee, go whitherfoever
thou haft a mind to go." Then giving him fome
provifions and a prefent, he kindly difmiffed the
prophet; who underftanding by Nebuzaradan, that
the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah (the fon
of Ahikam, and grandfon of Shaphan) governor of
the land, he went to him by Nebuzaradan's advice,
and dwelt with him at Mizpah, among the people
that, were left in the land. u Jer. xl.
Y 4 When

323 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
When the captains of king Zedekiah's forces
(which fled with him upon the taking of the city,
and were fcattered and difperfed about the country)
underftood that the king of Babylon had made Ge-
deliah governor over the land of Judah, and had
committed to his care and charge the people of all
ranks that remained in the land, they came with
their men to Mizpah, and fubmitted themfelves to
him. Among thefe were Ifhmael (who was of the king's
feed) Johanan and Jonathan (two brothers) Seraiah,
and divers other principal commanders ; whom, with
their men, Gedeliah the governor took into his pro
tection, on condition they fhould be fubject to the
king of Babylon. And letting them know that he
would keep his court at Mizpah (that he might be
near the Chaldeans, to correfpond with them, and
receive orders from them) ; he left them at liberty
to fettle themfelves in any of the cities they liked,
and to llore themfelves with wine, oil, and fummer-
fruits, for a winter-provifion.
The Jews alfo that in the common danger had
fled for fafety to the Moabites, Ammonites, Edo
mites, and into other countries, when they heard that
the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah in
the land, and had fet their own country-man Geda-,
liah over them, returned to the land of Judah
again ; and having prefented themfelves before go
vernor Gedaliah at Mizpah, were by him difmiffed
to their vintage and harveft.
But Ifhmael itomaching, that Gedaliah (who was
but a private perfon) fhould not only, be preferred
before him x (who was of the blood royal) but fet
over him as governor; and imparting his difcontent
to half a fcore more who were of the princes of
Judah, and who alfo thought it beneath them to
be under Gedaliah, they confpired againft him,
* Jer. xli. being

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 329
being animated thereunto by the king of the Am
monites. This confpiracy Johanan, one of the captains,
having got knowledge of, went and difcovered it to
Gedaliah, defiring him to give him leave to flay
Ifhmael. But Gedaliah being a man of great worthj
and of an honourable mind, not apt to entertain fuf-
picions of others, would not believe that Ifhmael
was treacherous, much lefs give way to fo difhonour-
able an act as to have him flain privately.
It was not long after, that Ifhmael, with the other
ten princes of Judah who had efcaped the flaugh
ter and captivity, came to Mizpah, on pretence of
waiting on the governor Gedaliah, and were kindly
received and entertained by him ; but they, watching
an opportunity, drew their fwords, and fetting upon
Gedaliah flew him ; and, that his death might not be
revenged upon themfelves, they, with their retinue,
taking the people of Mizpah at an advantage (who,,
fufpecting no danger, were unprovided for defence)
fell fuddenly upon them too, and flew not only the
Jews, but the Chaldeans alfo who were there with
Gedaliah, This murder and maffacre they kept fo private,
that the fecond day after it was not known abroad ;
by which means about fourfcore men of the Ifraelites
fell alfo into Ifhrnael's hands. Thefe coming from
Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, were, going to Jeru
falem, to carry offerings and incenfe to the houfe of
the Lord, which it is fuppofed they had not heard
was deftroyed when they came from home.
Their way lying by Mizpah, Ifhmael feeing them,
went forth to meet them ; and that he might the
more eafily draw them into his fnare, by conform
ing himfelf to their condition, whom he obferved to be
in deep mourning (for they had nqt only rent their
clothes, after they had heard of the deftruction of the
holy city and temple, but had fliaved their beards
alfo, and cut themfelves, which were two heathenifh
practices they had learned from their neighbours, contrary

330 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
contrary to the law, Levit. xix. 27, 28.) he, croco
dile-like, went weeping to them : and, that he might
found their affection to the governor, invited them
to come into Mizpah to Gedaliah.
But when he had by this train drawn them into the
city, he fell upon them, and flew them all, except
ten men. They, by acquainting him that they had
treafures (or ftores of wheat, barley, oil, and ho
ney) in the field, efcaped his hands, and faved their
lives. The dead bodies he caft into a pit which Afa
king of Judah had made for fear of Baafha king of
Ifrael ; and then taking with him, as captives, the
reft of the people that were in Mizpah (among
whom were king Zedekiah's daughters), he departed
from thence to go over to the Ammonites, whofe
king had put him upon this treacherous and bloody
enterprize. But before he could get out of the country, the
report of thefe barbarous murders comming to Jo-
hanan, and the reft of the captains of Zedekiah's
forces which had put themfelves under Gedaliah's
command, they drew forth their men, and marched
againft Ifhmael, whom they found in the great wa
ters in Gibeon, called the Pool of Gibeon, where Ab-
ner and Joab, falling from jeft to earned, had long
before had a fore battle, 2 Sam. ii.
Glad were the poor prifoners whom Ifhmael had
brought with him from Mizpah, when they faw Jo-
hanan, and the reft of the captains with their forces
coming to refcue them, and wheeling off, they went
and joined themfelves to Johanan ; which when Ifh
mael faw, not daring to ftand the fhoek, he, with
eight men only in his company, efcaped by flight to
the Ammonites.
Ifhmael thus gone, Johanan and the reft of the cap
tives, taking with them all the people whom they
had recovered from Ifhmael, went and dwelt in the
habitation of Chimham near Bethlehem : a place
fuppofed,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. ,331
fuppofed, from 2 Sam. xix. 38. to have been an
ciently given by king David to Chimham, the fon of
old Barzillai the Gileadite, and yet bore his name
near five hundred years after.
That place they chofe the rather, that if they fhould
be purfued by the Chaldeans, they might the more
readily take refuge in Egypt ; for they were afraid
that the Chaldeans would fall upon them, and cut
them off, becaufe Ifhmael had flain Gedaliah, the
king of Babylon's governor, and fome of the Chal
deans alfo.
Among thefe whom Ifhmael had led captive from
Mizpah, and who were refcued by Johanan, the pro
phet Jeremiah (we may well conclude) was one y:
for we read he went to dwell with Gedaliah at Miz
pah, Jer. xl. 6. and we find him now among the
people, at their new quarters, in the habitation of
Chimham, chap. xiii. 1, 2. For there Johanan and
Jezaniah, with the reft of the. captains, and all the
people great and fmall, coming near to the prophet,
thus befpake him : " Let, we befeech thee, our fup
plication be accepted before thee, and pray thou for
us unto the Lord thy God, that he may fhew us the
way wherein we fliould walk, and the thing we fhould
do." Thus, although for their fafety they had
pitched near the borders of Egypt, they pretended
they would not difpofe of themfelves without the
Lord's direction.
The prophet promifed them, that he would both
pray unto the Lord their God for them, and would
. faithfully return them the anfwer which the Lord
fhould give to their requeft, without hiding any thing
from them. And they thereupon entered into a fo
lemn covenant for their obedience, faying to the
prophet, " The Lord be a true and faithful wrtnefs
between us, if we do not according to all things,
according to which the Lord fhall fend, thee unto us;
r Jer, xiii. whether

332 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
whether it be good or evil (that is, whether it pleafe
us or not) we will obey the voice of the Lord our
God to whom we fend thee, that it may be well with
us when we obey his voice."
The prophet thereupon, fupplicating the Lord on
their behalfs, inquired of him, how he would have
them difpofe themfelves ; but the Lord, who faw the
naughtinefs of their hearts, was not forward to give
an anfwer ; fo that ten days were paft before the pro
phet received an anfwer from the Lord. But when
he had received it, he called Johanan, with the reft
of the captains, and all the people together, and told
them : " Thus faith the Lord, the God of Ifrael,
unto whom ye fent me to prefent your fupplication
before him: If ye will ftill abide in this land, then.
will I build you, and not pull you down ; and I will
plant you, and not pluck you up : for I repent me
of the affliction that I have brought upon you. And
whereas ye are afraid of the king of Babylon, be not
afraid of him, faith the Lord, for I am with you to
fave you, and to deliver you from his hand, and I
will fhew mercy unto you, that he (feeing the favour
I have for you) may have mercy upon you, and caufe
you to return to your own land,"
" But if ye fay, we will not dwell in this land,
but we will go into the land of Egypt, where wc
/hall fee no war z, nor hear the found of the trum
pet, nor have hunger of bread, and there we will
dwell : then it fhall come to pafs, that the fword
which ye feared, fhall overtake you there in the land
of Egypt ; and the famine, whereof ye were afraid,
fhall follow clofe after you there in Egypt, and there
ye fhall die. So /hall it be with all the men that
fet their faces to go into Egypt to fojourn there,
they fhall die by the fword, by the famine, and by
the peftilence ; and none of them /hall remain or
efcape from the evil that I will bring upon them,
For thus faith the Lord of hofts the God of Ifrael,
z Jer. xliii.
As

Part III. SACRED HISTORY.

333

As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth
upon the inhabitants of Jerufalem, fo mail my fury
be poured forth upon you when ye fliall enter into
Egypt ; and ye fhall be an execration, and an aftonifh-
ment, and a curfe, and a reproach, and ye fhall fee
this place no more."
When the prophet had thus delivered to the
people the mind of the Lord, Azariah (who was
called Jezaniah before, chap. xiii. i.) with Johanan,
and all the proud men of their party, did in effect
give him the lie : for they faid to Jeremiah, " Thou
fpeakeft falfly, the Lord our God hath not fent thee
to fay, Go not into Egypt to fojourn there. But
Baruch the fon of Neriah fetteth thee on againft us,
to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that
they might carry us away captives into Babylon, and
might put us to death there."
The prophet thereupon, in defence and confirma
tion of what he had before delivered to them from
the Lord, and in teftimony againft them, added,
(t The Lord hath faid concerning you, O ye remnant
of Judah, go ye not into Egypt ; and I have faithfully
admonifhed you this day. For ye diffembled in your
hearts, when fending, me unto the Lord our God,
ye faid : Pray for us unto the Lord your God, and
according to all that the Lord our God fhall fay,
fo declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I
have declared it to you, but ye have not obeyed
the voice of the Lord your God, nor any thing for
which he hath fent me to you. Now therefore,
know certainly that ye fhall die by the fword, by
the famine, and by the peftilence, in the place
whither ye defire to go to fojourn," chap. xiii. 19,
&c. Notwithftanding this, they would not obey the voice
of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah ; but Jo
hanan, and the other captains of the forces, taking
all the remnant of Judah, men, women, and chil
dren, with the late king's daughters, and the good
prophet Jeremiah, with Baruch . his fcribe (full fore
againft

334 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
againft their wills) carried them out of the land
of Judah, and brought them into the land of E-
gypr- , „
As foon almoft as they were fettled in Egypt, the
Lord commanded the prophet Jeremiah, for a typi
cal confirmation of their deftruction, to take great
ftones jn his hands, and hiding them in the clay in
the brick-kiln, at the entry of Pharaoh's houfe in Tah-
phanes, in the fight of the men of Judah, and fay
to them : " Thus faith the Lord of hofts, the God of
Ifrael, Behold, I will fend and take my fervant Ne
buchadnezzar king of Babylon, and will fet his
throne upon thefe ftones which I have hid, and he
/hall fpread his royal pavilion over them. And when
he cometh he /hall finite the land of Egypt, and
fhall deliver to death fuch as are appointed for death,
and to captivity fuch as are for captivity, and to the
fword fuch as are for the fword. And I will kindle
a fire in the houfes of the gods of Egypt, and he fhall
burn them, and carry them away captive, and he fhall
poffefs himfelf of the land of Egypt, as eafily as a
/hepherd putteth on his (loofe) garments ; and he
fhall go forth from thence in peace ; he fhall break
alfo the images of Beth-fhemifli (the houfe of the
fun) in the land of Egypt, and the— houfes of the
gods of the Egyptians fhall he burn with fire."
As thefe rebellious Jews had difobeyed the Lord,
and difregarded his prophet; fo when they were
fettled in Egypt, they foon grew from bad to worfe,
worfhipping ftrange gods, and burning incenfe to the
queen of heaven; Which, when the prophet Jere
miah reproved them for, in the name and by the ex
prefs command of the Lord, they made no hefitation to
tell him to his face, " As for the word which thou
haft fpoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will
not hearken to thee, but we will certainly do what-
foever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth;
(that is, we will perform the vows we have made) to
burn incenfe unto the queen of heaven (by which is
meant the moon at leaft, if not all the planets) and to

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 335
to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done,
we and our fathers, our Icings and our princes, in
the cities of Judah, and in the ftreets of Jerufalem ;
for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and
faw no evil. But fince we left off to burn incenfe to
the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings
unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been
confumed by the fword, and by the famine." Thus
faid the men : to which the women pertly added ;
** When we burnt incenfe to the queen of heaven,
and poured out drink-offerings unto her, did we do
it without our men ?" As much as to fay, we fear
not thy threats, for we have our hufbands to ftand
by us in what we have done.
This daring anfwer provoked the Lord to de
nounce againft, them by his prophet the moft fearful
judgments, in the moft certain terms ; adding, as a
-confirming fign, that he would give Pharaoh-Ho*
phra, king of Egypt (unto whom they had betaken
themfelves for protection) into the hand of his ene
mies that fought his life, as he had already, in their
fight, given Zedekiah their king into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who fought his
life. The prophet having thus difcharged his duty to his
own people, the Jews, addreffed himfelf in the reft of
his book, for the moft part, to the Gentiles : as to
Egypt, Jer. xlvi. to the Philiftines, chap, xlvii. to
Moab, chap, xlviii. to Ammon, Edom, and other
people, chap. xlix. to Babylon, chap. 1. and li. with
fome prophecies intermingled here and there, efpe
cially in chap. 1. concerning the redemption of If
rael. And as this good prophet Jeremiah was thus exer-
cifed in Egypt, fo was his contemporary, the prophet
Ezekiel, as earneftly engaged in the like fervice in
Chaldea ; prophefying againft the Ammonites, Ezek.
xxv. againft Tyrus, chap. xxvi. and againft thofe
that fupported her and traded with her, chap, xxvii.
againft the prince of Tyrus, chap, xxviii. againft
Egypt,

330 SACRED HISTORY. PartllL
Egypt, chap, xxix, xxx, xxxi, and xxxii. againft the
thepherds of Ifrael, chap, xxxiv. againft Mount Seir
or Edom, chapi xxxv* againft the lofty ones of If
rael, chap, xxxvi. with a promife of their reftoration
to their own land, by the type of the dry bones, chap.
Xxxvii. againft other enemies of the church of God,
under the name of Gog and Magogj chap, xxxviii,
xxxix. And from thence he defcribes the rebuilding
of the temple, as a fure confirmation to .his captive
countrymen, that their captivity fhould have an end,
and they fhould return to their own country.
Of the deaths of thefe two eminent prophets the
Floly Scripture gives no account, either as to time,
place, or manner. But others tell us, that the pro
phet Jeremiah was ftoned to death in Egypt by the
people ; and we have reafon to think it was done by
his own people (the runnagade Jews that fled to
Egypt againft his counfel and God's command, and
took him with them againft his will). For the Egyp
tians, we are told, being freed by his prayers from
thofe water-ferpents (called crocodiles) which infefted
them, had him in great honour ; which they teftified
by burying him in one of the royal fepulchres, as is
delivered by Jerom in his life, and by Dorotheus
bifhop of Tyre, in his fynopfis of the lives and deaths
of the prophets and apoftles.
As for the prophet Ezekiel, he is faid to have been
flain in Chaldea, by a prince of the people of Ifrael,
whom he reproved for worfhipping images. Do-
rothei Synopfis.
Toward the later end of Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's
time, is the prophet Obadiah placed by fome ". His
prophecy (which of all is the fhorteft) is directly
againft Edom, the pofterity of Efau, againft whom
both thofe other prophets alfo denounced the judg
ments of the Lord, Jer. xlix. and Ezek. xxv. and Je
remiah almoft in the fame words, ver. 14, 15, 16.
But this prophet Obadiah affigns the particular caufe
* Obadiah. why

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 337
why Efau fhould be cut off for ever, namely for his
violence gainft his brother Jacob, ver. 10. Jerom, in
his prologue to the book of Obadiah, tells us, the
Hebrews hold this prophet Obadiah to be the fame
man, who, in the days of Ahab king of Ifrael, hid
and fed an hundred of the Lord's prophets, by fifty
in a cave, to preferve them from the cruel rage of
perfecuting JezebeL But that carries in it no pro
bability of truth,- unlets this prophet had lived much
earlier; for from Ahab's time till this is about three
hundred years.

Vol.11. Z THE

THE

BOOK

OF THE PROPHET

DANIEL.

TH E prophet Daniel (whofe ftory next follows,
and fhould have come fomewhat fooner, but
that I was unwilling to break the courfe of
Jeremiah's and Ezekiel's ftory) was before this time *
grown into great favour in the Babylonifh court, and
in great fame among the Chaldeans, and was emi
nent in the church of God, both for his piety and
his wifdom, Ezek. xiv. 14. and chap, xxyiii. 3.
I noted before, that in the firft captivity of Judah
under Jehoiakim their king, Daniel, being then but a
child; was carried to Babylon among the captives,
with his three friends and companions, Hananiah,
Mithael, and Azariah ; who being felected from among
the reft, by Afhpenaz mafter of the eunuchs, had
new names given them at the king's command, as a
badge of their flavery ; Daniel being called Beltefhaz-
zar ; Hananiah, Shadrach ; Mithael, Mefhach ; and
Azariah, Abednego ; and that they were trained up
'» Daniel i.
Z 2 and

340 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and inftructed for three years in the language and
learning of the Chaldeans, in order to fit them for
the king's prefence and fervice ; the king allowing a
daily provifion of meat and wine from his own table
for their fuftenance and encouragement.
But Daniel, propofing in his heart that he would not
'defile himfelf with the king's meat or wine (fome of
which perhaps might be unclean in kind, as others
polluted by fome fuperftitious ceremonies) requefted
of the prince of the eunuchs that he might be ex-
cufed from feeding thereon; and God had brought
Daniel into fo much favour with the prince of the
eunuchs, that he feemed willing to gratify him in
what he defired; only he objected the danger he
might incur from the king, if, for want of good
diet, Daniel and his three friends (for they were of
rhe fame mind with him therein) fhould look worfe
than their fellows when they fhould appear before the
king. But Daniel prevailed with Melzar, whom the
prince of the eunuchs had fet over him and his com- '
panions, to give them only pulfe and water for their
food, and prove them with that but for ten days, and
deal with them afterwards as he fhould fee caufe,
upon comparing their countenances with the counte
nances of thofe others that did eat of the portion of
the king's meat.
At the ten days end, when they came together,
thefe confcientious pulfe-eaters appeared fairer and
fatter in flefh, than any of thofe others who had fed
on the royal dainties. Whereupon their purveyor
kept back for the future the provifion of meat and
wine which was allotted them, and left them to their
defired pulfe and water.
This their religious abftinence and felf-denial was
fo acceptable to God, that he endued them with
knowledge and fkill in all learning and wifdom, and
furnifhed Daniel with underftanding in vifions and
dreams ; fo that when, at the end of the three years,
they were brought before the king, he communing with

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 341
with them, found them by far to excel, in wifdom
and underftanding, all the magicians and aftrologers
that were in his realm.
It Was not long ere occafion Was offered b for Da
niel to give a fpecimen of his fkill : for king Nebu
chadnezzar had dreamed a dream, which left an im-
preflion of trouble upon his fpirit, but when he
awaked, he could not recollect the matter of his
dream: he commanded the magicians, aftrologers,
forcerers, and Chaldeans (that is, thofe of the Chal
deans who more efpecially pretended to divinations)
to be called, that they might fhew him what the
dream was. They excufed themfelves from telling
him the dream ; but readily offered to fhew him the
interpretation of it, if he would tell them what it
was that he had dreamed. That he told them he
could not, for the thing was gone from him ; and
therefore he required them to tell him both the
dream and the interpretation thereof, upon pain of
being cut in pieces, and their houfes made a dung
hill if they -would not ; yet promifing them, that if
they fhewed him the dream and the interpretation
thereof, they fliould receive of him gifts and re
wards, and great honour.
They anfwered him juft as they did before : " Let
the king tell his fervants the dream (faid they) and
we will fhew the interpretation of it." The king
looking upon this to be but a fort of dodging with
him, replied, " I know certainly that ye would gain
time, becaufe ye fee the thing is gone from me ; but
if ye will not make known the dream to me, there is
but one decree for you : for ye have prepared lying
and corrupt words to fpeak before me, till the time
be changed ; therefore tell me the dream, and by that
I fliall know that ye can fhew me the interpretation
thereof." The Chaldeans hereupon alledged for themfelves,
that that which the king required of them was a rare
» Dan. ii. A. M. 3436.
Z 3 thing i

342 sacred History. Partin;
things fuch as no man upon the earth could fhew,
nor any, except the gods only, Whofe dwelling is not
with flefh (that is, who are mere fpiritual beings ):
and that no king, lord, or ruler, ever afked fuch a
thing of any magician, aftrologer, or Chaldean.
This put the king into fuch a rage, that he gav«
command that all the wife men of Babylon (that is,
they who profeffed magical wifdom) fhould be de
ftroyed; and without more ado fenV forth a decree,
that all thofe wife men fhould be flain ; whereupon
Daniel and his three friends were fought for by the
undiftinguifhing Babylonians, to be flain aifo among
the magicians.
But when Daniel heard of it, he wifely and con-
fiderately addreffed himfelf to Arioch, the captain of
the king's guard (or chief marfhal, unto whom the
flaughter of the wife men was committed), afking
him, " Why the decree of the king for that execu
tion was fo hafty ?" And having received from Arioch
a more particular account of the matter, Daniel went
in, and befought the king to give him time, and he
would /hew him both the dream and the interpre
tation of it.
Having obtained fome time of the king, Daniel
went to his houfe, and acquainted his companions
(Hananiah, Mifhael, and Azariah) with the whole
matter, that they might join with him in prayer to
the God of heaven, that he would fhew mercy to
them in revealing this great fecret, that fo they might
not perifh with the reft of the wife men of Babylon. And
the Lord was pleafed gracioufly to anfwer their fuppli
cation, and to reveal the fecret to Daniel in a night-
vifion. He therefore, having returned his acknowledg
ment to God in an hymn of thankfgiving and praife,
went unto Arioch, whom the king' had commanded
to deftroy the wife men of Babylon, and defired him
not to deftroy any of them, but to bring him in
before the king, and he would open to the king the
interpretation of his dream. Arioch,

Part IIL SACRED HISTORY. 343
Arioch, glad, as it feems, to be excufed from fuch
bloody work, made hafte to bring Daniel to the king,
who prefently afked him if he was able to make
known to him the dream which he had feeen, and
the interpretation thereof.
Daniel thereupon told the king, that the fecret
which he had demanded was above the reach of all
the wife men, aftrplogers, magicians, and foothfayers
to open : but thaf ' there is a God in heaven that re-
yealeth, fecrets, who by this dream would make
known to him what fliould be in the latter days.
Then mpdeftly premifing, that this fecret was not
revealed to him for any wifdom that he had more
than others, but for the fakes of. thofe who. might
receive benefit by the interpretation thereof, and
that he might underftand the thoughts of his heart,
he thus began to declare the dream :
" As for thee, O king, faid he, when thy thoughts
came up into thy mind upon thy bed concerning
what fhould come to pafs hereafter, thy dream, and
the vifions of thy head were thefe :
" Thou faweft a great image ftand before thee,
whofe brightnefs was excellent, but the form thereof
terrible. The head of this image was of fine gold,
his breaft and his arms of filver, his belly and his
thighs of brafs, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron,
and part of clay. Thou faweft 'till a ftone was cut
out of the mountain without hands, which frniting
the image upon the feet that were of iron and clay,
brake them to pieces. And then was the iron, the
clay, the brafs, the filver, and the gold broken to
pieces together, and became like the chaff of the
fummer threfhing-floor, and the wind carried them
away, that no place was found for them; and the
ftone that fmote the image became a great moun
tain, and rilled the whole earth."
This, faid Daniel, is the dream, and now will we
tell the king the interpretation thereof, which is
tftis : „,,
Z 4 ?' Thou,

344 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
" Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the
God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power,
ftrength, and glory ; fo that wherefoever the children
of men dwell (in hyperbolical expreflion) the beafts
of the field, and the fowls of the heaven hath he
given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over
them all. Thou therefore art this head of gold,
After thee (that is, after the monarchy fhall be ended
which thou haft erected) another kingdom fhall arife,
as much inferior to thee as filver is to gold. And
after that, a third kingdom (emblemed by brafs)
which fliall bear rule over all the earth. But the
fourth kingdom fliall be ftrong as iron, and fliall
bruife and break in pieces the other kingdoms, like
as iron breaks all the other metals. And whereas
thou faweft the feet and toes, part of potter's clay,
and part of iron ; the kingdom fhall be divided, and
/hall be partly ftrong like the iron, and partly bror
ken and weak as the clay. So that, although they
fhall mingle themfelves with the feed of men (think
ing to ftrengthen themfelves by marriage alliances)
yet they fhall not cleave firmly one to the other,
even as iron and clay. do not firmly irux-
" But in the days of thefe kings fhall the God of
heaven fet up a kingdom which fhall never be de
ftroyed. And that kingdom fliall not be left to
other people, but it fliall break in pieces and con-
fume all thefe kingdoms, and it fhall ftand for ever.
" And whereas thou faweft that the ftone,
which broke in pieces the iron, the brafs, the clay,
the filver, and the gold, was cut out of the moun
tain without hands ; the great God hath made known
to the king what fliall come to pafs hereafter : for
the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
fure." No fooner had Daniel thus opened the dream, and
the interpretation thereof, but king Nebuchadnezzar
fell upon his face, and worfhipping Daniel, com
manded that they fliould offer an oblation and fweet
odours unto him. Which that Daniel refufed, and
inftructed

Part III. S ARC ED HISTORY. 345
inftructed the king to direct: his devotions to God,
may be gathered (though it be not expreffed) from
the king's anfwering and faying to Daniel, " Of a
truth, your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of
kings, and a revealer of fecrets, feeing thou couldeft
reveal this fecret."
Then did the king make Daniel a great man, even
ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief
of the governors over all the wife men of Babylon j
and not only gave him many great gifts, but, at his
requeft, fet his three friends (Hananiah, Mifhael, and .
Azariah) over the affairs of the province of Babylon
under him ; but Daniel himfelf fat in the gate of the
king, which is a periphrafis of his being next in au
thority to the king.
But after this (how long after it is fomewhat un
certain, probably about four years c) this haughty
king Nebuchadnezzar, puffed up with his victories
over the Jews, the Egyptians, and others (and per
haps more elevated in his own thoughts of himfelf,
from the interpretation given to his dream, where
by he was compared to the golden head of that ter
rible image which in his fleep he had feen) caufed
an image or ftatue of gold to be made, of an ex
traordinary height and bignefs ; for it was threefcore
cubits high (which, at the leaft, was thirty yards ;
the common cubit containing half a yard) and fix
cubits in breadth.
This monftrous image he fet up in the plain of
Dura, in the province of Babylon, and fummoned the
princes, governors, captains, judges, treafurers, coun
fellors, fheriffs, and other officers, to come to the de
dication of the image ; who being affembled together,
and ftanding before the image, an herald made pro
clamation thus :
" To you it is commanded, O people, nations,
and languages, that whensoever ye fhall hear the
found of the cornet, or trumpet, and other mufical
'« Dan, iii. A. M, 3430. inftruments,

346 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll,
inftruments, ye fhall fall down, and worfhip the
golden image which Nebuchadnezzar the king hath
fet up, upon pain of being caft into a burning fiery •
furnace." Upon this proclamation, and at the founding of
the mufick, all the people that were prefent of the
feveral nations and languages that were fubject to Ne
buchadnezzar, fell down and worfhipped this golden
image ; the poor captive Jews only excepted, who
for confcience fake were diffenters.
Some of the Chaldeans obferving that the Jews
did not conform to this public worfhip, turned in
formers againft them, complaining of them to the
king. And not thinking it advifeable to venture at
firft upon Daniel, who they knew was higheft in the
king's favour, they impeached Shadrach, Mefhach,
and Abednego (whom, for their advancement in the
government, they envied) ; telling the king that thefe
three Jews, whom he had fet over the affairs of the
province of Babylon, regarded him not ; they ferved
not his gods, nor worfhipped the golden image
which he had fet up.
Though Nebuchadnezzar was greatly enraged that
any fhould dare to difobey his decree ; yet, from an
innate principle of natural juftice, he would not con*
demn them unheard. Therefore he gave command
that they fhould be brought before him : and being
brought, he himfelf examined them, faying, " Is it
true, O Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, that is
charged againft you ? Do ye not ferve my gods, nor
worfhip the golden image which I have fet up ?"
Then taking for granted that they did not, and in
tending to give them this for a warning, he added;
" If for the future ye be ready, at the found of the
mufick, to fall down and worfhip the image that I
have made, well and good ; but if ye do not, ye
fhall be caft the fame hour into the midft of a burn
ing fiery furnace ; and who is that God (added this
impious king) that fhall deliver you out of my
hands ?" So

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. M
So prefumptuous a fpeech ftruck thefe good
men with a greater abhorrence of the idol. Where
fore they boldly told the king, they were not care
ful to anfwer him in that matter : " For if it be fo
(faid they) that thou fhouldft be fuffered to caft us
into the fiery , furnace, our God, whom we ferve, is
able to deliver us from being hurt therein, and he
will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if he
would not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we
will not ferve thy gods, nor worfhip the golden
image which thou haft fet up."
This refolute anfwer put Nebuchadnezzar into
fuch a fury, that the form of his countenance was
changed ; and in his heat giving order that the fur
nace fhould be heated feven times hotter than ordi
nary, he commanded fome of the ftrongeft men in
his army to bind Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego,
and caft them into the fiery furnace.
Accordingly the foldiers bound them (in their
clothes, even with their hats on) and caft them into
the - flaming furnace ; and though the heat was fo
violent, that it flew them that caft them in, yet they
falling down bound into the midft of the burning
fiery furnace had no harm ; but their bands looting
there, they walked in the midft of the fire.
This marvellous fight fo aftonifhed king Nebu
chadnezzar (who, to fatiate his revenge, was prefent at
this barbarous execution) that, rifing up in hafte,
he faid to his officers, " Did we not caft three men
bound into the midft of the fire ?" Which they con-r
firming, " Lo, (faid he) I fee four men loofe, walking
without hurt in the midft of the fire, and the form
of the fourth is like the Son of God."
Then coming nearer (as near as he durft) to the
mouth of the furnace, he fpoke to Shadrach, Me
fhach, and Abednego, faying, " Ye fervants of the
moft high God, come forth, and come hither."
Whereupon they came forth out of the midft of the
fire, and the princes, governors, arid captains, with the

348 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
the king's counfellors, and other fpedtators, as well
as the king himfelf, faw that the fire had no power
upon their bodies, for not an hair of their heads wa*
finged, neither were their coats difcoloured, nor had
they fo much as the fmell of fire upon them.
The king thereupon, being filled with admiration,
brake forth in this manner, " Bleffed be the God
of Shadrach, Mefhach, and Abednego, who hath
fent his angel, and delivered his fervants that trufted
in him ;" who, notwithftanding the king's threats,
have yielded up their bodies to the flames, rather
than they would ferve or worfhip any other god
than their own God. " Therefore (faid he) I make a
decree, that every people, nation, and language, who
fhall fpeak any thing amifs againft the God of Sha
drach, Mefhach, and Abednego, fhall be cut- in
pieces, and their houfes fhall be made a dunghill,
becaufe there is no other God that can deliver after this
fort." Then the king promoted Shadrach, Mefhach, and
Abednego in the province of Babylon ; which, no
doubt, was a great difappointment and trouble to
thofe that envied them for their preferment before.
After this d, king Nebuchadnezzar, being at reft
(from all his enemies) and flourifhing in his palace,
had another dream which frighted him, and his mu-
fings afterwards about it troubled him.
This was not fo difficult a cafe as the former ; for
then he had quite forgot his dream, but now he fo
well remembered it, that he could give a diftinct
account of it. And becaufe his magicians had told
him before, that if he would relate his dream to
them, they would not fail to fhew him the interpre
tation of it, he, holding it needlefs to trouble Daniel
again, fent for the wife men of Babylon (which ge
neral title comprehended all the magicians, aftrolo
gers, Chaldeans, diviners, and foothfayers) and told
his dream to them. But they were all at a lofs again,
* Dan. iv. A. M. 3436. and

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 349
and could no more tell him the meaning of this
dream, than they could tell him the dream itfelf be
fore ; fo that at laft, to their fliame, Daniel was forced to
be fent for again.
Daniel being come in before him, the king, by way
of introduction to the matter, thus fpake unto him :
« O Beltefhazzar (for that was the name the prince
of the eunuchs had at firft given him, anfwerable to
the name of Nebuchadnezzar's god) mafter of the
magicians (fo the king had made him, chap. ii. 48.)
becaufe I know that the fpi'rit of the holy gods is in
thee, and that therefore no fecret is too hard for thee
to trouble thee, tell me the vifions of my dream
which I have feen, and the interpretation thereof."
Then proceeding to relate the dream, he faid,
" Thus were the vifions of my head upon my bed :"
" I faw, and behold, a tree in the midft of the
earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree
grew, and was ftrong, and the height thereof reached
to heaven, and the fight thereof to the end of all the
earth. The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit
thereof much, and in it was meat for all. The beafts
of the field had fhadow under it, and the fowls of the
heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flefh. was
fed of it. I faw alfo in the vifions of my head upon
my bed, and behold, a watcher, and an holy one
(or an holy watcher or angel) came down from hea
ven, and crying aloud, faid thus, Hew down the
tree, and cut off his branches, fhake off his leaves,
and fcatter his fruit: let the beafts get away from
under it, and the fowls from his branches. .Never
thelefs, leave the flump of his roots in the earth, even
with a band of iron and brafs, in the tender grafs of
the field, and let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion be with the beafts in the grafs of
the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's,
and let a beaft's heart be given unto him, and let
feven times pafs over him. This matter is by the
decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word
of the ho|y ones ; to the intent that the living may
know

350 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
know, that the Moft High ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and giveth it to whomfoever he will, and fet-
teth up over it the bafeft of men.
" This (faid Nebuchadnezzar) is the dream that I
have feen. And now do thou, O _ Beltefhazzar, de
clare the interpretation thereof; for all the wife men
of my kingdom are not able to do it ; but thou art
able, becaufe the fpirit of the holy gods is in thee."
When Daniel had heard this dream, he ftood
aftonifhed for about the /pace of an hour, and his
thoughts troubled him ; not fo much from the diffi
culty of interpreting the dream, as for the fearful
judgment which he faw was portended by it to the
king. This confternation in him the king obferving,
faid to Daniel, " Let not the dream, nor the inter
pretation thereof trouble thee, but declare it freely,
and without fear, be it what it will."
" My lord (replied Daniel) I with this inaufpicious
dream might belong to them that hate thee, and
the interpretation thereof to thine enemies :
" For the tree that thou faweft, which grew and
was ftrong, whofe height reached unto the heaven,
and the fight thereof to all the earth; whofe leaves
were fair, and whofe fruit much, fo that in it was meat
for all; under which the beafts of the field dwelt,
and upon whofe branches the fowls of the heaven
had their habitation ; it is thou, O king, who art
grown and become ftrong, for thy greatnefs is grown
and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion unto
the end of the earth. And whereas thou faweft a
watchec and an holy one coming down from heaven,
and faying, Hew the tree down, and deftroy it ; yet
leave the flump of the roots thereof in the earth,
even with a band of iron and brafs, in the tender
grafs of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of
heaven, and let his portion be with the beafts of the
field, till feven times pafs over him : this is the in
terpretation, O king, and this is a decree of the Moft
High, which is come upon my lord the king.
They fhall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling fhall

Tart III. SACRED HISTORY. 351
/hall be with the beafts of the field, and they fliall
make thee to eat grafs as oxen, and they fhall wet
thee with the dew of heaven ; and feven times- fhall
pafs over thee, till thou knoweft that the Moft High
ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whom-
foever he will. And whereas they commanded to
leave the flump of the tree roots ; it fhev/s the king
dom fhall be fure unto thee, after that thou fhalt
have known that the Lord of heaven doth rule.
" And now (faid Daniel) that I have fhewed thee
the interpretation of thy dream, let my counfel, O
king, be acceptable to thee, which is, that thou break
off thy fins by righteoufnefs, and thy iniquities by
/hewing mercy to the poor (meaning perhaps the
poor captives, his brethren the Jews) if it may be a
lengthening of thy tranquillity."
It was not long before the judgment fore-fhewed
by this dream was executed upon king Nebuchad
nezzar c. For at the end of twelve months, as he
was walking in his royal palace at Babylon, he vaunt-
ingly faid, " Is not this great Babylon, which I have
built for the houfe of the kingdom, by the might of
my power, and for the honour of my majefty !"
Scarce was the word out of his mouth, when a
voice from heaven was heard to fay, " Unto thee,
O king Nebuchadnezzar, it is fpoken, the kingdom is
departed from thee ; and they fhall drive thee from
men, and thy dwelling fhall be with the beafts of the
field. They fhall make thee to eat grafs as oxen, and
feven times fhall pafs over thee, until thou knoweft
that the Moft High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomfoever he will." And there
upon was he, in the fame hour, driven from the
company of men, and did eat grafs as oxen; and his
body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs
were grown like eagle's feathefs, and his nails like
bird's claws, ^
e A, M. 3437. Thus

352 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Thus was this haughty king puniflied for his pre-
fumptuous pride. But at the end of the days (ap
pointed as well for his inftruction as his correction)
lifting up his eyes to heaven (from whence he had by
this time learned his only help muft come) his un
derftanding returned unto him, and then he bleffed
the Moft High, and praifed and honoured him that
liveth for ever; whofe dominion he now acknowledg
ed to be an everlafting dominion, and his kingdom
from generation to generation. And that all the in
habitants of the earth , are juftly reputed as nothing
in comparifon of him ; who in the army of heaven,
and among the inhabitants of the earth, doth ac-.
cording to his will, and none can flay his hand, or
fey unto him, what doll thou ?
When therefore his reafon was reftored unto him,
and he was qualified for government again f, his
princes and counfellors (the fame perhaps that had
depofed him) fought unto him, and he was re-efta-
blifhed in his kingdom, and excellent majefty was
added unto him.
And then, as an acknowledgment both of his
own great fin, and God's greater mercy to him, he pu-
blifhed a declaration, directed
TO ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS AND
LANGUAGES, THAT DWELL
IN ALL THE EARTH.
Wherein, having premifed that he thought it good
to fhew or fet forth the figns and wonders which
the high God had wrought towards him, he related
the whole courfe of the matter at large (to wit, the
dream, the interpretation of it, and the fulfilling
thereof upon him, as is before expreffed) and then
concluded: e A. M. 3444. " Now

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 353
" Now I Nebuchadnezzar do praife, extol, and ho
nour the King of heaven; all whofe works arc
truth, and his ways judgment ; and thofe that walk
in pride (as I did) he is able to abafe."
Of the time or manner of this king's death, we
have not any account in the Holy Scriptures.
He is fuppofed not to have lived long after his re-
ftoration, but to have left his throne to his fon Evil
Merodach, who is thought to have fupplied his place
in the government during the time that he herded
with the beafts.
This king Evil Merodach, when he came to have
the government entirely in his own hands8, took
compaffion of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and releafed
him from his imprifonment, in the feven-and-thirtieth
year of his captivity; and treating him kindly, not
only changed his prifon-garments, and affigned him
a conftant daily allowance for his own maintenance
during his life, but gave him the precedence of all
the other kings his fubjects that were with him in
Babylon. , This is all the account we have in Sacred Hiftory
of this king Evil Merodach, to whom fucceeded his
voluptuous fon Belfhazzar.
In his firft year it was, that Daniel had his dream
and vifion of the four beafts, reprefenting the four
monarchies related in his 7th chapter. And in the
third year of his reign, Daniel had that remarkable
vifion of the ram and the he-goat, with the inter
pretation thereof, fet forth in chapter viii. to which
two chapters I refer the reader for a particular ac
count of each.
After which (though the relation of it is placed be
fore) this luxurious king, making a great feaft to a
thoufand of his lords, commanded to have the golden
and filver veffels (which his grandfather Nebuchad
nezzar had taken out 'of the temple at Jerufalem)
S ? Kings xxv. Jer. xxxii. A. M. 3446,.
Vpl. II. A a brought

354 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
brought forth, that he and his princes, with his wives
and concubines, might drink wine therein ; which
accordingly was done h. And (although, as other hi
ftories inform us, the city was at that time ftraitly
befieged) they caroufed and drank wine, and in their
Cups praifed the gods of gold, and of filver, of brafs,
of iron, of wood, and of ftone.
But in the midft of this their profane revelling
came forth the fingers of a man's hand, and wrote
upon the plafter of the wall of the king's palace;
and the king feeing the part of the hand that wrote,
was ftruck with fo great amazement and terror, that
his countenance was changed, his joints loofed, his
knees fmote one againft the other, and he was much
troubled in his mind concerning it.
Wherefore he called earneftly to have the aftrolo
gers, Chaldeans, and footh-fayers brought in, that
they might read that writing, and fhew him the in
terpretation thereof; promifing that whofoever did
it, fliould for his reward be clothed in fcarlet, wear
a chain of gold about his neck, and be the third ruler
in the kingdom. But alas! the king's wife men
were in this cafe all fools ; for fo far were they from
/hewing him the interpretation of that writing, that'
not one among them all could read it.
This put them all, both king and lords, into fo great
fright and diforder, that the old queen, (probably the
dowager of king Nebuchadnezzar) hearing the noife
they made, came into the banqueting-houfe among
them, and faluting the king, faid unto him, " Let
not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy counte
nance be changed on this occafion; for there is a
man in thy kingdom in whom is the fpirit of the
holy gods. And in the days of thy grandfather, light,
and underftanding, and wifdom, like the wifdom of
the gods, being found in him, thy grandfather Ne
buchadnezzar made him mafter of the magicians,,
aftrplogers, Chaldeans, and footh-fayers ; this is Da-
11 Dan. v. niel,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 355
niel, whom the king named Beltefhazzar. Where
fore let him be called, and he will both read it, and
fhew the interpretation ; for an excellent fpirit, with
knowledge and underftanding to interpret dreams,
to unfold hard fentences, and refolve doubts, hath
been found in him.
Daniel hereupon being brought in, the king told
him he had received a fair character of him, for ex
cellent wifdom and underftanding, in giving inter
pretations and refolving doubts. Then laying open
the inability of his own wife men, he made Daniel an
offer of the fame reward which he had before made
to them, in cafe he fhould read and interpret the
writing. Daniel (not churlifhly, but modeftly, anfwered,
" Let thy gifts be to thyfelf (or keep thy gifts to
thyfelf) and give thy rewards to another (as much as
to fay, I expect not any gift or reward from thee) ;
yet I will read the writing to the king, and make
known to him the interpretation."
But before he would do that, he put the king in
mind of the dealings of God with his grandfather
Nebuchadnezzar, thereby preparing him to fee and
acknowledge the juftice of God upon him and his
houfe, and thus he began :
" O thou king, faid he, the moft high God gave
•Nebuchadnezzar thy grandfather a kingdom, and
majefty and glory, and honour. And for the maje-
fty that he gave him, all people, nations, and lan
guages trembled and feared before him. So great
and abfolute was his power, that whom he would he
flew, and whom he would he kept alive ; whom he
would he fet up, and whom he would he put down;
But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind
hardened in pride, he was depofed from his kingly
throne, and they took his glory from him, He was
driven from the tons, of men, and his heart was made
like the beafts, and his dwelling was with the wild
afles. He was fed with grafs like oxen, and his bo
dy was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that
7 A a 2 the

356 SACRED HISTORY. PartlU,
the moft high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and
that he appointeth over it whomfoever he will. And
thou/his grandfon, O Belfhazzar, though thou kneweft
all this, haft not humbled t thine heart, but haft lifted
up thyfelf againft the Lord of heaven. And at thy
command thy fervants have brought the veffels of
his houfe before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy
wives and thy concubines, have drank wine in them,
And thou haft praifed the gods of filver and gold,
of brafs, iron, wood, and ftone, which neither fee,
hear, nor underftand ; but the God in whofe hand thy
breath is, and who has power over all thy ways, haft
thou not glorified. Then, or thereupon, the part of
the hand (which thou haft feen) was fent from him,
and this writing (which neither thou hor any of thy
wife men can read) was written,"
Then read Daniel the writing, which was this :
MENE MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,
And in the repeating it putting PERES inftead of
UPHARSIN, (as fignifying the fame) he thus in
terpreted the words :
" MENE, God hath numbered thy kingdom
(that is, the term of thy kingdom) and finifhed it."
The doubling pf which word imports certainty of
the thing.
(< T E K E L, Thou art weighed in the balances, and
art found wanting."
" PERES, Thy kingdom is divided, and given
to the Medes and Perfians."
Though we cannot fuppofe Belfhazzar was pleafed
with this interpretation ; yet we find he had fo much
juftice and honour as to make good his promife;
for at his command, they clothed Daniel with fear-
let, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and by
proclamation declared him the third ruler in the
kingdom. But Belfhazzar's reign after this was but fhort,
God, according tp the handwriting, had numbered it,
an4

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 357
and finifhed it. For that very . night was Belfhaz
zar, the king of the Chaldeans, flain by the Medes
that at that time befieged Babylon ; who taking the
advantage^ while the Chaldeans had been thus re
velling, and were overcharged with wine* to divide
the river Euphrates, poffeffed themfelves of the city,
and furprifed the court ; and Darius the Mede, being
about fixty-two years old, (by the help of his fon-
in-law, the great Cyrus) took upon him the king
dom. As foon as Darius was fettled on the throne ', he
appointed one hundred and twenty princes to be over
the whole kingdom ; and fet three prefidents over
thefe, to whom they fhould give account of affairs,
that the king might neither have trouble, nor fuftain
damage, Of thefe three prefidents, Daniel was the firft, or
had the chief place. For becaufe an excellent fpirit
was obferved to be in him, the king not only prefer
red him above the reft of the prefidents and princes,
but thought to fet him over the whole realm.
This begat high emulation in the other prefidents
and princes ; who grudging that Daniel, a ftranger,
and a captive, fliould be fo great in the royal fa
vour, to be thus raifed above them, confpired to
work his ruin.
And firftj they fought to find fome occafion againft
him, concerning his publick adminiftration in the go^
vernment ; but he was fo faithful, and fo exactly care
ful and diligent therein, that they could find no fault
nor error in him.
Whereupon, concluding they fhould find no occa
fion againft him, except it fhould be concerning the
exercife of his religion in the law of his God
(wherein he differed and diffented from them), they
confulted together 'how to lay a fnare for him in that
refpect. They knew he ftood too fair in the favour,
and ftrong in the affection of the king, to be diredly
1 Dan. vi.
A a 3 ftruck

358 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
ftruck at, therefore they contrived a way to give him
a fide blow.
They went together in a body to the king ; and
after the common falutation [King Darius, live for
fever !] they thus addreffed him :
" All the prefidents of the kingdom, the gover
nors and the princes, the counfellors and the captains
(the whole eftate, civil and military) have confulted
together to eftablifh a royal ftatute, and to make a
firm decree, That whofoever fhall afk a petition of
any god or man, for thirty days, fave of thee, O king,
he fhall be caft into the den of lions. Now there
fore, O king, eftablifh the decree, and fign the writ
ing, that it be not changed, according to the law of
the Medes andPerfians, which altereth not."
The king, miffed at firft by a falfe fuggeftion in
the beginning or preamble of the bill, that all the
prefidents (whereof Daniel he knew was one, and the
chief) had agreed to it ; and not fufpecting any trea
cherous dealing, but taking it for a teftimony of
their great affection and high veneration for him at
his entrance to the throne, without any hefitation con-
fenting to their requeft, forthwith figned this • bill for
conformity, and thereby paffed it into a ftaitute or
decree. When Daniel knew that the writing was figned,
he went into his houfe ; and (though worldly policy
might have fuggefted to him, that, fince the decree
was but for thirty days, he might, for felf-preferva-
tion from fo certain and cruel a punifhment, have
forborne praying for that time, at leaft publickly ; and
if he muft needs pray, have prayed fo privately in
his clofet, that no man fhould have been able to
have convi&ed him ; yet he) not altering in the leaft
his accuftomed courfe, but kneeling upon - his knees
in his chamber, with his windows open towards Je
rufalem, prayed three times a day, and gave thanks
before his God, juft as he was wont to do before the
decree was made. Thgy*

Part III. SACRED HISTORY.

359

They who had fet this trap for him, were not wanting
to watch him, that they might inform againft him.
And having quickly taken him in the act, they went
to the king, and having put him in mind of the de
cree he had lately made, and drawn him to acknow
ledge that, according to the law of the Medes and
Perfians, it was unalterable ; they complained of Da
niel, that he, (who was but one of the children of the
captivity of Judah) in contempt of both the king and
the law, had made his petition three times a day,
not to the king, but to his own God.
The king now too late law their defign ; and being
fore difpleafed (not only with them, but even with
himfelf) that he had been thus over-reached by them,
he fet himfelf heartily to fave Daniel, and laboured
till the going down of the fun to deliver him. But
the confpiring princes held him to it ; for they, being
all affembled together, faid to him : Know, O king,
that the law of the Medes and Perfians is fuch, that
no decree nor flatute which the king eftablifheth may
be changed.
. The king therefore being fain, though very unwilling
ly, to yield to them, they brought Daniel k; and (after
the king, unwittingly prophefying, had faid unto him,
" Thy God, whom thou ferveft continually, will de
liver thee") they caft him into the den-of lions ; and
for their fatisfaction, that they might be affured that
neither the king, nor any of the people (to whom
Daniel, for his great wifdom, juftice, and other vir
tues, was very dear) might privately refcue him,
a ftone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the
den, and fealed not only with the king's own fignet
(whom, in this cafe, they could hardly confide in) but
with the fignet of his lords alfo.
- Then went the forrowful king to his palace, where,
he paffed the night in falling and watching ; and rife-
ing very early in the morning, went in hafte to the
den of the lions. Whither being come, he cried
k A. M. 3471. "
A a 4 with

360 SACRED HISTORY. Part II.
with a lamentable voice unto Daniel ; " O Daniel,
fervant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou
ferveft continually, able to deliver thee from the
lions ?"
cc Yes, O king, replied Daniel, my God hath fent
his angel, who hath fhut the lions mouths, that they
have not hurt me ; forafmuch as before him innocen
cy was found in me ; and alfo before thee, O king,
have I done no hurt."
Exceeding glad was the king that Daniel had
been preferved, and commanded that he fhould be
taken up out of the den. Which being done, the
king commanded that Daniel's accufers fhould be
brought and caft into the lions den, they, with their
wives and children ; between whom and Daniel this
difference quickly appeared, that whereas the lions
would not touch Daniel, they fell eagerly on thefe,
and having the mattery of them, brake their very bones
in pieces, and that before they came to the bottom of
the den.
Upon this miraculous deliverance of Daniel, king
Darius publifhed the following proclamation :
« TO ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS, and
L A N G U AG E S, that dwell in all the earth, peace
be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in
every dominion of my kingdom, men tremble and
fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living
God, ftedfaft for ever. His kingdom is that which
fliall not be deftroyed, and his dominion fhall remain
unto the end. He delivereth and refeueth, and he
worketh figns and wonders in heaven and in earth,
who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the
lions." In the firft year of this king Darius ', the prophet
Daniel, underftanding by books the number of the
years concerning which the word of the Lord had come
to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplifh
feventy years in the defolations of Jerufalem (Jer,
1 Dan. ix. XXV.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 361
xxv. 12. and chap. xxix. 10.); and thereupon hum
bling himfelf with fatting, and in fackcloth and
afhes, to feek the Lord by prayer and fupplications,
with confeffion of fins, particular and general; he
was informed by the angel Gabriel concerning the
feventy weeks and other myfterious numbers. Which,
though explained then to him, remain (at leaft fome
of them) myfterious ftill to many, and need a Ga
briel (a man of God) to give the genuine meaning
of them.
But Daniel flourifhed, not only through the reign
of this king Darius, but in the reign alfo of his fon-
in-law Cyrus m. In whofe third year he had that ex
traordinary vifion, relating mose efpecially to the
latter times of the Jewifh Hate, fet forth in the xth,
xith, and xiith chapters of his prophecy; which is the
laft account the holy text gives of him. Of his death
alfo the Holy Scripture is filent. But he is faid by
others to have died a natural death in the land of
the Chaldeans, and to be honourably buried there,
being laid by himfelf in the royal fepulchre. Doro-
thei Synopfis.
But when or wherefoever this holy prophet died
(for Dorotheus is not greatly to be relied on, unlet*
confirmed by better authority) he had the fatisfaction
to fee (before his death) liberty given for the return
of his captive brethren, and for the rebuilding of the
temple at Jerufalem. The account of which we muft
feek from the learned fcribe Ezra,
m Dan. x.

THE

THE

BOOK

O F

EZRA. t
CONTAINING
An Hiftory of about forty-nine Years.

IN the firft year of Cyrus king ofPerfia* (that the
word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah the
prophet (Jer. xxix^jo.) might be fulfilled) the
Lord ftirred up the fpirit "of that -king, fo that he
made proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and
put it alfo in writing after this manner :
" Thus faith Cyrus king of Perfia, The Lord God
of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth ;
and he hath charged me to build him a houfe at
Jerufalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among
you of all his people that is willing to go ? His God
* Ezra. i. A. M. 3479. be

364 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
be with him, and let him go up to Jerufalem, and
build the houfe of the Lord God of Ifrael, the God
who was worfhipped in Jerufalem, for he is the God.
And whofoever remaineth behind his company (for
want of ability) let the men of the place where he
fojourneth help him; With filver and with gold, With
goods and with beafts, befide the free-will offering
for the houfe of God."
This was that Cyrus, of whom,- about twO hun
dred years before, the Lord, by his prophet Ifaiahj
faid by name, " He is my fhepherd, and fhall per
form all my pleafure ; even faying to Jerufalem^
Thou fhalt be built ; and to the temple, Thy foun
dation fhall be laid," Ifa, xliv. 28.
Upon this proclamation, the chief of the fathers of
Judah and Benjamin, with the priefts and the Levites,
and all others whofe fpirit God had ftirred up to go
prepared for their journey for Judea, being in num
ber about fifty thoufand perfons in all, of all forts,
under the conduct of Zerubbabel (called alfo Zeroba-
bel, and by the Perfians named Shefhbazzar) whom king
Cyrus had appointed to be their governor. Unto
whom alfo he caufed to be delivered the veffels of the
houfe of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar, when he
brought them from Jerufalem, had put into the houfe
of his gods, of which this good fcribe Ezra gives an
inventory, chap. i. ver. 9, 10. the fum total whereof
amounteth to five thoufand and four hundred vef
fels, ver. n.
Thefe captive Jews being thus returned, and fettled
by their governor in their refpective cities, they all
gathered together, as one man, to Jerufalem, in the
feventh month following b. And although they were
afraid of the people (that then inhabited the country)
yet they built the altar of the God of Ifrael ; and
having fet it in its place, offered rhe daily burnt of
fering thereon, bpth morning and evening, according
h Ezra iii. as

Part IIL SACRED HT5 TORY. 365
as was commanded in the law of -Mofes, and kept the
feveral folemn feafts appointed by God to be held
in that month.
Which done, they, began to hire workmen, and
provide timber to be brought by the Zidonians from
Lebanon to Joppa, according to the grant they had
of king Cyrus for the building of the houfe of the Lord.
And in the fecond month of the fecond year of
their return from the captivity L, Zerubbabel the go
vernor, and Jefhua (or Jofhua) the chief-priefts, en-
conraging the reft, and appointing furveyors of the
work, they began to lay the foundation of the houfe,
the priefts jn their apparel with trumpets, and the
Levites, the fons of Afaph, with cymbals, finging by
turns, and praifing and giving thanks unto the Lord,
in thofe words of the Pfalmift, <c O give thanks unto
the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy, endureth for
ever," Pfal. cxxxvi. 1, &c. And the people fhouted
with a great fhout when they praifed the Lord, be
caufe the foundation of the houfe was laid,
But many of the priefts and Levites, and chief of
the fathers, who, being antient men, had feen the
firft houfe, wept with a loud voice, when they faw,
by the foundation of this, how much fhort it was like
to come of the former. Thus were the different
noifes of mourning and rejoicing intermixed and con
founded together ; fo- that the people could not di-
ftinguifh the noife of the fhouts for joy from the
noife of weeping. But they had other caufe of weep
ing befide this, >,
For when their adverfaries (thofe mungrel Sama
ritans who were planted in Samaria, and the other
cities of Ifrael \ in the room of thofe Ifraelites whom
Salmaneffer Icing of Affyria had long before carried
away captive, 2 Kings xvii.) heard that the children
pf the captivity of Judah had begun to build the
t.cmple unto the Lord God of Ifrael, they came to
c A. M. 3481". * Ezraiv. Zerubbabel,

366 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and faid
unto them, " Let us build with you, for we feek
your god as well as ye ; and we do facrifice unto him
ever fince the days of Efar-haddon, king of Affur,
who brought us up hither."
But Zerubbabel and Jefhua, and the reft of the
chief of the fathers of Ifrael, gave them this Ihort an
fwer : " Ye have nothing to do with us to build an
houfe unto our God ; but we ourfelves together will
build unto the Lord God of Ifrael, as Cyrus the king
pf Perfia hath commanded us."
This anfwer fo difpleafed the people of the land,
that they fet themfelves thenceforward to difcourage
the Jews, and difturb them in their building. And
finding that did not do, but that the Jews went on
notwithftanding, they hired counfellors againft them
to fruftrate their purpofe.
This hiring of counfellors is fuppofed to be a fee
ing or bribing fome of the prime minifters of flate
in the Perfian court ; that they, by mifreprefenting
the Jews and their undertaking, might alienate the
mind of the king from them ; as, it feems, they did
all the days of Cyrus, (who making war in Scythia,
had left the government at home to his fon Cambyfes
during his abfence) and until the reign of Darius king
of Perfia.
Thefe Samaritan adverfaries wrote letters alfo
againft the Jews to feveral of the kings of Perfia
fucceffively; as to king Ahafuerus in the beginning
of his reign, and to Artaxerxes before. The tenor of
which letter, directed to Artaxerxes, from Rekum the
chancellor, and Shimfhai the fecretary, and the reft
of their companions, in the name of the nation of that
mixed people, whom the great and noble Afnapper
(or Efar-haddon) had brought over and fet in the ci
ties of Samaria, with all the reft that were on that
fide the river, was thus :
<c Be it known unto the king, that the Jews, which
came up from thee to us, are building Jerufalem,
that rebellious and wicked city ; and having laid the
foundations,

Part 111. SAC KrVP H l&Jf; O R Y. 307
foundations, are fetting up the walls thereof. But if
this city be builded, and the walls fet again, then
will they not pay toll, tribute and cuftom, v/hereby
the king's revenue will be lelfened. Now becaufe
we have maintenance from the king's palace, we held
it not meet for us to fee the king's difhonour, and
conceal it j and therefore have we fent and certified
, the king thereof, that fearch may be made in the
book of the records of thy fathers ; fo fhalt thou find^
and know, that this hath been a rebellious city, and
that they have moved fedition within the fame of old
time, for which caufe it was deftroyed. And we fur
ther certify the king, that if this city be built again,
and the walls thereof fet up, it will be a means that
thou fhalt have no portion on this fide the river."
To this letter the king returned anfwer (directed to
Rehum the chancellor, and Shimfhai their fecretary,
with their companions that dwelt in Samaria, and un
to the reft beyond the river) to this effect :
" The letter, which ye fent unto us, hath been
plainly read before me : and at my command, fearch
having been made, it is found, that this city of old
time hath made infurrection againft kings ; and that
rebellion and fedition hath been made therein. There
have been mighty kings alfo over Jerufalem, which
have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and
toll, tribute, and cuftom have been paid to them.
Give ye now therefore commandment to caufe thefe
men to ceafe, and that the city be not builded until
further commandment be given from me. Take heed
now, that ye fail not to do this, left the king be en
damaged," When the copy of this letter was read before Re-
hum and Shimfhai, with their companions, they went
up in hafte to Jerufalem unto the Jews there, and
made them to ceafe by force and power. Thus was
a ftop put to the building of the houfe of God at Je
rufalem ; and the work ceafed, unto the fecond year
of the reign of Darius king of Perfia. Which how
Jpn^ it was, is fomewhat uncertain, and that incer-
^ tainty

368 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
tainty arifes much from the different names given by
hiftorians to the fame Perfian kings.
This Darius (in whofe fecond year the work went
on again) is generally taken to be the fon of queen
Either ; whofe ftory falling within this interyal,
wherein the building of the temple was hindered, we
are the better at leifure now to enter uppn it ; and
thus it was,

THE

THE

BOOK

O F

ESTHER.

AHASUERUS king of Perfia (mentioned
before by Ezra, chap. iv. a) and fuppofed to
be the fon of Darius Hyftafpis, in the third
year of his reign made a feaft unto all his princes
and fervants, the power of Perfia and Media, tlfe
nobles and governors of his provinces, whereof he
had an hundred twenty and feven under his dominion.
And to fhew his great riches and honour, he held
this feaft for an hundred and fourfcore days together,
which is much about half a year. And when that was
ended, he made another feaft unto all the people,
great and fmall, that were in his royal city Shufhan.
Which latter feaft he kept for feven days in the
court of the garden belonging to his palace ; where
they were entertained under canopies (or pavilions)
of white, green, and blue, faftened with cords of
fine linen and purple, to filver rings in pillars, of
marble. The beds (whereon they eat ; for in thofe
» Either i. A. ,M. 3491.
Vol. II. B b times

570 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
times beds were ufed to eat on, as tables are now)
Were of gold and filver, upon a pavement of por
phyry, alabafter, and marble of divers colours.
Wine they had in abundance out of the king's cel
lars, and that too filled in veffels of gold, every one
differing from another^ to fet forth the flate and mag
nificence Of the king ; but that which crowned the
feaft was, that the drinking was according to the law,
which provided that none fhould be compelled or
preffed to drink; the king having given exprefs
charge to all the officers of hrshoufe, that every man
/hould be left to his own pleafure for drinking.
The queen alfo, whofe name Nyas Vafhti (thought
by fome, but with no great likelihood, to be the
daughter of Cyrus, and fifter to Caqibyfes) made a
feaft for the Women, as the king had Mprte for the
men, in the royal houfe which belonged to the king.
And that, perhaps, might be one reafon, why the
king kept his popular feaft abroad, under pavilions
or canopies, ver. 6. fo that there was feafting within ,
doors and without.
On the feventh day of the king's feaft to the
people, when the king's heart was merry with wine,
he fent his feven chamberlains to bring queen Vafhti
before him, with the crown royal, that he might fhew
the people before they parted, and the princes, her
beauty ; for fhe was fair to look on.
But the (whether not liking to be made fo pub
lick a fpectacle) or having in her feafting tailed too
liberally of the wine ; for her name fignifies drinking)
unadvifedly refufed to come at the king's command t
which fo publick affront put the king in fo great a
paffion, that in the heat of his anger he confulted
his feven princes (who, as prime counfellors, that
underftood the conftitution of the government, were
next unto him in the kingdom) what fhould be done,
according to law, unto the queen, for her contempt
In difobeying the king's command.
Memucan thereupon, who was one, and the laft, of
thefe feven princes (a married man we may fuppofe) told

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 371
told the king, " That queen Vafhti had not done
wrong to the king only, but to all the princes alfo 5
and indeed to all the people that were in all the king's
provinces : for, faid he, when this deed of the queen's
fliall come abroad, and it fliall be known unto all the
women, that king Ahafuerus commanded queen Vafh
ti to be brought in before him, and fhe refuting, would
not come ; they will learn, by her example, to de-
fpife their hufbands," and the ladies of Perfia and Me
dia will urge this as a precedent unto all the king's
princes, and that will give occafion for too much
contempt on the one hand, and wrath on the other,
to rife between them. If therefore (added he) it
pleafe the king, let there go forth a royal command
ment from him, and let it be enrolled amongft the
laws of the Perfians and of the Medes (which are un
alterable) that Vafhti come no more before king Aha-*
fuerus, and let the king give her royal eftate unto an
other that is better than' fhe ; and when this decree
of the king's fhall be publifhed throughout all this great
empire, all the wives will give honour to their huf-
bands, both great and fmall.
Memucan, I obferved, was the laft in order of the
feven princes, yet he fpake firft. Whether from thence
was taken the cuftom ufed amongft our Englifh peers,
that in judicial caufes the youngeft delivers his judg
ment firft, I know not. But this counfel of Memucan,
I find, did fo well pleafe the king and his princes,
that they all confenting, it was forthwith put in ex
ecution, and letters were fent into all the king's pro
vinces ; the tenor whereof was, that every man fhould
bear rule over his own houfe, and that it fhould be
fo publifhed in every province, according to the lan
guage of every people. And thus, for that time,
the men got the upper hand again of the women.
But after the king had flept upon it, and his anger
was over, he began to remember Vafhti b, both what
the had done, and what was decreed againft her;
h Either ii.
B b 2 which

37^ SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
which being obferved by his fervants (who might
well conclude, that if fhe fhould be received into
favour again, fhe would meditate revenge upon them);
they, to divert the king's mind from running back to
her, and to keep up their own intereft with him,
contrived a project, that the king fhould appoint of
ficers in all the provinces of his kingdoms, who
Ihould take up all the fair young virgins they could
find, and bring them from all parts to the king's pa
lace at Shufhan ; where being put into the houfe for
the women (under the care of Hege, one of the king's
chamberlains, and keeper of the women) they fhould
be furnifhed with all things neceffary to their purifi
cation, that from amongft them the king might
choofe one to be queen inftead of Vafhti,
A propofal fo adapted to the king's inclination
could not chufe but find acceptance with him ; and
being forthwith put in execution, brought many fair
maids to the court.
Among thofe that, on this occafion, were preffed'
into this fervice, was the fair Either, who was alfo
called Hadaffah, and in profane authors Atoffa.
She was the daughter of one Abihail, a Jew, uncle
of Mordecai the Jew, who had been carried captive
from Jerufalem, by Nebuchadnezzar king of Baby
lon, in the captivity of Jeconiah king of Judah ; and
her father and mother both dying when the was very
young, her Coufin Mordecai, who lived in Shufhan
(at that time the royal city of the Perfian empire)
took her for his own daughter, and brought her up.
When Either was brought into the Gynscem, or
houfe for women, and delivered to Hege (or Hegai)
the chamberlain, fhe pleafed him fo well, and ob
tained fo much kindnefs from him, that he appointed
feven maids to wait on her ; and not only preferred
her to- the beft lodgings in the houfe, but fpeedily
gave her things for purification, that fhe might be
ready with the foremoft.
For the order was, that every one of them fhould
be twelve months in the houfe of the maidens, to
purify

Part III. SARCED HISTORY. 373
purify and prepare themfelves, before they might be
brought to the king. Of which time, fix months
they fpent in purifying with oil of myrrh, and the
other fix with fweet odours. After which they took
their turns to go in unto the king, and were furnifhed
by the chamberlain that had the care of them, with
whatfoever they defired to have, to fet themfelves off
with. But having fpent their night with the king,
they returned next mornrng to another houfe of the
women, under the charge of Shaafhgaz, another of
the king's chamberlain's, who had the care of the
king's concubines. And none of them that had once
been with the king came any more to him, unlefs he
fent for her again by name.
Either had not yet difcovered her kindred, nor
what people fhe was of; for Mordecai had charged
her that fhe fhould not. But he took Care to walk
every day before the court of the women's houfe,
that he might underftand how /he did, and what was
like to become of her.
It was in the feventh year of king Ahafuerus his
reign c, and in the tenth month of that year, that
Efther's turn came to go in unto the king. And
whereas the other virgins fet themfelves off with the
richeft and fineft ornaments, that they might be the
more acceptable to the king, every one underftand
ing that a crown would be the- prize to her that
fliould gain -him to herfelf, Either being drawn
againft her will to this, which fhe knew was a breach
of the law of God, and a violation of her religion
(and therefore only fubmitted to it, as that which
her captive condition had fubjected her unto) re
quired nothing of the chamberlain to adorn or fet
her off, as not defiring to be advanced by fuch means.
Yet as her native beauty, and courteous deport
ment, gained her favour from all that beheld her;
fo the king was fo taken with her, that he loved
her above all the others ; and the obtained fuch grace
and favour in his fight, that fetting the royal crown
e A. M. 3495-
B b 3 upon

374 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
upon her head, he made her queen inftead of depofed
Vafhti. And at the celebration of his nuptials with
her, he made a great feaft unto all his princes and
fervants, which was called Efther's feaft ; and for her
fake, not only gave gifts according to the magnifi
cence of his flate, but for that time eafed alfo the pro
vinces of their tribute.
Her guardian kinfman, Mordecai, had yet no high
er preferment, than to fit in the king's gate ; which
implies (as fome think) he had an office at court,
though perhaps it might be but that of porter or
u flier of the hall. For he had charged Either not
to difcover her kindred or people ; and fhe ftill pay7
ing the fame obfervance to his commands, as fhe had
always done when fhe lived with him, had kept it
fecret : which fhews how little ambitious he Was of
court preferment.
But now an occafion happened1, which brought
Mordecai, though not fuddenly, into greater note iq
court. For while he fat in the king's gate, he came
to underftand that Bigtham and Terefh, two pf the
king's chamberlains, that kept the door of the king's
chamber, fought to lay violent hands upon the king,
Of this plot Mordecai forthwith gave notice to queen
Efther, and fhe acquainted the king therewith in
Mordecai's name. Whereupon the two chamber^-
lains, being feized and convidted, were both hanged
for it ; and a record of the whole procefs was made
and entered in the Perfian annals, but Mordecai was
not prefently taken notice of for it.
For the king's mind was too much taken up with a
new favourite, whom he advanced on a fudden d, and
fet his feat above all the princes that were about him.
This was Haman, the fon of Ammedatha the Agagite,
whom fome fuppofe to be defcended from Agag, the
¦ king of the Amalekites, whom the prophet Samuel
flew, i Sam. xv. 33. But Agag was rather a title of
royal office, than name of a perfon or family.
d Either jij.
Upon

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 375
Upon this advancement of Haman, all the king's
fervants that were in (or attended at) the king's
gate, bowed to and reverenced Haman, becaufe the
king had given command they fhould do fo; only
Mordecai bowed not to him, nor did him reverence.
Tremellius and Junius give two reafons for this j
one, becaufe Haman was of that nation (an Amale-
kite) againft which God had appointed the Jews to
have -war for ever, Exod. xvii. 14. Deut. xxv. 17.
The other (which deferves efpecial regard) becaufe
that honour was due to God only.
Mordecai, it feems, for a while paffed in the crowd,
without being obferved by Haman himfelf ; but the reft
of the king's fervants, who themfelves were forward
to crouch to the favourite, began to pick a quarrel
with Mordecai, afking him, " Why he tranfgreffed
the king's commandment ?" And when they had thus
urged him from day to day, and faw he regarded not
what they faid, they, willing to try how he would
come off, informed Haman both of his behaviour
towards him, and alfo that he was a Jew.
When haughty Haman underftood that Mordecai
did not bow nor do him reverence, he was full of
wrath, and forthwith meditated revenge. But think
ing Mordecai too mean a victim to be facrificed
alone to his ambition, he fcorned to lay hands on
him only, but contrived how he might deftroy with
him all the Jews that were throughout the whole
kingdom, of Ahafuerus, for his fake.
And becaufe this was a great undertaking, Ha
inan's partifans, unto whom he had imparted his pur
pofe, did caft pur (that is the lot) before Haman,
from -day to day, from the firft month to the twelfth,
that they might know (faith the marginal note) what
month and day fhould be good ro enterprize this
thing, that it might have good foceefs.
At length having fixed the time, Haman addref
fing' himfelf to the king, thus opened the matter to
hjm : „,,
B b 4 " There

3p6 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
" There is (faid he) a certain people fcattered
abroad and difperfed among the people, in all the
provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are different
from all people; neither keep they the king's law."
Thus Haman, from Mordecafs not obferving that
particular command for bowing to him, fallacioufly
and malicioufly inferred againft all the Jews, that they
kept not the king's laws. " For which reafon (faid
he) it is not for the king's profit to fuffer them.
Therefore (added he) if it pleafe the king, let a de
cree be made, and fent forth in writing, that they be
deftrpyed. And I will pay ten thoufand talents of
filver (a round fum, amounting to three millions,
feven hundred and fifty thoufand pounds of Englifh
money) to the hands of them that fhall have the
charge of the bufinefs to bring it into the king's
treafures." Upon this, the marginal note in the
bible is, " Thefe be the two arguments which com
monly the worldlings and the wicked ufe toward
princes againft the godly, that is, the contempt of
their laws, and diminifhing of their profit, without
refpect how God is either pleafed or difpleafed."
The unwary king (too much favourite-ridden, and
little thinking that his beloved Either was one of that
people, whom his minion favourite would have de
ftroyed) took off his ring, and gave it unto Haman
(as Pharaoh king of Egypt had done to Jofeph, Gen.
xli. 42.) as a token that he gave him full authority
to do what he would in that matter; telling him
withal, that he gave him not only the ten thoufand
talents of filver, which he had offered, but the people
alfo, to dp with them as it fhould feem good unto
him, Haman, having obtained this grant, was not back
ward to put it, in execution. But the king's fecreta-
ries were forthwith called for, and letters were writ
ten, by Flaman's direction, unto the king's lieute
nants, and to the governors that were over every
province, and to the' rulers of every people in their
refpective languages ; wherein they were charged to

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 377
to deftroy, to kill, and to caufe to perifh all Jews,
both young and old, little children and women, in
one day. And the letters bearing date the thirtieth
day of the firft month, the thirteenth day of the
twelfth month was the day appointed for the maf-
facre ; and to animate their enemies againft them,
the fpoil of the Jews was given them for a prey.
Thefe letters, being written in. the ' king's name,
and fealed with the king's feal, which Haman had
gotten for that purpofe, were difpatch.ed into all the
king's provinces, and the polls haftened out by the
king's command. Which done, the king and Ha
man fell to their cups ; but the city Shufhan, from
whence this decree went forth, was in perplexity
about it.
But none was more fenfibly affected than good
Mordecai d. Who, when he underftood what was
done, rent his clothes, and putting on fackcloth
with afhes, went out into the midft of the city, and
cried with a loud and a bitter cry. And becaufe
none clothed in fackcloth were allowed to enter
into the king's gate, he came and flood before the
king's gate to fhew his forrow.
In every province alfo, whitherfoever this bloody
decree came, there was (as well there might be) great
mourning among the Jews, and failing, with weep
ing and wailing, and many lay in fackcloth and
afhes. Mordecai's walking about in fackcloth was foon
taken notice of, and reported anon to queen Efther's,
fervants, who quickly acquainted her with it;
at the hearing whereof the was exceedingly grieved
(though the did not yet know the caufe) and fent
him raiment to clothe himfelf with inftead of his
fackcloth, but he would not receive it. Whereup
on calling for Hatach (one of the king's chamber
lains, whom he had appointed to wait uppn her)
/he commanded him to go to Mordecai, and bring
i Either iv. her

378 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
her word from him what the matter was, and the oc
cafion of it.
With this command Hatach #vent forth to Mor
decai, whom he found in the ftreet of the city,
which was before the king's gate. And having ac
quainted him that he came from the queen to know
the caufe of his mourning, Mordecai told him of all
that had happened ; how that Haman had promifed
to pay a great fum of money into the king's exche
quer, that he might have liberty to deftroy all the
Jews, and that the king had granted it. He gave
him alfo a copy of the decree in writing, that was
given at Shufhan for the deftroying of them; wifh-
ing him to fhew it unto Efther, and declare the
whole matter unto her, and withal to charge her (from
him) that fhe fhould go in unto the king, and make
fupplication and requeft unto him for her people.
For it was high time now that it fliould" be known
what people fhe was of.
When Hatach had reported this to queen Efther,
fhe fent him back to Mordecai again, to put him in
mind that it was a certain rule, which all the king's
fervants, and the people of the provinces, did know,
that whofoever, whether man or woman, did come
unto the king in the inner court, uncalled, was liable
by law to be put to death, ex'cept fuch to whom, as
a particular favour, the king fhould hold forth the
golden fcepter ; but that, as for her part, fhe had
not been called to come in unto the king for thefe
thirty days laft pall, So much was the king taken
up with his new favourite.
To this excufe Mordecai roundly returned her this
anfwer : " Think not with thyfelf that thou fhalt
efcape in the king's houfe, more than all the Jews ;
for if thou altogether hoideft thy peace at this time,
enlargement and deliverance fliall arife to the Jews
from another place, but thou and thy father's houfe
fhall be deftroyed, But confider well what is thy
part to do ; for who knows, whether thou art come
to the kingdom for fuch a time as this ? This

PartlH. SACRED HISTORY. 379
This fmart meffage routed the queen. So that
forthwith fending to Mordecai again, fhe wifhed
him to gather together all the Jews that were in Shu
fhan, and with them keep a ftricr. faft for her, with
out eating or drinking, day or night, for three days
together; affuring him, that fhe and her maidens
would faft likewife, and that after that, fhe would
go in unto the king, though it was againft the law ;
and if (added fhe) I perifh, I perilh.
Accordingly, when this folemn faft was over,
queen Efther, having put on her royal apparel, went
and ftood in the inner court of the king's houfe1',
over againft the royal throne on which the king then
fat. And the Lord fo difpofed the heart of the king,
that when he faw queen Efther ftanding in the court,
fhe obtained favour in his fight, fo that he held forth
his golden feepter to her. By which, emboldened, fhe
drew near, and having fubmiffively touched the top
of the feepter, the king afked her, " What fhe would
have, and what was her requeft ? adding, for her encou
ragement, it fliall be given thee, even to the half
of the kingdom." She then faid, " If it feem good
unto the king, let the king and Haman come this
day unto the banquet which I have prepared for
him." The king confenting, gave order that Haman (who
it feems was not then prefent) fhould have notice
given him to make hafle, that he might anfwer the
queen's invitation : fo that the king and Haman
came to the banquet that Efther had prepared. And
at the banquet of wine the king faid to her again,
" What is thy petition? it /hall be granted thee;
and what is thy requeft ? even to the half of the
kingdom it fhall be performed."
Efther, willing to engage the king to her as far as
/he could before /he brake the bufinefs, and, for
that end, defirous to have another opportunity with
jiim, in humble manner anfwered, " My petition
• Efther v. and

380- SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
and requeft is, if I now have found favour in the fight
of the king, and if it pleafe the king to grant my
petition, and to anfwer my requeft, let the king and
Haman come to the banquet which I fhall prepare
for them to-morrow, and then I will make bold to
prefer my petition."
This being agreed to, they parted ; and foolifh Ha
man, tickled with joy, went away with a glad heart;
but when, as he went forth, he faw Mordecai at the
king's gate, and obferved that he ftood not up, nor
moved for him, his haughty ftomach rofe, and he
was full of indignation againft Mordecai. Yet he
kept it in as well as he could, until he was come
home, and then having gathered his friends together,
with Zerech his wife, he, to blazon his happinefs, in
the firft place fet forth the glory of his riches, and
the multitude of his children; then recounting to
them all the great things wherein the king had pro
moted him, and how he had advanced him above
the reft of the princes and fervants of the king; he
told them alfo, that queen Efther did let no man
come in with the king unto the banquet that fhe had
prepared, but himfelf only; and to-morrow, faid he,
I am invited unto her again with the king. Yet all
this (added he) avails me nothing, fo long as I fee
Mordecai the Jew fit at the king's gate, and not bow
to me.
When Haman had done fpeaking, his wife and all
his friends, concurring with him in their refentment
of the affront done him by Mordecai, gave him this
advice : " Let a gallows (faid they) be made of fifty
cubits high, and to-morrow fpeak thou unto the
king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon ; and
then go thou in merrily with the king unto the
banquet." This project took fo well with Haman,
that forthwith he caufed the gallows to be made,
and fet up in readinefs.
But God fo ordered the matter, that that night the
king could not fleep. Wherefore to divert him, and
fpend the time that the night might not be tedious to
him,

Part III. SACRED H I S O T RY. 381
him, he called for the book of the records of the
chronicles; and that being read before him, it was
found therein that Mordecai had difcovered the trea
fon of Bigthan and Terefh, thofe two chamberlains
of the king that guarded his door, who were hanged
for defigning to lay hands on the king, chap. ii.
ai, &c.
When the king heard this, he afked, " What ho
nour and dignity had been done to Mordecai for
this ?" and the king's fervants, who (as grooms of
his chamber) then waited on him, telling him there
had been nothing done for him, the king, that he
might give further order about it, afked, " Who is
there in the court ?".
Juft in that juncture was Haman come into the
outward court of the king's houfe, betimes in the
morning, to afk leave of the king that he might
hang Mordecai on the gallows which he had pre
pared for him ; whom the fervants feeing, they told
the king that Haman flood in the court; and the
king faid, " Let him come in."
In came Haman, big with hope that he fhould
have his will on Mordecai that morning. But before
he Could introduce his requeft, the king prevented
him, by afking him a queftion ; which was, " What
/hould be done unto the man whom the king delight
eth to honour ?"
Self-conceited Haman, concluding in himfelf that
he was the only man whom the king could delight
to honour, refolved to have it in its utmbflfplendor.
Wherefore, in anfwer to the king's queftion, he faid :
<e For the man whom the king delighteth to honour,
let the royal apparel be brought, which the king
ufeth to wear, and the horfe that the king rideth
upon, and the erown-royal which is fet upon his
head; and let * this- apparel and horfe be delivered to
one of the king's moft -noble princes, that he may
therewith array the man, whom the king delighteth
» Efther vi. to

382 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
to honour; and bring him on horfe-back through
the ftreet of the city, and proclaim before him,
THUS SHALL IT. BE DONE TO THE MAN
WHOM THE KING DELIGHTETH TO HO
NOUR." No fooner had Haman fet the terms, but, quite
contrary to his expectation and hope, the king faid to
him, " Make hafle, take the apparel and the horfe,
and do thou juft as thou haft faid, unto Mordecai
the Jew, that fitteth at the king's gate ; let nothing
fail of all that thou haft fpoken."
What a cut was this to proud Haman ! yet remedy
he had none. The king's word was a law, and obey
it he muft, or fare the worfe.
Wherefore taking the apparel and the horfe, he
went and arrayed Mordecai ; and having mounted
him on the royal fteed, brought him on horfeback
through the ftreet of the city, and proclaimed before
him, " Thus /hall it be done to the man whom the
king delighteth to honour." Which done, humble
Mordecai returned again to the king's gate ; but
Haman hafted home to his houfe, mourning, and
(in token thereof) having his head covered.
Being got home, he related to Zerefh his wife, and
the reft of his friends, the great difappointment that
had befallen him. Which when they had well weigh
ed, they faid to him ; " If Mordecai, before whom
thou haft begun to fall, be of the feed of the Jews*,
thou fhalt not prevail againft him, but fhall furely
fall before him."
More perhaps they might have faid to him, had
they not been interrupted by a meffenger from the
king ; for while they Were yet talking with him, came
the king's chamberlain to haften him to the banquet*
which queen Efther had prepared for the king and
him ; to which, we may fuppofe, he went with an
heavy heart, though he put on the beft countenance
he could to hide it. When

PartHI. SACRED HISTORY. 383
When they were come to the banquet of wine E,
the king again afked queen Efther, " What her
petition and requeft was ? affuring her, as before, it
fliould be granted, though it were to the one half
of his kingdom."
Efther now thinking it a right time to open her
caufe, made anfwer ; " If I have found favour in thy
fight, O king, and if it pleafe the . king, let my life
be given me at my petition, and my people at my
requeft : for we are fold, both I and my people, to
be deftroyed, to be flain, and to perifh ; but if we
had been fold for bond-men, and bond-women,' I .
had held my tongue ; although the enemy could not
countervail the king's damage, in the lofs of the tri-
tnite we pay.
The king (having forgot, it feems, or not well
confidered, what Haman had begged, and he had
granted) in great difpleafure afked, ct Who is he ?
and where is he, that durft prefume in his heart to
do fuch a thing ?"
The adverfary and enemy, replied Efther, is this
wicked Haman.
That word put Haman into a terrible fright.
Which the king obferving, and probably thereupon
calling to mind how Haman had furreptitioufly
gotten the decree from him, for the deftroying of the
Jews, he arofe from the banquet of wine in his wrath,
and went into the pal ace -garden.
Haman from thence concluding that evil was de
termined againft him by the king, ftood up to make
requeft for his life to Efther the queen (the life of
whom, and of all her people, he had fo lately con-
fpired againft, and determined to take away); and
falling, as a fuppliant, upon the bed whereon Efther
fat, was found in that pofture by the king, when he
came in again out of the garden. Who, refenting
it as an indignity to himfelfT that he (a fubject, and
a criminal) fhould prefume to approach fo indecently
» Efther vii. near

384 SACRED HISTORY. .ParMI.
near the queen; brake forth in this manner, " Will
he force the queen alfo before me in the houfe!"
Which words were no fooner out of the king's
mouth, but the officers that attended forthwith co
vered Haman's face, which to him was a fure token
of death. And Harbonah, one of the king's cham
berlains, whofe name fignifies deftruStion (and who
had got notice, it feems, of Haman's defign againft
Mordecai) h acquainting the kinsr that Haman had
fet up a gallows in his own houfe, fifty cubits high,
whereon he intended to have hanged Mordecai, who
had deferved fo well of the king, the king bid them
hang Haman thereon ; which immediately they did.
The king's wrath being now by Haman's death
appeafed, he gave the houfe of Haman, the Jew's
enemy, unto queen Efther the Jew '. And fhe hav
ing now acquainted the king in what relation Mor-*-
decai ftood to her, the king fent for Mordecai to come
before him. And taking off his ring (as he had done
before to Haman) he gave it unto Mordecai, and
Efther fet Mordecai over the houfe of Haman.
But though Haman was removed, yet were not
Efther and the Jews free from danger and from fear ;
for the decree againft them ftood yet in force. Either
therefore adventured once more to fpeak before
the king on that occafion ; and falling down at his
feet, befought him, with tears, to put away the mif-
chief of Haman the Agagite, and the wicked device1
which he had devifed againft the Jews.
The king thereupon holding forth his golden
feepter. towards Efther, to encourage her to fpeak her
mind, fhe arofe, and ftanding, before the king, faid :
" If it pleafe the king, and if I have found favour
in his fight, let fomething be written to reverfe the
letters devifed by Haman to deftroy the Jews in all
the king's provinces. For how can I endure to fee
the evil which fhall otherwife come upon my people ?
h A. M. 3500. * Efther viii. or

Fart III SACRED HISTORY. .3$s
or how fhall I bear to fee the deftrudtion of my
kindred ?" J
The king then faid to Efther and Mordecai : ** Ye
fee I have already given Efther the houfe of Haman,
and him they have hanged, becaufe he prefumed to
lay his hand upon the Jews : Write ye now therefore
for the Jews, as it liketh you, in the king's name,
and feal it with the king's feal ; for as for the for
mer writing, which was written in the king's name,
and fealed With the king's feal, that is unalterable,
no man can reverfe it."
The king's fecretaries being hereupon called, other
letters were written according as Mordecai did dic
tate, and directed both to the Jews, and to the king's
lieutenants, the deputies and rulers of the provinces,
from India unto Ethiopia, being an hundred twenty-
feven provinces, unto every province and people af
ter their language, and to the Jews according to their
language. Which letters contained a grant and
authority from the king to the Jews ; that upon the
thirteenth day of the twelfth month (which was the
day Haman had pitched upon for maffacring the
Jews) they might gather themfelves together in every
•city where they were to ftand up for their lives j and
might deftroy, flay, and caufe to perifh all the power
of the people and province that would affault them,,
both little ones and women, and take the fpoil of
them for a prey. And as theTe letters (bearing date
from the palace at Shufhan, on the three and twen
tieth of the third month) were written in the king's
name, and fealed with the king's feal ; fo they were
difoatched to the provinces by fwift pofts with the
greateft expedition that could be, and copies thereof
fpeedily publifhed to all the people, that the Jews
might have timely notice, to be ready againft that
day to ftand upon their guard, and avenge them
felves on their enemies k.
* Efther ix.
Vol. It C C ' Then

386 SACRED H I STORY. Part III.
Then went out Mordecpi -from the prefence of the
king, in his royal robes of blue and white, and with, a
.great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen
and purple. And not only the city of Shufhan re
joiced at this turn of the tide, but in every province
and city, whitherfoever -the king's command and de
cree came, the Jews had joy and gladnefs, and it
was to them a good day. Nay, many of the people
of the land turned Jews ; for the fear of the Jews fell
.upon them.
Now when the fatal day was come, wherein the
.two oppofite decrees were to be put in execution,
.which was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the
Jews, being timely fore-warned, were fore-armed ; and
gathering themfelves together in their cities, through
out all the provinces of king Ahafuerus, they laid
fo manfully about them on thofe that did affail them,
that no man could withftand them ; for the fear of
them fell upon the people. • And befides that, all
the rulers of the provinces, and the king's lieute-
.nants, with the deputies and other officers of the
king, helped the Jews, becaufe the fear of Mordecai
fell upon them alfo ; for Mordecai was great in the
.•king's houfe, and grew greater and greater ; fo that
his fame went forth throughout all the provinces.
Thus encouraged, the Jews, defending themfelves,
fell boldly on their enemies, and made great flaugh
ter and deftruction of thofe that hated them ; fo
that in the royal city Shufhan they flew five hundred
perfons, amongft whom were the ten fons of Haman.
And in other cities, in the reft of the provinces, they
flew and deftroyed of their foes to the number of
feventy- and-five thoufand ; but in no place did jhey
meddle with the prey.
An account of the number of the flain in Shufhan
being brought the fame day to .the king, he told
queen Efther that the Jews had flain and deftroyed
five hundred men in Shufhan, where his court was
kept ; by which fhe might guefs what flaughters they
had made in the reft of the provinces j and.then afked her

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 387
foer what 'further requeft fhe had to make; aflurin*
her it fliould be granted.
She, taking encouragement from that word, an-
fwef^d, ct If it pleafe the king, let it be granted to
the Jews which are in Shufhan, to dp to-morrow
alfo as they have done to day, and let -Haman's ten
fons be hanged on the gallows."
It was now With her but afk and have ; for the
king commanded that it fhould be fo done; and a
decree accordingly was given forth at Shufhan for it.
Whereupon Haman's ten fons (who were ¦ flain the
day before) were hanged ; and the Jews at Shufhan,
gathering themfelves together on the fourteenth day
of the twelfth month, flew three hundred men .more
•there; but on the prey they did not lay their hand.
For this great deliverance and victory, the Jews,
in all parts, t.eftified their gladnefs, by feafting, and
by fending gifts pne to another. But the Jews at
Shufhan, having two days allowed them to avenge
themfelves on their enemies, whereas the reft of the
Jews, in other places, had but one day given them,
this caufed at the firft fome difference in the time
of this, feafting ; for the Jews in all other parts of the
kingdom, having acquitted themfelves on the thir-<-
teenth day, kept their rejoicing-feaft on the four
teenth. But the Jews at Shufhan, being engaged
both the thirteenth and fourteenth days in defending
themfelves, kept the feftiyal for their deliverance on
the fifteenth day.
But afterwards, when Mordecai had made a re
cord of this great deliverance, he fent letters unto
all the Jews, far and near, throughout all the pro
vinces of king Ahafuerus, to eftablifh it as a ftand
ing ordinance among them, that they fhould keep
both the fourteenth and the fifteenth days of the
month Adar, yearly, as the days whereon the Jews
refted from their enemies, and the month that was
turned unto them from forrow unto joy, and from
mourning into a good day. In commemoration
whereof, they fhould make thofs days days of feaft-
C c 2 ing

388 SACRED HISTORY. Par* III.
ing and rejoicing, and of fending portions one to
another, and giving gifts to the poor.
And becaufe Haman had caft pur (that is, the lot),
in order to know the moft fuccefsful time wherein
he might confume and deftroy the Jews, it was agreed
and ordained, that thefe two days fhould be called
the feaft of Purim, and fhould be folemnly, ftrictly,
and annually kept by all the Jews every-where. In
order whereunto, Mordecai, being now advanced to
be next in place and power unto the king, wrote un
to the Jews about it ; and queen Efther wrote alfo,
with all authority, to confirm his letters.
The Jews thereupon, in all places, took it as an
ordinance upon them and upon their feed, and upon
all fuch as fhould join themfelves untp them, that
they would, without fail, keep thofe two days at
the appointed time every year, in every family, pro
vince, and city, to be a memorial of their delive
rance to them and to their feed for ever.

The End of the Bppk of Esther.

the;

HERE FOLLOWS THE REST OF THE

BOOK

O F

E Z R

A,

INCLUDING THE TWO PROPHETS

HAGGAI and ZECHARIAH.

ALL this while the building of the temple at
Jerufalem a either went not forward at all,
or very flowly. The work is faid to have
ceafed unto the fecond year of the reign of Darius
king of Perfia, Ezra iv. 24. But of the many of that
name, which this was, is not well agreed amongft wri
ters. The more common opinion takes him to be
Darius Artaxerxes, firnamed Longimanus, or Long
hand, and him to be the fon of Darius Hyftafpis, or
Ahafuerus, by Efther. But it may then occafipn fome
» Ezray. A. M, 3508.
C c 3 wonder,

390 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
wonder, that fo 'good a woman as queen Efther,
and fo zealous a Jew as Mordecai, having fuch power
as they' had' with king Ahafireras, mould nOf Have fet
' the wheel of that work a going in their time.
It was by the encouragement which two of the
Lord's prophets gave, that Zerubbabel and the reft
applied themfelves again to the Work, as Ezra informs
us, chap. v. i.
For all the prophets formerly named being by this
rime gone to reft, the prophets Haggai and Zecha
riah were raifed up by the Lord in the fecond year
of this king Darius, and* fent to prophefy unto the
Jews that were in Judah and Jerufalem, to ftir them
up to greater zeal and diligence in the work of the
Lord. For they, being difheartened by the oppofi-
tion they had met With from their ill neighbours On
the one hand, and the prohibition from the court
on the other, had let up a wrong conceit in their
minds, that the time was not yet come whereio the
houfe of the Lord fliould be built. Wherefore neg
lecting that, they fpent their time in building houles
for themfelves,
This the prophet Haggai (unto whom the word of
the Lord came on the firft day of the fixth month,- in
the fecond year of king Darius) reproved them for, di
recting his meffage to Zerubbabel the governor, and
Jofhua the high-prieft, as the two chiefs or reprefen-
tativesr one of the people, the other of the priefts.
Then calling them to confider the many and great
difappointments they had met with b, and the unfuc-
cefsfulnefs of their undertakings fince they had neg
lected the Lord's work, he tells them, that all this
had happened unto them by God's appointment,
who had reftrained the fructifying influences of hea
ven, and thereby rendered the earth unfruitful to
them ; whereby they had been afflicted with fcarcity,
ypantp and famine, becaufe they, now that the Lore!
11 Haggai i. had

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 391
had turned their captivity, and" brought them back
into their own land, had,, for fear of man, fuffered his
houfe to lie watte, and had employed themfelves in-
building and beautifying their own houfes. Where
fore he bid them (loiter no longer, but) go up to the
mountain, and bring timber, and build the houfe;
affuring them from the Lord, that if they did fo, he
would take pleafure in it, and be glorified therein.
This routed up both the governor and the people ;
who being in fear before the Lordj from the fenfe of
their great neglect, refolved now to obey the voice
of the Lord their God by his prophet Haggai. And
he, to encourage this good refolution, and hearten
them on in it, came to them again, with this fhort
but comforting meffage, cc I am with you, faith the
Lord." And the Lord at the fame time /lining up
the fpirit of Zerubbabel the governor, and the fpirit
of Jofhua the high-prieft, and the fpirits of all the
remnant of the people, they came and returned their
work' in the houfe of the Lord on the four-and-twen-
tieth day of that fixth month, in the fecond year of
king Darius, after a ceffation (as fome compute) of
about thirty years.
And becaufe the old men, who had feen the former
temple in its beauty L, wept at the laying of the
foundation of this, when they faw how much fhort it
was likely to be of the former, the prophet Haggai
was fent to them again, in the feventh month fol
lowing, to encourage them to go on chearfully ; af
furing them afrefh, that the Lord was with them in
this their undertaking, and predicting that the Lord
would fill this houfe with glory; fo that (how much
foevsr it might come fhort of the former in bulk and
ftatelinefs of ftrufture) the glory of this latter houfe
fhould be greater than that of the former. Which
.expofitors, not finding in ftory made good literally,
have figuratively applied to the gofpel church, where
. I with all may fee it. c Haggai ii.
C c 4 While

395 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
While thus the prophet Haggai was earneftly con
cerned tp hearten on the Jews in the work of re
building the temple, the Lord raifed up another pro
phet, to confirm and ftrengthen them in their under
taking. This was Zechariah, the fon of Barachiah, pf the
family of Iddo * ¦, who beginning to prophefy in the,
eighth month of the fecond year of king Darius, firft-
puts them in mind of their fathers difobedience, whp,
refuting to hearken unto the Lord by his prophets,
had highly provoked him to difpleafure. Then
warning them not to be like their fathers therein, he
exhorted them to turn unto the Lord, affuring them
that if they did fo, the Lord would turn unto them.
By thefe two prophets thus encouraged, Zerubba
bel and Jofhua went on with the building, and the
workmen plied it diligently. But before they could
finifh it, Tatnai (the governor on that fide the river)
and Shethar-Boznai, with their companions (enemies
alfo to the Jews, but not fo bitter and implacable
as the reft) haying gptten notice of their work, came
and examined them who had commanded them to
build that houfe, and to make up. that wall ? De
manding alfo the nam.es pf the men that undertook
that building,
By this ftrict inquiry* it feems, they thought to
have feared the Jews and made them give over their.
work, as they had done formerly. But the eye of
their God was, upon the elders of the Jews, and the
prophets of God helped them ; fo that thefe enemies
of theirs could not now caufe them to ceafe ; where
upon the matter was brought before king Darius.
For when Tatnai, the governor on that fide of the
river, with Shethar-Boznai, and his companions the
Apharfachites, faw that the Jews would not be frighted^
from their work, they wrote a letter to king Darius,
tp give him an account of the matter, whereof this,
js the copy ; d Zech. i. Unto

Partlll. SACRED HISTORY, 393
Unto DARIUS the king, all peace.
" Be it known unto the king, that we went into the
province of Judea, to the houfe of the great God,
which is builded with great ftone, and timber is laid.
in the walls ; and this work goeth on faft, and prof-
pereth in their hands. Then afked we the elders of
the people, Who commanded you to build this houfe,
and to make iip thefe walls ? We afked their names
alfo, to the intent that we might not only certify thee
of the building, but might give thee the names of
thofe among them that were the chief in the
work. And thus they returned us anfwer : We
are (faid they) the fervants of the God of hea
ven and earth, and build the houfe that was- builded
thefe many years ago, which a great king of Ifrael
did build and fet up ; but after that our fathers had
provoked the Lord God of Ifrael to wrath, he gave
them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Ba
bylon, the Chaldean, who deftroyed this houfe, and
carried away the people unto Babylon. But in the
firftyear of Gyrus the king of Babylon, he made a
decree to build this houfe of God ; and the veffels of
gold and filver of the houfe of God, which Nebu
chadnezzar took out of the temple that was at Jeru
falem, and brought into the temple at Babylon,
thofe did king Cyrus take out of the temple of Baby
lon, and delivered them unto one whofe name was
Shefhbazzar, whom he had made governor, faying,
Take thefe. veffels, go carry them into the temple at
Jerufalem, and let the houfe of God be builded in
its place. Whereupon the fame Shefhbazzar carne,
and laid the foundation of the houfe of God, which
is in Jerufalem ; and fince that time, even until now,
Katn it been in building, and yet it is not finifhed.
Now therefore,- if it feem good to the king, let
fearch be made in the king's treafure-houfe at Baby
lon, whether it be fo that a decree was made by Cy
rus the king that this houfe of God at Jerufalem
r ' Ihould

394 S A-CR ED HISTO R Y. Part III.
fhould be builded ; and let the king fend his pleafure
to us concerning this matter."
When this letter came to the king', fearch was-
thereupon made in the archives (or houfe of the rolls)
where the records were laid up in Babylon, and there
was found in Achmetha (or Echbatana), in the palace
that was in the province of the Medes,, a roll, where
in was a record in thefe terms :
In the firft year of Cyrus the king, the fame king
Cyrus made a decree concerning the houfe of God in
Jerufalem, of which this was the tenor:
" Let the houfe be builded, the place where they
offered facrifices, and let the foundations be ftrongly
laid ; the height thereof threefcore cubits, and the
breadth thereof threefcore cubits, with three rows of
great ftones and a row of timber ; and let the ex-<
pences be given out of the king's houfe. And alfo
let the golden and filver veffels of the houfe of God,
which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple
which was at" Jerufalem, and brought unto Babylon,
be reftored and brought back again unto the temple
which is to be built at Jerufalem, and let them be
placed in their own places in the houfe of God f."
When king Darius had read this decree of Cyrus,
he fignified the contents thereof to Tatnai, Shethar-
Boznai, and their companions the Apharfachites ; and
withal gave them a ftrict charge, that they fhould be
far from molefting or hindering the Jews in their
building; but that they fliould let the work of the
houfe of God alone, and let the governors and elders
pf the Jews build the houfe of God in its place.
" Moreover (faid he, in his letter, in anfwer to
theirs) I make a decree, what ye fhall do to the
elders of thefe Jews, for the building of this houfe of
God, viz. That out of the king's tribute beyond the
river, expences be forthwith given to thefe men, that
they be not hindered. And what they have need of
for the burnt-offering of the God of heaven, bpth of
e Ezra vi, young

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. j95
young bullocks* rams and lambs, with wheat, fait,
wine, and oil, let it be given them day by day with
out fail, according to the direction of the priefts
which are at Jerufalem, that they may offer facrifices
of fweet favours unto the God of heaven, and pray
¦for the life of the king and of his fons. And further
(added he) I have made a decree, that whofoever
fliall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from
his houfe, and let him be hanged thereon, and let
his houfe be made a dunghill for this. And the God
that hath caufed his name to dwell there, deftroy all
kings and people that fhall fet their hand to alter this
word, and to deftroy this houfe of God that is at Je
rufalem. I Darius have made a decree ; let it be done
with fpeed."
Governor Tatnai, with Shethar-Boznai, and their
companions, having received thefe letters from the
king, in compliance therewith fpeedily furnifhed the
Jews with all neceffaries for their building. And the
work going on profperoufly, through the encou
ragement which the elders of the Jews received from
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the houfe was
finifhed on the third day of the month Adar (which
is the twelfth month), in the fixth year of the reign of
this king Darius.
. The building thus finifhed f, the children of Ifrael,
both priefts, Levites, and people (called by a ge
neral name the children of the captivity, that is, all
fuch of them as were returned from the captivity),
together with all thofe profelytes that had feparated
themfelves unto them, from the filthinefs of the hea
then of the land, to feek the Lord God of Ifrael,
kept the feaft of the dedication of the houfe of God
with joy, and with great offerings. And having fet
the priefts in their divifions, and the Levites in their
courfes for the fervice of God, according to the pre-
fcript of Mofes, they kept the paffover on the four
teenth day of the firft month, and the feaft of un-
{ £ech, vii. leavened

396 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
leavened bread feven days with joy: for the Lord
made them joyful, by turning the heart of the king
unto them, to ftrengthen their hands in the work of
the houfe of God, the God of Ifrael.
The Jews, it feems, in the captivity, had agreed
among themfelves to obferve feveral falls, on certain
mournful occafions ; as one on the tenth month, on
the day that Jerufalem was befieged, 2 Kings, xxv. 1,
Another in the fourth month, when the city was ta
ken, Jer. Hi. 6, 7. Another in the fifth month, when
the temple was deftroyed by fire, Jer. Iii. 12. And
another in the feventh month, when their governor
Gedaliah was flain, Jer. xli. 1, 2.
Thefe days they had kept with falling and weep
ing, and abflaining from company and bufinefs. But
now a doubt arofe among them concerning the faft
in the fifth month (which was for the deftruction of
the temple), whether they fhould keep that faft ftill,
now that the temple was rebuilded. And upon this
occafion the Jews (whether they that were returned,
or they that were not yet returned from Babylon, is
not agreed among interpreters) fent their arnbaffa
dors or deputies (Sherezer and Regem-melech, with
their men) to inquire of the Lord, by the priefts,
which were in the houfe of the Lord of hofts, and
by the prophets, whether they fhould weep in the
fifth month, and feparate themfelves, as they had done
thefe many years?
The Lord thereupon, by his prophet Zechariah,
took occafion to let them know, that in fails of their
own appointing he was not concerned (whereby is
plainly intimated, that nothing in religion of man's
inftitution is accepted by the Lord) : and that it
would pleafe him better, to fee them execute true
judgment, and fhew mercy and compaffion every one
to his brother, and abftain from opprefiing the wi
dow, the fatherlefs, the ftranger, and the poor, and
from imagining evil one againft another in their
hearts, than to be ever fo obfervant of outward per
formances. Hitherto,

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 397
Hitherto the work of rebuilding the temple had
been carried on by the direction and conduct of
Zerubbabel the governor, and Jofhua the high-
prieft ; both whom the prophet Zachary fpeaks ho
nourably of, the one in the third, and the other in
the fourth chapter of his prophecy. , But now that
the temple was finifhed, Ezra fet forward to go up
to Jerufalem in the feventh year of Artaxerxes, by
fome hiftorians called, for distinction fake, the fecond.
This Ezra was a prieft (whofe genealogy, in chap.
vii. is deduced from Aaron) and a learned fcribfc in
the law of God, who had hitherto flaid at Babylon,
with thofe of the captivity which had not yet re
turned %. But now, there being great want of fuch
a man at Jerufalem, to inftruct the people in the too
long negledted law of God, and reform the manners
of both priefts and people ; the Lord both kindled a
zeal in Ezra to undertake that work, and gave him
favour with the king to furnifh him for the jour
ney. For when Ezra had acquainted the king with his
purpofe, and requefted leave of him that he might go,
the king gave him not only licence to go, but an
ample commiffion to take with him whomfoever he
would, and what alfo he fhould judge needful, both
for his journey thither, and fervice there. Of which
commiffion this was the tenor :
ARTAXERXES, king of kings, unto EZRA the
prieft, a perfect fcribe of the law of the God of
heaven, greeting!
" I make a decree, That all they of the people of
Ifrael, and of his priefts and Levites in my realm,
which of .their own free-will are minded to go up to
Jerufalem, may go with thee ; forafmuch as thou
art fent of the king, and of his feven counfellors, to
s A. M. 3513. inquire

39% SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
inquire concerning Judah and Jerufalem, according
to the law of thy God which is in thine hand, and
carry the filver and gold which the king and his
counfellors have freely offered unto the God of Ifrael,
whofe habitation is in Jerufalem ; and all the filver
and gold that thou canft find in all the provinces of
Babylon, with the free-will offerings of the people,
and of the priefts, offering willingly for the houfe of
their God which is at Jerufalem ; that thou mayft
fpeedily buy with this money bullocks, lambs, and
rams, with their meat-offerings and drink-offerings,
and offer upon the altar of the houfe of your God
which is at Jerufalem. And whatfoever fhall feem
good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the
reft of the filver and gold, that do, after the will of
your God. The veffels alfo that are given thee for
the fervice of the houfe of thy God, which thou fhalt
have occafion to beftow, beftow it out of the king's
treafure-houfe. And I, even I Artaxerxes the king,
do make a decree to all the treafurers which are be
yond the river, that whatfoever Ezra the prieft, the
fcribe of the law of the God of heaven, fhall require
of you, it be done, unto an hundred talents of filver
(thirty-feven thoufand and five hundred pounds), and
to an hundred meafures (cors) of wheat (a cor con
taining five bufhels and five gallons, makes five hun
dred fixty-two bufhels and a half), and to an hundred
baths of wine (a bath being the tenth part of an omer,
and containing four gallons and an half, makes four
hundred and fifty gallons), and to an hundred barrels
of oil, and fait without meafure. Whatfoever is com
manded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently
done for his houfe ; for why fhould there be wrath
againft the king and his fons ? Alfo we certify you,
that touching any of the priefts and Levites, fingers,
porters, and Nethinims, or minifters of this houfe of
God, it fhall not be lawful to impofe toll, tribute or
cuftom upon them. And thou Ezra, after the wif
dom of thy God that is in thine heart, fet magi-
ftrates and judges, which may judge all the people that

fart HI. SACRED H I S 0 T R Y. 39a
that are beyond the river (that is, all fuch, as know
the laws of thy God, and teach them that know them
.not). And whofoever will not do the law of thy God,
#nd the law of the king, let judgment be fpeedily
.executed upon him ; whether it be unto death, or to
banifhment, or to confifcation of goods, or to impri-
fonment." Ezra, having received thefe letters from the king,
bjeffed the Lord, in a thankful acknowledgment of
his mercy, in having put it into the king's heart to
beautify the houfe of the Lord in Jerufalem, and in
giving him favour with the king, and with his coun
fellors and mighty princes. And being ftrengthened
by the good hand of the Lord his God, that was up
on him for his encouragement, he gathered together
out of Ifrael Ghief men to go up with him.
Thefe, with the males of their feveral families ^
being in number one thoufand four hundred ninety
.and fix (of whom there is a mufter-roll in chap, viii,
from ver 2. to 15.) Ezra drew down to the river that
runneth to Ahava ; where encamping for three days,
he took an account of the people and the priefts, but
found no Levites nor Nethinims .among them.
Wherefore he fent back Eliezer, and half a fcore
more of the chief men for underftanding, with a mef
fage to Iddo (who was the chief of the Nethinims at
Cafiphia) requiring him to fend with them fome mi-
niflers- fit for the fervice of .the houfe of the Lord.
And (the Lord fo difpofing it) they brought him a
man of underftanding, and feven or eight and thirty
more, that were Levites, with two hundred and twen
ty Nethinims, who were under officers for the morf
fervile work of the temple, fuch as the fraudulent
Gibeonites were at firft appointed to.
When thefe were come to the camp, and had joined
the reft of the company, they made a body of about
One thoufand feven hundred and fifty. Yet Ezra
gonfldering how great a charge, they had with them,
* Ezra viii. ia

400 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
in both money and plate, and apprehenfive of the
dangers that might attend them in their march, from
the free-booters of the countries through which they
were to pafs, proclaimed a faft at the rivet, that they
might humble themfelves before their God, and im
plore his guidance, direction, and care for them, their
little ones, and all their fubftance. For though he
might, for afking, have had a convoy from the king
for their defence, he was afhamed to afk it ; having
before told the king, that the hand of their God would
be for good upon all them that fought him, and his
vindictive power and wrath againft all thpfe that for-
fopk him.
Having thus fafted and befought their God on this
occafion, and received from him fome token of ac
ceptance, they committed themfelves to his protec
tion, and fet forward again. And Ezra having drawn
forth twelve of the chief priefts, delivered to them
by weight the filver and the gold, and the veffels,
which the king, with his counfellors and his lords,
and all Ifrael that were prefent, had offered as an of
fering for the houfe of the Lord, and gave them their
charge in thefe words :
" Ye are holy (that is, confecrated unto the Lord) ;
and thefe veffels are holy (that is, dedicated unto his
ufe) ; and the filver and the gold are a free-will of
fering unto the Lord God of your fathers. Watch
ye therefore carefully, and keep them fafe, until ye
Can come to weigh them unto the chief of the priefts
and Levites, and the fathers of Ifrael at Jerufalem, in
the chambers of the houfe of the Lord.
This treafure was of a very considerable value.
For there were fix hundred and fifty talents of filver;
which, at three hundred feventy-five pounds to the
talent, make two hundred forty-three thoufand feven
hundred and fifty pounds. The filver veffels weighed
an hundred talents, which came to thirty-feven thou
fand and five hundred pounds* The gold in coin
was an hundred talents, which, at four thoufand five
hundred pounds each talent, brings forth four hun dred

Partlli. SACRED HISTORY. 401
dred and fifty thoufand pounds. Which three films
together raife feven hundred thirty-one thoufahd
two hundred and fifty pounds. Befides all which,
there were twenty batons of goldj of a thoufand
dramsj and two veffels of fine copper as precious as
gold. All which the priefts and Levites took the
charge of, to bring to the houfe of their God in Je
rufalem. It was on the firft day of the firft month, that
Ezra fet forth with his troops from Babylort ; and on
the twelfth day of the fame month, having difpofed
all things in order, they left the river of Ahava, where
they had made an halt^ and purfued their journey to
Jerufalem ; where they arrived on the firft day of
the fifth monthj chap. vii. 9. and viii. 32. fo that
they fpent four months complete in the journey.
Nor Was their fear of robbers altogether groundlefs ;
for they were way-laid, it feems ; but the Lord was
With themj and delivered them from the hand of
their enemies, and of fuch as lay in wait by the
Way* After they were Come to jerufalem, they lay ftill
three days to reft and refrefh themfelves, and on the
fourth day they difeharged themfelves of the treafure
they had brought; delivering it by weight, in the
houfe of the Lord, to thofe priefts that were appointed
to receive and take the charge of it, and an inven
tory was made of both the number and weight.
Then were burnt-offerings offered unto the God of
ifrael, by the children of thofe that had been carried
away, and which were now come out of the captivity.
After which, Ezra delivering the king's commi/fions
Unto the king's lieutenants and governors on that
fide the river, they, in. obedience thereunto, furnifhed
' the people with all things neceffary to the fervice of
the houfe of God.
But now came on Ezra's exercife K For fome of
, the princes, Or chief of the Ifraelites, came to him,
1 Ezralx.
Vol. II. Pd and

402 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
and told him, that the people of Ifrael, and the
priefts and the Levites, had not feparated themfelves
from the people of the land, namely, the Canaanites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Jebufites, Ammonites, Moabites,
Egyptians, and Amorites ; but did according to their
abominations. For they had taken of their daugh
ters for wives, both to themfelves and to their fons,
though exprefsly forbidden, Deut. vii. 3. By which
means the holy feed had mingled themfelves with the
people of thofe lands ; and (which made it the
worfe, and the harder to be reformed) the princes
and rulers had been chief in this trefpafs.
When Ezra heard this, he rent his garments, and
for meer grief plucking off the hair of his head and
beard, he fat down aftonifhed until the evening-fa-
crlfice. During which time, fuch of the people as
trembled at the words of the God of Ifrael, be
caufe of the tranfgreffion of thofe others of the capti
vity that had been drawn into this evil, gathered
themfelves about him.
But when the time of the evening-facrifice was
come (which was the twelfth hour with them, who
began the day at fix in the morning, and anfwers the
fixth hour in the afternoon with us) Ezra, falling on
his knees, and fpreading out his hands unto the
Lord his God, thus poured forth the grief of his
foul before him :
" O my God (faid he) I am afhamed, and blufh
to lift up my fage unto thee, my God ; for our ini
quities are increafed over our heads, and our trefpafs
is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our
fathers have we been in a great trefpafs unto this day.
And for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our
priefts, been delivered into the hands of the kings
of the nations, to the fword, to captivity, and to
be made a fpoil, and to confufion of face, as at this
day. And now, for a little fpace, grace (or favour)
hath been fhewed from the Lord our God, to leave
us a remnant to efcape, and to give us a nail (mean
ing a fettlement) in his holy place; that our God
may

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 403
may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving
in our bondage : for we were bondmen ; yet our
God hath not forfaken us in Our bondage, but hath
extended mercy unto us, in the fight of the kings
of Perfia, to give us a reviving, that we might fet
up the houfe of our God, and repair the defolations
thereof, and to give us a wall (a defence) in Judah
and Jerufalem. And now, O our God, What fhall
we fay after this ? For we have forfaken thy com
mandments, which thou haft commanded by thy
fervants the prophets, faying, The land; unto which
ye go to poffefs it, is unclean with the filthinefs of
the people thereof, by reafon of their abominations,
which have filled it, from one end to the other, with
their uncleannefs. Give not therefore your daughters
unto their fons, neither take their daughters unto your'
fons, nor feek their peace or their wealth (that is,
their welfare) for ever ; that ye may be ftrong, and
eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheri
tance to your children for ever. And now, after all
that hath come upon us for our evil deeds, and for
our great trefpaffes, feeing thou, our God, haft pu
niflied us lefs than our iniquities deferve, and haft
given us fuch deliverance as this, fhould we again
break thy commandments, and join in affinity with
the people of thefe abominations, wouldft not thou
be angry with us, till thou haft confumed us, fo that
there fhould be no remnant, nor efcaping ? O Lord
God of Ifrael, thou art righteous ; for we remain yet
efcaped, as it appeareth this day. Behold, we are
before thee in our trefpaffes, but we cannot ftand be
fore thee, becaufe of this."
When Ezra had ended his confeffion and prayer,
Weeping, and catling himfelf down before the houfe
of God k ; the Lord wrought fo upon the hearts of the
people, that there affembled unto him out of Ifrael
a very great congregation of men, women, and chil
dren ; and the people wept very fore. Which when
k Ezra x.
D d 2 Shechaniah

404 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
Shechaniah (a man of a confiderable family in Ifrael)
obferved, he, for himfelf and the reft of the people,
thus fpake unto Ezra :
" We have indeed trefpaffed againft our God, in
having taken ftrange wives of the people of the land ;
yet from this appearance of repentance, and difpofi-
tiOn to reformation, there is ground of hope in Ifrael
concerning this thing. Let us now therefore make
a covenant with our God to put away all the ftrange
wives, and fuch as are born of them, according to
the counfel of my lord, and of thofe that tremble
at the commandment of our God (whom the fear of
Gpd hath preferved out of this. tranfgreffion) ; and
let it be done according to the law- And in order
thereunto, arife, thou, Ezra, for this matter belongeth
principally unto thee (to whom God hath given both
learning to perfuade, and authority to require it of
the people) ; yet we alfo will be with thee ; therefore
be of good courage and do it."
Then Ezra, rifing up from before the houfe, of
God (where, it feems, he had all this while lain pro-
ftrate before the Lord) made the chief priefts, with
the Levites, and all Ifrael, to fwear that they would
do according to this word. After which, having re
tired himfelf into the chamber of Johanan, that he
might there faft and mourn, he caufed proclamation
to be made unto all the children of the captivity
throughout^Judah and Jerufalem, that they fhould
gather themfelves together' unto Jerufalem . within
three days, upon penalty that whofoever fhould neg
lect to come within that time, fliould forfeit all
his fubftance, and be himfelf feparated from the con
gregation of Ifrael.
Upon this fummons all the men of Judah and
Benjamin flocked in unto Jerufalem within the three
days. But it being the ninth month, the feafon
proved very wet ; fo that the people fitting in the
ftreet before the houfe of God trembled ; partly be
caufe of the guilt they were under, and partly for the
great

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 405
great rain, which perhaps they might take to be a
judgment upon them for their offence.
• Being thus gathered together, Ezra the prieft,
ftanding up, did thus open the bufinefs unto them :
" Ye have tranfgreffed, in that ye have taken
ftrange wives to increafe the trefpafs of Ifrael. Now
therefore make confeffion unto the Lord God of your
fathers, and do his will, in feparating yourfelves from
the people of the land, and from the ftrange wives."
To this all the congregation,\ anfwering with a loud
voice, faid; " As thou haft faid, fo muft we do.
But the people are many, and it is a time of much
rain, fo that we are not able to ftand abroad ; neither
is this the work of one day or two, for we are many
that have tranfgreffed in this thing. Now therefore,
let our rulers throughout all the congregation ftand
for us. And let all them who have taken ftrange
wives in our feveral cities come, at appointed times,
and with, them the elders and judges of every city (to
teftify that thefe are all that are guilty in that
place) : and fo proceed from time to time, until the
fierce wrath of our God, for this matter, be turned
from us."
This' propofition being approved, and agreed to,
Ezra the prieft, and certain chief of the fathers, ac
cording to their families (having fome few others
added to them as affiftants) were by name deputed
to that fervice : who on the firft of the tenth month
fat down to examine that matter, and did not make
an end with all the men that had taken ftrange wives,
until the firft day of the firft month following.
But when they had gone through the work, and
had taken a lift of all the names of all the men, both
priefts and people, that had taken ftrange wives (of
Whom fome had children by them) they made them
give the hand (which was a certain ceremony of giv- ;
ing fecurity, ufed to confirm a covenant, as in Ezek.
X-vii. 18,) that they would put them away. Which
done, thfey offered their trefpafs-offering according
to the law, and fo the matter ended.
D d 3 But

406 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
But although fome diforders were now reformed,
yet many enormities remained yet to be reformed,
both in the people, and more efpecially in the priefts.
And although the temple was now rebuilt, yet the
city lay in a manner wafte, without gates or wall,
which gave advantage to the enemies of the Jews to
infult them. For Zerubbabel, it is probable, was by
this time dead. And though Ezra was a learned
fcribe, and a zealous prieft, and had prepared his
heart to feek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and
to teach in Ifrael ftatutes and judgments, Ezra vii.
10. yet he feems not to have been fo qualified for
the exercife of civil authority, as the condition of
the people and flate of the place required.
Wherefore it pleafed the Lord to fend another of
his fervants thither to carry on that work, and finifh
what of it yet remained. This was Nehemiah, one
of the captive Jews, who was cup-bearer to king
Artaxerxes, and in efpecial favour with him.

THE

THE
BOOK O F
N E H E M I A H,
INCLUDING
The Prophet M A L A C H I ;
AND

Containing an Hiftory (as fome. compute) of
about Seventy Years.

NEHEMIAH being at Shufhan, the king's palace
(where his office required his attendance)*,
and meeting one day with certain of his brethren, men
of Judah, who had been at Jerufalem, and were come
back again to Chaldea, he inquired of them con
cerning the Jews that were returned from the capti
vity, and concerning the flate of Jerufalem. They
told him that the remnant which were left of the cap-;
a Nehem. i. A. M, 3526,
P d 4^ tivity

4o8 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
tivity there, in the province of Judea, were in great
affliction, and under foul reproach from their enemies ;
that the wajl of Jerufalem remained broken down,
and the gates thereof burnt with fire, as the Baby^
lonians had left' it, when Nebuchadnezzar had facked
the city, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 19. and Jer. Iii. 13, 14.
This fo affected good Nehemiah, that (though he
himfelf, for himfelf wanted nothing, living in the fa
vour of his prince, and affluence of all things necef
fary), he fat down and wept; and having mourned
and fafted feveral days, he at length poured forth his
fupplication to the Lord in this manner :
, " I befeech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great
and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy
for them that foye him, and obferve his commandment,
let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open,
that thou mayft hear the prayer of thy fervant, which
I pray before thee now, day and night, for the chil
dren of Ifrael, thy feryants, and confefs the fins of
the children of Ifrael which we have finned againft
thee. Both I and my father's houfe have finned,
We have dealt very corruptly againft thee, and have
not kept the commandments, nor the ftatutes, nor
the judgments, which thou commandedft by thy ferr
vant Mofes, when thou faidft (Deut. iv, 25, &c.)
" If ye tranfgrefs, I will fcatter you abroad among the
nations ; but if ye turn again unto me, and keep my
commandments, and do them, though there were
of you caft out unto the uttermoft part of heaven,
yet will I gather them from thence, and bring them
unto the place where I have chofen to fet my name."
Now fince thefe are thy feryants and thy people,
whom thou haft redeemed by thy great power, and
by thy ftrong hand ; I befeech thee, O Lord, let
now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy fer
vant, and to the prayer of thy fervants who defire to
fear thy name ; and profper thou, I pray thee, thy
fervant this day, and grant me favour in {he fight of
the king." By

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 409
By thus continually mourning, falling, and afflict
ing himfelf, for the fake of his brethren, his coun
try, and the holy city, Nehemiah had imprinted fuch
tokens of forrow in his face, that when his turn came
to wait, and, according to his office, he took up the
wine to prefent it to the king, the king obferved it ;
and he not having been ufed, in former times, to be
fad in the king's prefence, the king thereupon faid
to him, " Why is thy countenance fad, feeing thou
art not fick ? This is nothing elfe but forrow of heart."
Though Nehemiah was ftruck with fear upon the
king's difcovering the trouble of his mind, out of an
awful regard he had to him ; yet, the king having
given him fo fair an occafion to open unto him the
caufe of his grief, he took heart. And having ufed
the common apprecation of fubjects to princes in
thofe times [Let the king live for ever I] " How
(faid he) can my countenance be otherwife than fad,
when the city, the place of my fathers fepulchres,
lieth wafte, and the gates thereof are confumed with
fire?" The king thereupon afking him what he would re
queft, he, lifting up his heart to God for afliftance,
£nfwered; (< If it pleafe the king, and if thy fervant
hath found favour in thy fight, my requeft is, that
thou wouldeft fend me to Jerufalem,, the city of my
fathers fepulchres, that I may build it."
Now found Nehemiah the anfwer of his prayer b. .
For God gave him fo great favour with the king,
that when the king had afked him (the queen alfo
fitting by) how long his journey fhould be? and
within what time he would return ? and Nehemiah
had fet a time, the king not only gave him leave to
go, but upon Nehemiah's further requeft, gave him
letters both to the governors of the provinces beyond
the river, charging them to convey him fafely over,
until he fhould come into Judea, and to the keeper
pf the king's foreft, commanding him to furnifh him
t> J^ehem, ii, with

410 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
with timber for beams for the gates of the palace,
and for the walls, and for the building of an houfe
for Nehemiah himfelf, as governor, to dwell in, while
he fhould refide there. •
Thus furnifhed, Nehemiah fet forward ; and when
he was come to the governors, and had delivered
his credentials to them, they, feeing the equipage in
which he came (for the king had fent fome of the
captains of his army, with horfemen, to attend him
thither), received him with due refpect. Only San-
ballat the Horonite (a Toparch, or chief officer
among thp Moabites) and Tobiah the Ammonite
(called the fervant, becaufe, as fome think, he was
a vaffal to the Perfian monarch ; though otherwife a
man of prime note among the Ammonites) being
great enemies to the Jews, were exceedingly yexed,
when they heard that there was a man come to feek
the welfare of the children of Ifrael.
But Nehemiah, not regarding them, purfued his
journey to Jerufalem ; whither being come, and hav
ing fpent three days there, he arofe one night, and
taking only fome few men with him, he Went out
privately to take a view of the breaches that were in
the walls of the city, without telling any man what
God had put in his heart to do.
Going out therefore by the gate of the valley ber
fore the Dragon-well, he rode on to the dung-port
(called fo, becaufe the filth and foilage of the city
was ufually carried forth through that gate), and,
viewed the walls of the city on that fide, which he
found were broken down, and the gates thereof con
fumed with fire. Thence directing his courfe to
the gate of the fountain, and to the king's pool
(each taking name from the pool Siloah, or Siloam)
he found the way fo ruinous, that there was no place
for the beaft he rode on to pafs. Wherefore turning
from thence, he went up (while it was yet night) by
the brook ; arid having on that fide alfo viewed the
wall, he turned back again : and entering the city by
the gate of the valley (through which he went forth) he

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 41,
he returned home ; none of the Jews, neither priefts,
nobles, rulers, nor workmen (fave thofe few that went
with him) knowing whither he went, or what he did ;
for he had not yet opened his purpofe to any of
them. But after he had from this perfonal view fatisfied
himfelf what was needful to be done % he called his
brethren the Jews together, and thus befpake them :
" Ye fee (faid he) the diftrefs we are in ; how Je
rufalem lieth wafte, and the walls thereof are burnt
with fire ; come, and let us build up the wall of
Jerufalem, that we be no more a reproach." Then
to encourage them, he told them how good the Lord
had been unto him, and what favour he had given
him with the king, relating to them for their con
firmation the difcourfe that had paffed between the
king and him, fhewing them alfo the commiffion
and authority which the king had given him. Where
upon they all cried out, " Let us arife and build ;"
and ftrengthening one another, they chearfully fet
their hands to the work.
But when Sanballat and Tobiah, with Gefhem (a
Toparch or governor in Arabia) heard that they were
going to build (which they foon did, by means of
Tobiah's wife, who was a Jewefs), they laughed them
to fcorn ; and in contempt of them faid, " What is
this thing ye do ; will ye rebel againft the king ?
Nehemiah thereupon letting them know that he had
fufficient warrant for what he did, added, cc The
God of heaven will profper us ; therefore we his fer
vants will rife and build. But as for you (faid he)
ye need not trouble yourfelves about it, for ye have
no portion nor right, no, nor any memorial (no re-
gifter nor monument) in Jerufalem, to fhew that ye,
or any of your anceftois, did ever belong to God."
By this means rid, for the prefent, of thefe envious
neighbours, the Jews went heartily on with their
building ; Eliafhib their high-prieft, with his brethren
f JNehero, iii, the

4ia SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
the priefts, fetting them a good pattern, by building
up the fheep-gate, the neareft to the temple, and
through which the /heep, which were offered in facri-
fices, were ufually brought. This gate the priefts
took upon them to build, and did both finifb and
dedicate it. Whofe example the people following,
divided the work among them, fome taking one partj
fome another, as is particularly fet forth in this third
chapter ; where we may obferve, that fome parts of
the work were undertaken by private families, as in
ver. 4. 6, &c. fome parts by bodies politick or cor
porations, as by the men of Jericho, ver. 2. by the
Tekoites, ver. 5. (where a brand is fet on their
nobles, for not putting their necks to the work of the
Lord) ; fome parts by companies or trades, as the
goldfmiths and the merchants, ver. 32. And fome
were fo zealous and forward, that when they had fi
nifhed one piece of the work, they undertook another,
as Merimoth, ver. 4, and 21. and the poor Tekoites
(though deferted by their lords), ver. 5. and 27.
Thus many hands making light work, the building
went on apace. Which when Sanballat underftood,
he was wroth, and in great indignation mocked the
Jews d. And to animate the foldiers againft them,
he faid to his brethren (or companions) in the hear
ing of the army of Samaria, " What do thefe feeble
Jews intend to do ? Will they fortify themfelves ?
Will they facrifice ? Will they make an end in a day?
Will they revive the ftones out of the heaps of the
rubbifh which are burnt ?" Whereupon Tobiah, to
/hew his contempt alfo of the Jews and their under
taking, deridingly added, " Even that which they
build is fuch, that if but a fox go up upon it, fhe fhall
break dpwn their ftone wall."
Thefe fcernful taunts kindled a zeal in good Ne
hemiah to fpread his complaint before the Lord, and
to cry unto him for vengeance upon thofe malicious
ppppfers of his pepple and wprk. But the work
d Nehem. iv; nptwithftanding

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 4IJ
ftotwithftanding went forward; for the people, en
couraged by Nehemiah, and heartily engaged in their
own minds, carried it on with that earneft diligence,
that in a little time the parts of the wall were joined
together, and raifed to half its height.
But when Sanballat and Tobiah, with their ac
complices (the Arabians, Ammonites, and Afhdod-
ites), heard that the walls of Jerufalem were fo
near made up, and that the breaches began to be flop
ped, they raged exceedingly, and confpired all of
them together to go and fight againft Jerufalem, that
they might hinder the work. And fo clofely had
they laid their defign, and intended to carry it fo
privately on, that the Jews fhould not fee any of
them, nor ihould know any thing of the matter, until
they were got in among them, and were killing and
flaying them.
But though this confpiracy was carried on with
all imaginable fecrecy, yet the Jews which dwelt by
them got notice of it ; and hailing to Jerufalem, in
formed their, brethren there of the defign that was
formed againft them ; letting them know, that their
enemies did not intend to proclaim war, nor to bring
it to a pitched battle, but to take them at unawares,
and unprovided, and to fet upon them in all places
where they could find an advantage.
This made the Jews (having firft poured forth their
prayers unto Almighty God for help) fet a watch
day and night againft their enemies, to difcover and
give notice of their approaches. And becaufe the
men of Judah complained that the ftrength of the
bearers of burdens was decayed, and fo much rub-
bifh yet remained to be removed, that they fliould
not be able both to carry away the earth, and to de
fend themfelves while they were working at the wall ;
therefore Nehemiah fet the reft of the people, accor
ding to their families, in the lower places behind the
wall, as well as on the higher places, -armed with
their fwords, their fpears, and their bows, that they
might

4i4 SACRED HISTORY. PartHI.
might be both a defence and encouragement to the
workmen. Which done, Nehemiah, having taken a view of
them, went amongft them to chear and hearten them
on ; bidding both the nobles and rulers, and the reft
of the people, not to be afraid of them, but to re
member the Lord, who is great and terrible ; and if
(faid he) they affault you, fight for your brethren
your fons, and your daughters, your wives, and your
houfes. Thus ftood they on their guard for a while, till
they underftood that Sanballat and his party, finding
their defign was difcovered, and that the Jews were
prepared to receive them, had let it fall. Where
upon the Jews, perceiving that God had brought to
nought the counfel of their enemies, returned all of
them to the wall, every one to his work. Yet fo,
that from that time forward, one half of Nehemiah's
fervants (fuppofe his guards) wrought in the work,
and the other half held the weapons and armour in
readinefs, if need fhould be, and the rulers ftood be
hind the people to back them. Moreover, the
builders had every one his fword by his fide whilfl
he builded : and all the labourers, as well they that
laded the burdens, as they that bare them, wrought
every one with one hand, and held a weapon with
the other.
The trumpeter always attended Nehemiah the go
vernor ; and becaufe the work was great and large,
and by reafon of the length of the wall they were fe
parated upon it, one company far from another, he
directed the nobles and all the people, that where-
foever they fhould hear the found of the trumpet,
they fhould forthwith refort thither, to relieve thofe
that fhould be engaged; and for their encourage
ment and comfort he told them, " Their God would
fight for them."
Thus went they on, plying the work hard ; for
half of them held the fpears from break of day,
till the ftars appeared at night. And then Nehe miah

Partlll. SACRED HISTORY. 415
miah caufed all the workmen, with their fervants,
to lodge within Jerufalem, that they might be a
guard to the city in the night, as well as labour in
it in , the day. And fo intent and watchful was Ne
hemiah in the work, that neither he, nor his bre
thren, nor his fervants, nor the guards, did any of
them put off their clothes, except it were to fhift
themfelves for wafhing.
While thus all hands were bufily employed0, a
difcontent brake out among the common people,
which was' likely to have given a troublefome di-
verfion from the work, if it had not been timely and
difcretely compofed ; the occafion whereof was this :
There being a dearth or famine in the land, pro
vifions were grown fcarce and dear, and the poorer
fort of people, being continually engaged in the pub
lick buildings, had not time to improve their own
eftates to the beft advantage for themfelves and their
families ; fo that they began to be preffed with
ftraits, and the rich, who by the law (Deut. xv. 7, 8.)
/hould have helped them freely, inftead thereof, did
rather opprefs them with ufurious exactions.
This burthen, when they had long borne* it, grew
fo heavy and uneafy to them, that it made them break
forth, into a general complaint, both the men and
their wives, againft their brethren the rich Jews.
Some of them alledged that they had great families
to maintain, and therefore were fain to take up
corn (upon truft) to keep them alive. Others faid
they had mortgaged their lands, vineyards, and hou
fes, for money to buy corn, becaufe of the dearth.
And there were alio that faid, they had been
forced to take up money upon their lands and vine
yards to pay the king's tribute, which all the Jews
were fubject to (Ezra iv. 13.) except the priefts and
other minifterial officers belonging to the houfe of
God (Ezra vii. 24). But though they thus afligned
divers caufes of their poverty and ftraits, yet in this
e Nehera. v. they

416 SACRED HISTORY. Part lit
they all agreed, that though their flefh was as good
as the fle/h of their rich brethren* and their children
as near and dear to them as the rich mens children
were to them, yet they were driven to fuch neceffi-
ties by their brethrens exactions upon them* that
they were fain to fubject their fons to bondage, and
their daughters to be fervants. And they inftanced
that fome of their daughters were brought into bon
dage already, and it was not in their power to redeem
them, becaufe other men had their lands and vine
yards. When Nehemiah had heard this great complaint*
he was very angry. And confulting with himfelf
how he might remedy this mifchief, he rebuked the
nobles and the rulers for exacting ufury every one
of his poor brother. And that he might the better
prevail upon them, he (politickly) fet a great affem-
bly of the people againft them, before whom he rea-
foned thus with them :
" We (faid he) according to our ability (and in->
deed according to our duty, Levit. xxv. 48.) have
redeemed our brethren the Jews which were fold unto
the heathen ; and will you even fell your brethren ?
Or fhall they be fold unto us ?" This put thofe op-
prefling Jews to fuch a nonplus, that, -not knowing
what anfwer to give, they held their peace. Where
upon Nehemiah purfuing the point, faid, " It is not
good that ye do. Ought ye not to walk in the
fear of our God, were it but to avoid the reproach
of our enemies the heathen ? I likewife, and my bre
thren, and fervants, might exact of them money
and corn ; I pray you let us leave off this ufury : re
ftore I pray you this day to them their lands, their
vineyards, and their olive-yards, and their houfes, and
the hundredth part alfo of the money, corn, wine, and
oil that ye exact of them."
To this they all agreed, faying, " We will reftore
them, and will require nothing of them, but will do
as thou haft faid." Whereupon Nehemiah, taking
them at their word, called the priefts, and in theif
pretence

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 417
prefence did take an oath of them, that they Would
do as they had then promifed. And to engage them
the more fenfibly and ftrictly to it, he fhook his lap,
and (by way of imprecation) faid, " So God fhake
out every man from his houfe, and from his fervice,
that performeth not this promife, even thus be he
fhaken out and made empty." To which all the
congregation faid Amen, and praifed the Lord, and
the people did according to this promife.
Thus was a difcontented and dangerous faction
appeafed and allayed by the difcrete care and zeal of
Nehemiah. Nor did he work upon the people by
precept only and admonition, but by a felf-denying
example he led them on. For whereas the former
¦governors that had been before him were chargeable
unto the people, taking provifions of them for their
table, befides a ftanding revenue of forty fhekels of
filver (that is, fifty /hillings) by the day; and fuffered
even their fervants to bear rule over the people;
Nehemiah not only did not fo, becaufe of the fear of
God that was upon him, but he forebore buying
any land for himfelf, and was continually employed,
both he and his fervants, in or about the work of the
wall. And during the whole twelve years time of
his government, from the twentieth to the two-and-
thirtieth year of king Artaxerxes, he not only for
bore to take the governor's maintenance, but at his
own charge kept an open houfe ; having commonly
at his table an hundred and fifty of the Jews and
rulers, befides thofe that came in unto him from
the heathen.
Anfwerable to fuch a family was the provifion of
his houfe. For every day he had an ox dreffed, and
.fix choice fheep, befides fowls ; and once in ten days,
ftore of all forts of wine. All which he defrayed at
.his own charge, not requiring the allowance due to
him as governor, becaufe he faw the burthen was
.heavy upon the people.
By this encouraged, the people plied the work fo
hard, that now the Wall was builded, and all the.
Vol. II. Es . breaches

418 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
breaches in it made up f, only the gates were not yet
hung. But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Ge/hem,
underftood how faft the work went on, and how near
it was to be wholly finifhed, they turned their fury
into crafty policy, thinking thereby to betray Ne
hemiah. Wherefore they fent to invite him to give
them a meeting in one of the villages in the plain of
Ono (a place in the tribe of Benjamin), purpofing
when they had him there, to do him a mifchief.
But he, inftead of going, returned them anfwer,
" That he had a great work in hand, which muft
needs ftop if he fhould leave it, and therefore, he
was not at leifure to come down to them."
So earneft they were to have gotten him within
their reach, that four times, one after another, they.
fent him the fame invitation, and he as often returned
them the fame anfwer.
At length Sanballat, perceiving that Nehemiah
was too wary a man to be drawn into danger by fuch
a general invitation, concluded he would try him
once more, on pretence of an important bufinefs,
which he thought would touch him to the quick,
and make him come to clear himfelf. Wherefore
he fent his fervant to him the fifth time, with a let
ter in his hand, but open; which when Nehemiah had
received, he found the contents thereof to be thus ;
" It is reported among the heathen, and Gefhem
faith it, that thou and the Jews intend to rebel : for
which caufe thou buildeft the wall, that thou mayeft
be their king ; and that thou haft alfo appointed pro
phets to preach of thee at Jerufalem, and to fay,
There is a king in Judah. And now fhall it be re
ported to the king (Artaxerxes) according to thefe
words. Wherefore, come now, and let us take counfel
together about it, that is, how to ftop the fpreading of
there this report, and prevent the danger that may arife
by." f Nehem. vi. Nehemiah

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 419
Nehemiah eafily perceived that all this was but a
contrived defign to make him and the Jews afraid,
that fo their hands being weakened, the work they
were about, though fo near finifhed, might yet re
ceive a ftop, and not be completed. Wherefore, in
contempt of Sanballat and his wicked devices, he re
turned him this fhort and blunt anfwer : te There are
no fuch things done as thou fayeft, but thou feigneft
them out of thine own heart."
Then praying to God to encourage and ftrengthen
him, he went to the houfe of Shemaiah (the fon of De-
laiah the prieft), whom he found fhut up, under pre
tence (as is fuppofed) of a vow he had made for the
fafety of Nehemiah, which he feigned to be much
concerned for. And pretending to prophefy, that
the enemies of Nehemiah would come to flay him in
the night, he would have perfuaded Nehemiah to go
with him into the inner part of the temple, and fe
cure themfelves there, by Hunting the doors of the
temple upon them.
Though Nehemiah, not then fufpecting Shemaiah
of falfhood, did not at firft apprehend his defign j
yet from a fenfe of religion and honour with refpect
to the work he was engaged in, and the flation he
was placed in, he anfwered with a fort of indigna
tion, " Should fuch a man as I flee ! What man un
der my circumftances would go into the temple te
fave his life ? I will not go in."
When Nehemiah had given this refolute anfwer,
he perceived by the effect it had on Shemaiah, that
God had not fent him with that meffage to him ; but
that, being hired by Tobiah and Sanballat, he had
pronounced that prophecy againft him, On purpofe to
have put him in fear, and have drawn him into
fomething which might have furnifhed them with
matter for an evil report, wherewith they would have
reproached him.
But Nehemiah was preferved out of all their fnares.
And having committed himfelf to God, the righteous
judge and avenger of his fuffering fervants, he went
E e 2 boldly

420 SACRED HISTORY. Part III,
boldly on in his undertaking; fo that on the 25th
day of the fixth month (by the Jews called Elul) the
whole work was completed in fifty-two days : fo fays
the text exprefly; but from whence to begin the
computation interpreters are not agreed. Tremellius
and Junius would begin thefe fifty-two days after the
ftone wall was built. The annotators on the Englifh
bible, in their marginal note on Nehemiah vi. 15.
take thefe days to begin after Nehemiah had fent
his anfwer to Sanballat, which is lefs likely than the
other. I rather incline to think that the whole
work, confidering the many hands that were employed,
and the great diligence that was ufed "in it, was be
gun and ended in fifty-two days. Nor can there be
much more time allowed for it ; for it was in the
firft month (called by the Jews Nifan) that Nehemiah
was in Babylon, and obtained of the king leave to go
to Jerufalem, Nehem. ii. 1. And though we hive
not an exprefs account what time he fpent in his
journey, and when he arrived at Jerufalem, yet if we
may guefs at it by the time Ezra fpent in the fame
journey, when he came from Babylon to Jerufalem,
(allowing for the delay Ezra had at the river Ahava
when he firft fet forth, Ezra viii. 15. 31.) it is not
probable that Nehemiah got to Jerufalem till about
the end of the fourth month ; for Ezra, though he
fet out from Babylon on the firft day of the firft month,
reached not Jerufalem till the firft day of the fifth-
month. And from thence to the 25th of the 6th
month may make out the two-and-fifty days, and
Nehemiah's three days reft before he began ; or
thereabouts. But not to be over-curious in a matter not of the
greateft moment, when the Jews enemies, as well
the Samaritans as the heathen that were round about
them, underftood the building was fully finifhed,
they were much dejected in their minds, for they per
ceived that this work was brought to perfection by
the God of the Jews/ Yet,

Partlll. SACRED HISTORY. 421
Yet for all this Nehemiah was not free from both
trouble and danger; for the nobles of Judah, as
they had all along done, did ftill hold a correfpon-
dence with Tobiah, fending letters frequently to
him, and receiving letters from him. For he, by
linking himfelf and his family in marriages among
them, had gotten a great intereft in Jerufalem ; in-
fomuch that many of the Jews (which is ftrange to
think) were fworn unto him. He himfelf had mar
ried a Jewefs, the daughter of Shecaniah the fon of
Arah (a head of a confiderable family, who brought
back from the captivity feven hundred feventy-and-
five perfons, Ezra. ii. 5.) ; and his fon Johanan had
married the daughter of Mefhullam (the fon of Be-
rechiah), of another great family in Judah, Nehem.
vi. 17, 18.
By means of thefe crofs-matches, this crafty Am
monite had wound himfelf into the intereft and af
fection of the Jewith nobles, who would take occa
fion fometimes to commend him ; and as his name
(Tobiah) fignifies a good Lord, they would • fet forth
his good deeds before Nehemiah. And, which was
worfe, they difcovered to him Nehemiah s counfels,
which emboldened Tobiah to attempt by his letters
to put Nehemiah in fear.
This made Nehemiah more watchful over both
him and them g, left confpiracy fhould be carried on
between them for the betraying of the city. Where
fore finglingout his brother Hanani, and Hananiah,
the ruler of the palace (who was a faithful man, and
one that feared God above many), he gave them a
particular charge over Jerufalem, that they fhould
not fuffer the gates of the city to^ be opened, until
the fun had been up fome time ; and that in the even
ings they fliould ftand -by and fee the gates firmly
barred; and. fliould appoint watches (not of loiter
ing fellows, or unfettled ftragglers, but) of the houfe-
keepers in Jerufalem, who fhould take their turns to
? ffehem. vii.
E e 3 watch,

422 SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
watch, and fhould have their ftations every one againft
his own houfe.
But becaufe the city was large, and the inhabitants
but few, by reafon that the houfes were not yet ge
nerally builded, Nehemiah (as God put it into his
heart) affembled the nobles and rulers, together with
the people, that they might be reckoned by their
genealogies; having found a regifter of the genealo
gy of them who came up at the firft, wherein the
names of the heads of families, with the number of
perfons belonging to each family, were particularly fet
down, though with fome diverfity in the accounts
given thereof by Ezra, (chap, ii.) and by Nehemiah
here. The reafon of which difference is by fome fup
pofed to be, that the regifter or catalogue we have in
Ezra was made at Babylon before they fet forward;
the other, which Nehemiah found, was made at Je
rufalem after they were come thither; and there
might alterations happen in their families in fo long
a journey. By this regifter the people being ealled over by
their families, fome of them were at a great lofs, not
being able to fhew their father's houfe, nor their pe
digree, to manifeft whether they were of Ifrael or no.
And even of the priefts, fome fought their genealogy
by the regifter, but could not find it ; and were
therefore, as polluted, put from the priefthood, the
governor commanding that they fhould not eat of
the moft holy things, till there fhould ftand up a
prieft with Urim and Thummim, whfl might from
God determine whether they were of the prieftly
race or no.
The poll being taken, whereby they knew both
their numbers aid ftrength, that part of the people
which did not dwell at Jerufalem, did agree to bring
one of ten, which fhould be taken by lot out of their
numbers, to dwell in the holy city Jerufalem, that they
might be an additional ftrength to the place. And
this was fo well accepted of by the reft of the
people, that they thereupon* bleffed (or returned thanks.

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 423
thanks to) all thofe men that thus willingly offered
themfelves to dwell at Jerufalem.
While now the people were affembled together \
and having fettled (as well as they could) their ge
nealogies, and the governor, with their chfef fathers
and the reft of the people, had made their free-will-
offerings for the work of the Lord, Ezra the fcribe,
at the requeft of the people, brought forth the book
of the law, which the Lord, by Mofes, had com
manded Ifrael; and being in the ftreet before the
Water-gate, Ezra, the prieft and fcribe, ftood up
upon a pulpit of wood. So the text in the Eng-
lifh ; but the margin from the Hebrew fays, " A
tower of wood." And probably it might be of the
like form with that which in the margin to chap. ix.
4. is called a fcaffold. Whatever fafhion it was of,
it was fomething made on purpofe to ftand upon,
not in ; and it was large enough, it feems, for thir
teen befides himfelf to ftand on : for fo many, if I
mifcount them not, ftood befide him, fix on his right
hand, and feven on his left.
Being thus raifed a little above the reft of the
people, that he might be the better both feen and
heard of them all, Ezra opened the book in their
fight, at which they all ftood up. And when Ezra
had bleffed the Lord, the great God, all the people
lifting up their hands anfwered, Amen, Amen ; and
bowing their heads, worfhipped the Lord with their
faces towards the ground.
It is the ^pinion of fome, that the people were
gathered in feveral diftinct affemblies (fome think
eight) at one and the fame time, for the conveniency
of hearing the law read and expounded ; which is not
altogether unlikely ; for befides Ezra, the Levites
are faid to have read in the book of the law, and
to have given the fenfe, and caufed the people to un-r
ftand it, h Nehem. viii,
E e 4 However,

424. SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
However, the people, it feems, when they heard
the words of the law (which they were fenfible they
had tranfgreffed) did mourn and weep. So that Ne
hemiah and Ezra, with the Levites, were fain to quiet
and ftill* them, bidding them not mourn nor weep
at that time, but hold their peace, becaufe that day
was holy unto the Lord their God ; and therefore
they fhould not fhew any tokens of grief or forrow
on that day, but fhould make good cheer, eating
and drinking of the beft, and fhould fend portions of
their provifions unto them for whom nothing was
prepared. For that day, being the firft of the feventh
month, Was holy unto the Lord their God, and the
joy of the Lord was their ftrength.
This being a propofition very agreeable to the
people, they readily clofed with it, and went their
way to eat and to drink, and to fend portions, and to
make great mirth, becaufe they had underftood what
had been read and declared to them.
On the next day were gathered together the chief
of the fathers of all the people, with the priefts and
the Levites, unto Ezra the fcribe, tO be more parti
cularly inftructed in the law. And upon further
fearch, they found written in the law (Levit. xxiii.
40.) that the Children of Ifrael fliould dwell in
booths, in the feaft of the feventh month ; and that
they fhould make proclamation in all their other cities,
as well as in Jerufalem, that the people fhould go
forth and fetch olive-branches, and pjne- branches,
and mirtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches
of thick trees to make booths.
When therefore this was publifhed to the people,
they went forth and brought home branches, and
made themfelves booths therewith, fome upon the
roofs of their houfes, others in their courts, fome in
the courts of the houfe of God, others in the ftreets ;
fo that all the congregation of them that were come
again out of the captivity, made booths, and fat un-.
der them. And great gladnefs was among them on
this occafion ; for this was more than had been done fince

•Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 42$
fince the days of Jofhua the fon of Nun, which was
more than a thoufand years.
But after this folemnity was over, the children of
Ifrael affembled themfelves again on the four-and-
twentieth day of the fame month '; and now they ap
peared in fackloth, fatting and mourning with earth
upon them, and confeffed their fins, and the ihiqui-
ties of their fathers. In which having briefly touched
upon the greatnefs and goodnefs of God, they enu
merated his gracious and merciful dealings with their
fathers from the time he made the covenant with
Abraham ; and acknowledging their fathers and their
own difobedience and rebellion, they confeffed to the
juftice of God's chaftifement. And in the conclufion
they made a folemn covenant with the Lord that they
would walk in his law given by Mofes. Which co
venant, that it might be the more firm and lafting,
they committed to writing, and the chief of their
nobles, with the priefts and Levites, did fet their
feals unto it. The reft of the people who did not
feal it, both men and women, old and young, that
were come to years of underftanding, to teftify their
concurrence with their brethren therein, did bind
themfelves with an oath and execration to the obfer-
vance thereof.
But alas I they quickly broke both their oath and
the covenant11. For Nehemiah having fettled the
officers both in church and flate (chapters xi. and
xii.) went back, according to his engagement, to
king Artaxerxes at Babylon. And although he was
abfent but a little time, probably not much above a
year, yet in that time they fell into great diforders.
For Eliafhib the prieft, having the overfight of the
chambers of the houfe of God, and being allied to
Tobiah (the Jews great enemy), had prepared for him
p. great chamber in the court of the houfe of God,
¦therein they were wont in former times to lay the
» Nehcia. ix., k A. M. 3538. meat-

426 SACRED HISTORY. Partlll.
meat-offerings, and other holy things, for the ufe of
the temple and priefts.
This intimacy of theirs with that prophane Am
monite, led them into a violation of their covenant
they had fo lately made, by prophaning the fabbath,
and marrying with, the heathen ; fo that when Nehe
miah returned from Babylon, he found it no fmall
work to reform them.
It grieved him fore, that fo open an enemy, and fo
mifchievous a man, as Tobiah was, /hould have a
chamber prepared for him in the court of the houfe
of God, and, he refolved to out him at any rate ; yet
he held it needful to do it as warily as he could, to
prevent fedition or tumult ; knowing how far he had
infinuated himfelf into the good opinion of too many
of the people, efpecially the great ones.
Caufing therefore the book of the law to be read
In the audience of the people, it was therein found
written (Deut. xxiii. 3.) " That the Ammonite and
the Moabite fhould not come unto the congregation
of God for ever, becaufe they met not the children of
Ifrael with bread and water 1 (that is, with friendly en
tertainment) when they came out of Egypt ; but hired
Baalam againft them to curfe them; though God
turned the curfe into a bieffing."
When the people heard this, they feparated from
Ifrael all the mixed multitude. And this opened the
way for Nehemiah to rid himfelf of Tobiah, who was
an Ammonite, without danger of the people's pro
tecting him, or at all tiding with him. Wherefore,
without more ado, he caft forth all Tobiah's houfe-
hold-ftuff out of the chamber j and caufing it to be
cleanfed, he brought again the veffels of the houfe of
God, with the meat-offering and the frankincenfe
into it.
Then obferving that in his abfence the portions of
the Levites had not been "given them, the want of
which had made them forfake their feveral minifte-
1 Nehem. xiii. rial

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 427
rial fervices, and betake themfelves every one to his
field for maintenance, he contended with the rulers
about it ; and reducing the Levites to their places and
bufinefs, he caufed the people to bring in their
tythes, and appointed treafurers to receive and di-
ftribute them.
He took notice alfo that fome of the Jews did pro-
phane the fabbath, by doing fervile works upon it ;
as treading their wine-preffes, bringing in fheaves of
corn, with wine, grapes, figs, and all manner of
burdens, into Jerufalem, upon laden affes on the fab
bath day. Others fold victuals, and all manner of
wares on that day. All which he teftified againft;
and contending with the nobles about it, faid unto
them, " What an evil thing is this that ye do, in
prophaning the fabbath day ! Did not your fathers
thus ? and did not our God bring all this evil upon
us, and upon this city, for fuch things ? yet ye bring
more wrath upon Ifrael by prophaning the fabbath."
Thus for a while he reafoned with them. But find
ing that words would not do, he commanded that,
towards the evening before the fabbath, the gates of
the city fhould be fhut ; and that they fhould not be
openened again until after the fabbath was ended.
And becaufe he would be fure that this command
Ihould be duly obferved, he fet fome of his own fer
vants at the gates, to fee that no burden was brought
in on the fabbath-day.
By this means the merchants, and fellers of all
kinds of wares, were greatly difappointed. For com
ing, as they ufed to do, with their goods to fell, and
not being admitted to enter, they were forced to
lodge abroad without Jerufalem. Which when they
had done once or twice, and yet would not take
warning, Nehemiah teftified againft them, afking
them, " Why they lodged before the wall ?" And in
fhort' told them, " If they did fo again, he would
lay hands on them." That fo feared them, that they
came no more on the fabbath-day; yet left they
ftiould have come again, he commanded the Levites to

428 SACRED HISTORY. Part III*
to cleanfe themfelves, and come and guard the gate,
that the fabbarii-day might be kept holy.
But in no cafe did Nehemiah exprefs a warmer-zeal,
than againft thofe mixed marriages which were made
between Jews and other nations. For having found
fome Jews that had married wives of Afhdod, and of
Ammon, and of Moab, whofe children, he obferved,
fpake half in the fpeech of Afhdod, and could not
fpeak in the Jews language, but ufed a mongrel
fpeech, patched up out of both languages ; he con
tended with them to that degree, that he not only
curfed them, but fmiting fome of them, he plucked
off their hair, and made them fwear that they fhould
not give their daughters unto the fons of other people,
nor take of the daughters of other people for their
fons, or for themfelves. For (faid he to them) " Did
not Solomon king of Ifrael fin by thefe things ? fo
that although among many nations there was no king
like him, who was beloved of his God, and God
made him king over all Ifrael ; yet even him did
outlandifh woman caufe to fin. Shall we then (added
he) hearken unto you, to do all this great evil, to
tranfgrefsagainft our God in marrying ftrange wives ?"
'Nor dealt he thus with the meaneft only, but, like
a good judge, executing judgment impartially, he
ferved them all alike whom he found guilty in this
matter ; for one pf the fons of Jojada, the fon of
Eliafhib the high-prieft, having married a daughter
of Sanballat the Horonite, he chafed him from him.
Yet notwithftanding all the care and pains which
this good man took to reform that people, how quick
ly and greatly they were depraved again after his
death, appears by the clofe expoftulations of the pro
phet Malachi with them m ; whom, not long after, the
Lord raifed up and fent to reprove them, and who is
the laft of the prophets of whom we have any writing
or mention in the Old Teftament.
<" Malachi. A. M. 357S. H*

Part III. SACRED HISTORY. 429
He having fet forth the peculiar love of God to
the feed of Jacob, and noted their foul ingratitude,
taxes them in general, the priefts more particularly,
with irreligion'and prophanenefs, in polluting the al
tar of the Lord, corrupting the covenant of Levi,;
and making many to ftumble at the law. He re
proved them for marrying with the heathen, for
mocking God with empty fhews only of religion,
whilft they were notorioufly guilty of the higheft
crimes, as forcery, adultery, fwearing falfely, and op-
preffing the labourer, the widow, the fatherlefs, and
the ftranger. _ The people he impeached alfo of rob
bing God, in with-holding the tythes and offerings.
Which, being a part of the ceremonial law, and ap
propriated to the maintenance of the Levitical prieft-
hood, while that priefthood lafted, to which they
were given, and that law ftood, by which they were
required to be paid, could not, without great in-
juflice, be detained ; wherefore he fharply rebuked
them, as well for that as other enormities of which
they were guilty.
And as he had before (in chap. i. ver. 11.) given
as it were a tranfient touch of the calling of the Gen
tiles, and introducing the purely fpiritual and gofpel-
worfhip ; fo, in chapter iv. he foretold the coming of
our Lord Jefus Chrift, and of his fore-runner John
the Baptift, under the name of Elijah, with the happy
effects thereof; the turning of the heart of the fathers
to the children, and of the children to their fathers.
Which both concludes his prophecy, and clofes the
Old Teftament.
Now although from the death of Nehemiah to the
birth of our Saviour Chrift, amongft the various com
putations, there are reckoned, at the leaft, more than
four hundred years ; in which time were many and
great revolutions in the Jewifh flate, and the church
- of God underwent moft cruel fufferings, from both
the Grecians and the Romans ; yet fince the account
thereof is to be fought, partly from the apocryphal books

43° SACRED HISTORY. Part III.
bopks of the Maccabees, partly from pther hiftpries
of no better authority ; having thus far followed the
thread of Sacred Hiftory, through all the books of
the Old Teftament, which are generally received as
canonical, that I may not mix incertainties with cer
tainties, I here let fall my pen."

THE END

A Table

A B

E

OF THE
PRINCIPAL MATTERS
CONTAINED IN THE
FOREGOING HISTORY
O F T H E
OLD TESTAMENT,
DIGESTED ALPHABETICALLY.

jfAR 0 N, who he was, 173, vol. 1.
Vj[ Is joined with Mofes in his mef
fage to Pharaoh, 182, vol. 1.
Makes a golden calf for the Ifraelites
to worfliip, 217, vol. 1. His lame ex
cufe, 220, vol 1. He and his fons
confecrated to the priefthood, 229, vol.
I. He joins with his fifter Miriam in
murmuring againft their brother Mofes,
244, voi. 1. His rod buddeth, 257,
vol. 1. His death, 261, vol. 1.
Abednego, the Chaldean name of Azariah,
one of Daniel's companions, 339, vol.
¦j.. who being caft into a fiery furnace,
346, vol. 2. came out unhurt, 347,
vol. 2.
Abel, a city in the tribe of Manaffeh, 58,
vol. 2.
Abel, a great ftone, 413, vol. 1.
Abel, fon of Adam, and brother to Cain,
his facrifice, acceptance, and murder,
10, vol. 1.
Abel-mizraim, its fignification, 149, vol. I.
Abiathar, fon of Abimelech the prieft, ef
caped death, when his father, and the
other priefts of Nob were flain, 468,
vol. 1. Confpiring to fet up Adonijah

for king, 72, vol. 2. Is put from the
priefthood, and confined to a privates
life, 85, vol. 2.
Abigail, i. e. the father's joy, 475, vol. 1.
Was the wife of Nabal, wifely appeafed
David's anger, 478, vol. 1. And be
came his wife, 479, vol. 1.
Abihu, one of Aaron's fons, was burnt to
death by fire from God, for offering
ftrange fire to God, 230, vol. 1.
Abimelech, a Philiftine king of Gerar, en
tertains Abraham, 45, vol. 1. Takes
from him his wife, under the name of
Jiis fifter; but being warned of God,
reftores her, and rewards him, ibid. Is
the firft in ftory that propofed an oath,
48, vol. 1.'
Abimelech, a baftard for; of Gideon, 371,
vol. 1. Slays fixty-nine of his brethren,
ibid. Ufurps the government, ibid.
Is mortally wounded by a woman, 376,
vol. i. and at his own requeft flain by
his armour-bearer, ibid.
Abiram, in the rebellion of Korah, was
fvvallowed up of the earth, 255, vol. 1.
Ab'ijhag, a fair young damfel, brought to
cherifti king David in his old age,
71, vol. 2. Abijhai,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Alilhai, Joab's brother, refcued king
David from imminent danger, 63,
vol.. 2.
Abner, king Saul's general, 481, vol. I.
Taxed by David for negligence, ibid.
Set up Ifh-bofheth, Saul's fon, king
over Ifrael, 2, vol. 2. Is beaten and
put to flight by Joab, David's general,
and purfued by Afshel, Joab's brother,
3, vol. 2. whom he flew, and efcaped,
ibid. Reproached by Ifh-bofheth, he
fell off to David, 4, vol. 2. Is trea-
cheroufly flain by Joab : but honoura
bly buried and lamented by king Da
vid, 7, 8. vol. 1.
Abram, who, 24, vol. I, Leaves Mefo-
potamia, and goes by divine direction
to Canaan, ibid. Hath a grant made
him by God of that land, to him and
his feed, before he had any, 25, vol.
I. Forced by famine, he removes in
to Egypt ; where calling his wife fifter,
he is well.intreated for her fake, but
upon difcovery that fhe was his wife,
is difmiffed in difpleafure, ibid. Re
turning into Canaan, he and his coufin
Lot part, 28, vol. 1. Upon notice that
Lot was taken prifoner, he arms his
fervants, purfues Chedorlaomer, with
his three confederate kings, flays them,
and refcues Lot, 29, vol. 1. In his
return, is friendly entertained by Mel-
chizedeck kirrg of Salem ; and to re
quite his kindnefs, prefents him with
the tenth of the fpoils, 31, vol. 1.
Receives the promife»of a fon, 32, vol.
I. Takes Hagar to his bed, 33, vol.
1. Hath his name changed from
Abram to
Abraham, 35, vol. 1. Pleads for Sodom,
39, vol. I. Goes to fojourn with Abi
melech king of Gerar, 45, vol. 1.
There hazards his wife again, ibid*
Is drawn by the heathen king to fwear,
48, vol. t. Offers his fon Ifaac, 50,
vol. 1. Refufes to bury his wife in the
common burying place, 52, vol. 1.
Sends his fteward to take a wife for
his fon Ifaac 53, vol. 1. Marries
Keturah, 59, vol. 1. His death and
burial, 60, vol. 1.
Airecb, rendered by fome, tender father ;
r by others, bow the knee, 1 14, vol. 1 .
Abfalom, king David's fon, flays his bro
ther Amnon, for having defiled his
fifter Thamar, 32, vol. 2. Flies, and
is an exile three years, 33, vol. 2.
By Joab's contrivance obtains pardon,

and how, 34, vol. 2. Returns and
is received to favour, 35, vol. 2. tTn^
dcrmincs the king his father, ibid.
Breaks forth into open rebellion, 37,
vol. 2. Lies with his father's concu
bines, 43, vol. 2. Purfues him with
an army, ibid. Is defeated, 48, vol. j.
Slain by Joab, Hid. and lamented by
his father, 51, vol. 2.
Achan ( i. e. troubling) takes off the ac-
curfed thing, 300. vol. 1. Is con
victed, and ftoned to death, 302,
vol. 1. _
Achijh, king of the Philiftines, entertains
David friendly, 483, vol. 1. Difmif-
fes him kindly, and why, 488,' vol. 1.
Achfah (whofe name imports trim or neat,
322, vol. 1.) Daughter of Caleb, and
wife to Othniel, begs of her father a
land of fprings, 323, vol. 1.
Adam, why fo called, 5. vol. 1. His
fin, 6, vol. 1. His punifhment, 9,
vol. 1. . •
Adonijah, one of king David's fons, con-
fpires to ufurp the throne, 72J vol. 2.
Hearing his brother Solomon was pro
claimed king, he flies to the altar for
refuge, 75, vol. 2. Upon fubmiffion
is pardoned, ibid. Afterwards fuing
for Abifhag to wife, 83, vol. 2. He
is put to death, 85, vol. 2.
Admi-bexek, being taken in battel, had
his thumbs and great toes cut off, as he
had ferved feventy kings before, 321,
vol. 1 .
Adoniram, i. e. high lord, 92, vol. 2.
Adonizedek, king of Jebus, makes war
againft Gibeon, 308, vol. 1. Is bea
ten by Jofhua, and taken, 209, vol. 1.
and hanged, with four kings more of
his confederates, 310, vol'. 1.
Adrammelech, the God of the Sepharvaims,
what fort of idol, 258, vol. z.
Agag (a common appellative for the kin'g?
of Amalek, 274, vol. 1. The namr
rather of a title of office-royal, than of
a perfon or family, 374, vjI. 2.) king
of Amalek, fpared by. king Saul, and
why, 436, vol. 1. Hewed in pieces
by the prophet Samuel, 440, vol. 1.
Ahai, king of Ifrael, his wicked reign,
134, vol. z. Through the help of
the Lord, in two battles, he over
throws king Benhadad and his Syrian;,
who boafted againft God, 148, vol. 2.
Is reproved for fparing and letting go
Benhadad, 151, vol. 2. Covets Na
both's vineyard, and takes it, 155, vol.

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Urol. 2. -Has judgment thereupon de-
i nounccd againft him from God, by the
prophet Elijah, 154, vol. 2. Invades
the Syrians, 155, vol. a. Imprifons
the prophet Micaiah for dlfluading it,
158, vol. 2. Difguifcs himfelf to
right, Hid. Is wounded and dies, 159,
vol. 2.
Ahafuerus, king of Perfia, makes a great
feaft, 364, vol. 2. Dcpol'cs queen
Vafhti for her contumacy, 370, vol.
2. Marries Efther, 373, vol. 2. Ad
vances Haman, 374, vol. 2. By his
perfuafion profcribes all the Jews, 376,
vol. 2. By queen Efther's mediation
faves the Jews, 38}, vol. 2. hangs
Haman, ibid, and promotes Mordecai,
384, vol. 2.
Ahaz, king of Judah, his wicked reign,
^248, vol. 2. Diftrufting God, fends
for the king of Affyria to help him
againft Syria and Ifrael, 251, Vol. 2.
Seeing an altar at Damafcus that plea
fed him, he fent a- pattern of it to the
high-prieft at Jerufalem, who thereby
made him one like it, 253, vol. 2.
Ahaziah, king of Ifrael, falling through
a lattice in his chamber, is hurt, 167,
vol. 2. Sends to enquire of Baalzebub,
the God of Ekron, if he fhould recover,
168, vol. 2. For hts contempt of If-
rael's God, in inquiring of an heathen
god, he is certified by the prophet Eli
jah, that he ihould furely die, ibid.
and did fo, 170, vol. 2.
Ahaziah, or Azariah, king of Judah,
joining with Jehoram, fon of Ahab, a
wicked king of Ifrael, is flain by Jehu,
205, vol. 2.
Ahijah, a prophet of the Lord, rending
his garment into twelve pieces, and
bidding Jeroboam the fon of Nebat
take ten of them, acquaints him, that
the Lord would give him ten of the
tribes of Ifrael, 107, vol. 2. Difco-
vers Jeroboam's wife coming to him in
a difguife, to inquire concerning the
recovery of her fon, who was fick ; and
both tills her that the child fhould
die, and denounces the judgments of
the Lord againft Jeroboam, and his
houfe, 120, vol. 2.
Ahikam, a true friend to the prophet Je
remiah, 295, vol. 2.
Abimelech, the prieft, entertains David,
464, vol. 1. Is informed againft by
Doeg, 467, vol. 1. and by king Saul's
command flain, with the reft »f the
priefts of Neb, ibid*,
Vol. II.

AMnoam, ,).*, tihe brother's beauty, 476)
vol. j.
Ahithophel, his evil counfel againft king
David, 44, volt 2. His end, 45,
vol. 2.
Ai, a city taken by fth ambufh, 303,
vol. 1.
Attar, at Bethel, prophefied againft, arid
rent, 115, vol. 1.
Amalek, dtfffcended from Efau, the firft of
the nations that affaulted Ifrael in their
travel from Egypt towards Canaan, 21-4,
vol. r. Sentenced to deftruction, 437,
vol. 1.
Amafa, captain of Abfalom's hoft, 47,
vol. 2. Made captain of ki*g David's
hoft in the room of Joab, 52, vol. 2.
Treacheroufly flain by Joab, 58, vol. 2.
Amaziah, king of Judah, flays his father's
murtherers, 220, vol* 2. Beats the
Edomites, and bringing ^home their
idol gods, worfhips them, 222, vol.2.
Being reproved by a prophet, threatens
him, ibid. Provokes the king of If
rael to battle, and is beaten, 223, vol.
I. His own people confpire againft
him, he flies, is purfued, and ilain,
ibid.
Amaziah, the idolatrous prieft of Bethel j
accufes Amos the prophet to the king,
234, vol. 2. and endeavours to fright
him away* 235, vol. 2.
AmhiJI) firft laid by God's direction, 303,
vol. 1.
Amnon, king David's eldeft fori, in love
With his half fifter Thamar, 29, vol. 2j
pines for her, ibidi By his coufin Jo-
nadab's advice, feigtls himfelf fick, de
fires her company and help, then forces
her, hates her, and turns her out of
doors, 30, vol. 2. Is flain for it by
her brother Salom, 32, vol. 2*
Amon, king of Judah, his wicked reign,
281", vol. 2. Murdered in his own
houfe by his own fervants, 282»
vol. 2i
Amos the prophet, who he was, 235^
vol. 2. When he began to prophefy,
and where, ibid* Accufed by the ido
latrous prieft of Beth-el, ibid. His
apology for himfelf, and judgment de
nounced againft the prieft, ibid.
Amram, the father of Miriam, Aaron,
and Mofes, 172, vol. u
Anak, father of the giants, 226, vol. 1.
Anammelek, a god of the Sepharvaims,
what fort of idol, z;8, vol. 2.
Anathoth, the city of the prophet Jere
miah, 286, vol. 2.
If Avgd

An Alphabetical TABLE.

4ngel, i. ii a mclTenger, 324, vol; I.
Angel, Chrift is called the angel of the
covenant, 140, vol. 1.
Anubis, an idol, of what fort, 258,
vol. 2.
Arthropathy, what, 1 78, vol. I.
Aphek, i. e. ftrength, 486, vol. 1.
Ark of Noah, the defcription and dimen-
fions thereof, 15, vol. 1.
Ararat, mountains in Armenia, on which
thearkrefted, 18, vol. 1.
Army, ftanding, the firft was by Saul,
435, voli 1.
Archives, that is, a houfe of rolls, where
records are kept and preferved, 394,
vol. z.
Afa, i. e. a phyfician, 144, vol. 2. King
of Judah, his good beginning and re
formation, 126, vol. 2. His decli
ning, 129, vol. 2. His death, 144,
vol. 2.
Afahel, Joab's brother, a fwift runner, 3,
volt 2. Purfues Abner, and is flain by
him, ibidt
Afhteroth, the idol of the Zidonians re-
prefented, 325, vol. 1. 107, vol. 2.
Afhima, the god of the men of Hamath,
what fort of idol, 258, vol. 2.
Afhteroth, a chief idol of the Philiftines,
491, vol. 1.
Afs' fpake to Balaam, 270, vol. 1. The
price of an afs's head in the fiege of
Samaria, 191, vol. 2.
Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel,
ufurps the throne of Judah, 21 1? vol. 2.
Deftroys the feed royal, ibid. Is flain,
212, vol. 2.
Azariah, one of Daniel's companions,
called Abednego, 339, vol. 2. Caft
into a fiery furnace, came out unhurt,
347, vol. z.

B.

Baal, the general god of the heathen,
page 362, vol. 1.
Baalim, the whole herd of leffer gods of
the heathen, called the tutelar gods,
324, vol. 1. 248, vol 2.
Baal-peor, fuppofed to be the beaftlyPria-
pus, 275, vol. 1.
Baal-perazim, in the plain of breaches
or divifions, 11, vol. 2.
Taal-zebub, tha god of Ekron, 168,
vol. 2.

Babel, confufion, fo called, becaufe there
the builders thereof were confounded
in their language, 23, vol. 1.
Balaam, his ftory at large, 267, vol. 1.
His death, 278, vol. 1.
Barak, i. e. lightning, with Deborah
difcomfits Sifera, and delivers Ifrael,
346, vol. 1.
Baruch, fcribe to Jeremiah the prophet,
300, vol. 2.
Barzillai, a true friend to king David in
diftrefs, 46, vol. 2. 55, vol. 2.
Bath, what it contains, 90, vol. z.
Bathfheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite,
Z3, vol. 2. Afterwards of king David,
25, vol. 2. and mother of Solomon,
28, vol. 2.
Battle, the firft pitched, when, 29,
vol. 1.
Battlements made round the roofs of dwel-
ling-houfcs, and why, 291, v. 1. 22,
volt 2.
Bears, deftroy the children that mocked
the prophet, 173, vol. 2.
Beer-labai-roi, i.e. the well of ' him that
liveth and feeth me, 35, vol. 1.
Beginning, What is meant thereby, 2,
vol. 1. in Gen. i. 1.
Belfhazzar. king of Babylon, in a revel
ling feaft, prophanes the holy veffels,
354, vol. 2. Seeing the fingers of a
man's hand-writing on the wall, is
troubled, ibid. vol. 2. The Chal
deans cannot read the writing, ibid.
Daniel Joes, 356, vol. 2. and is re
warded, ibid. The king flain that
night, ibid.
Beer-Jheba, i. e. the well of the oath, 48,
vol. 1.
Belt, military, to whom given, 48, vol. 1.
Ben-hadad, king of Syria, his proud in
fult upon Ahab king of Ifrael, 147,
vol. 2. By God's direction and affift-
ance is beaten, and put to flight, 148,
Vol. 2. Afl'ails Ahab again, and is
again beaten, and forced to yield, 150,
vol. 2. Sues to Ahab for life, is par
doned,, and received into favour, ibid.
In another fight flays Ahab, 159, vol.
1. Befieges Samaria, 190, vol. 2.
Being fick, fends Hazael with a pre
fent to Elijah the prophet, to enquire
concerning his recovery, 197, vol. 2.
The prophet's anfwer explained, ibid.
Benjamin and Ben-mi, what, 99, vol. 1.
Benjamites, their tribe almoft deftroyed,
and why, 338, vol. 1. Raifed again, and

An Alphabetical TABLE,
and how, 340, vol. 1. —Of part of Judah to Babylon, with
Serachah, i.e. bieffing, 164, vol. 2, king Jehoiakim, 296, vol.2.
Bttb-ct, the houfe of God, heretofore —Of more of Judah, with king Jehoia-
Luz, 74, 98. 138, vol. 1. chin, 303, vol. 2.
itlhfhemefh, i.e. the houfe of the fun, —Of the reft of Judah, with king Zede-
334, vol. 2. kiah, 325, vol. 2.
Birth-right, the privileges of it, 61, vol. 1. Garchemijh, a place not far from Euphra-
Defpifed and fold by Efau, 62, vol. 1. tcs, 289, vol. 2. 299, vol. 2.
Blafpbemy, what, 232, vol. 1. punifhed Chemarims, whence fo called, 283, vol. 2.
with death, ibid. Circumcijitm, inftituted, 36, voKi. Re-
Blmd, forbidden to be eaten, and why, newed, 279, vol. 1.
20, vol. 1. City, put for the nation, 309, vol.2.
Btaz, who, 351, vol. 1. Marries Ruth, Cloud, between the Ifraelites and Egyp-
and how, 356, vol. 1. dans, gave light to thefe, was dark to
Bocbim, i. e. weepers, 324, vol. 1. thofe, 208, vol. 1.
Boils, on man and beaft, one of the Concubines, what, 33, vol. 1.
plagues of Egypt, 196, vol. I. Confuf on of tongues, 22, vol. 1.
Cor, what it contains, 104, vol. 2. 243,
v. 2.
Covering the feet, what meant by that
C. phrafe, 343, vol. 1.
Covering the head, when, and why ufed, -
Cain, i. e. poffeffion, the eldeft fon of 39, vol. 2. 382, vol. 2.
Adam, page 10, vol. 1. His fin, 11, Cozbi, i. e. a liar, 277, vol. 1.
vol, 1. Punifhment, ibid, and pro- Creation of the world, the admirable order
tection, 1%, vol. 1. thereof, 1, 2, 3. vol. 1.
Caleb, one of the two good fpies, 247, Cubit, the common, what, 243, vol. 1.
vol. 1. He only, and Jofhua, of all Cufhan-rifhathaim, i. e. blacknefs of ini-
the men that came out of Egypt, en- quities, 326, vol. 1.
tered the good land, 290, vol. I. Cyrus, king of Perfia, prophefied of by
Gives his daughter Achfah to wife to name, near two hundred years before
' Othniel, for his valour, 326, vol. 1. he came, 363, vol. 2. Makes pro-
Cry, the idol made by Aaron, why in clamation for return of the captive
that form, 217, vol. 1. A proverb Jews, and for the rebuilding of the
about it, 221, vol. 1. temple at Jerufalem, 364, vol.2.
Calves, the idols made by Jeroboam, fet
up at Dan and Beth-el, to keep the D.
Ifraelites from going to Jerufalem to
worfhip, 113, vol. 1. Dagon, an idol of the Philiftines, his
Cutting the calf in twain, and paffing be- form? 410, vol. I. Fell before the
nveen the parts thereof, what is meant ark, ibid.
by that phrafe, 316, vol.2. Dmncing damfels caught up by the Benja-
Pamp of Ifrael, the form and order there- mites, and carried away for wives,
of, 236, vol- !• 34i> vol. 1.
Captains, with thefr foldiers, burnt by Daniel, the prophet, carried to Babylon,
fire from heaven, 169, vol. 2. 2-96, vol. 2. Inftructed in the Chal-
Captives taken, cloathed, fed, and fent dean learning, 379, vol. 2. Refufes
home again, 251, vol. 2. the king's meat, and why, 340, vol.
Captivity, of Judah to Damafcus, by the 2. Lives on pulfe and water, ibid.
Icing of Syria, 249, vol. 2. Tells king Nebuchadnezzar both, his
—Of Judah to Samaria, by the king of dreams, 343, vol. 2. and the inter-
Ifrael, 250, vol. 2. pretation of them, 344, vol. 2. Is ad-
— Of the Syrians of Damafcus to Kir, by vanced by the king, 345, vol. 2. In-
Tiglath-pilefer, 252, vol. 2. terprets another, "dream of his, 350,
—Of part of Ifrael to Syria, by Tiglath- vol, *. Has himfelf a dream, and vi-
pilefer, 255, vol.2. fion of the four beafts, 353, vol. 2,
—Of the reft of Ifrael (the ten tribes.) Another of the ram, and the he-goaft
to Aflyrja, by Salmanefer, 257, voi. ». ibid. Reads and, interprets the writing
' • F f 2, QB

An, Alphabetical TABLE.

en the wall, 356> vol. z. Is reward-.
ed by Belfhazzar, ibid. Is advanced by
Darius, 357, vol. 2. Envied, and en-
fnared by the princes, ibid. Prays to
God as formerly, riotwithftanding the
decree to the contrary, 358, vol. 2.
Is caft into the den of lions, but pre
ferved, and delivered, 359, vol. z.
Is informed by the angel Gabriel, con
cerning the feventy weeks of the cap
tivity, and other myfterious numbers,
relating to the latter times, 360, vol.
2, Lived to fee proclamation made
for the return of the captive Jews, and
rebuilding of the temple. His death
and burial, 361, vol. 2.
Darius, thi Mede, takes the kingdom of
Affyria, 357, vol. 2. Shews kind
nefs unto Daniel, ibid.
Darknefs, one of the plagues upon Egypt,
201, vol. 1.
David, fon of Jeffe, anointed king of
Ifrael, 442, vol. 1. Plays on his harp
before Saul, 443, vol. I- Kills a
lion and a bear, 447, vol, 1. Slays
Goliath in a duel, 448, vol, 1. Mar
ries Michal, Saul's daughter, 453,
vol. \. Efcapes Saul's guards, who
were fent to flay him, 456, vol, 1,
Goes to Samuel at Najoth, 457, vol.
1. Returns to Jonathan for counfel
and help, 458, vol. 1. He goes to
Ahimelech the prieft, at Nod, 463,
vol. j. An4 '& UY kim antertained,
464, vol. 1. Flies to Achifh king of
Gath, 465, vol. 1. Difcovered by the
Philiftines, feigns himfelf mad, ibid.
Gets from thence to the cave Adullam,
ibid. Muflers a little army of about
four hundred men, ibid. Saves Kei-
lah, 470, vol. 1. Shifts his quarters
to efcape Saul, ibid- Spares Saul, when
he could have flain him, 473, vol. 1.
Again, 481, vol. 1. Pleads his inno
cency to Saul* ibid. Marries Abigail,
the widow of Nabal, 479,. vol. j.
Fli$s again to Gath,. 483, vol. 1,
Has Ziklag given him to dwell in,
ibid. Is in fpeeial. favour with king
Achifh, 4^4, yol, I, hut fufpected of
the- Philiftines, ibid. Lofes his wives
and fubftance at Ziklag, 488, vol. 1.
Recovers, all with advantage, 490, vol.
1. Removes to Hehron, 1, vol. 2.
Is anointed king over Judah, 2, vol. 2.
,Soon after over. Ifrael, 10, ' vol. 2.
? Jakes Jerufalem from th« Jebufites,
uilds it, and dwells in,jt, ibid. Beats

the Philiftines, 11, vol. 2. Fetches
the ark from Abinadab's, to Obed-
Edora's, 12, vol. z. Thence after
wards to Jerufalem, 14, vol, 2. Dan
cing before it, he is defpifed by his
wife Michal, 15, vol. 2. Subdues
the1 Philiftines and the Moabites, 18,
vol. 2. The Edomites, ibid, and the
Ammonites, 22, vol. 2) Lies with
Bathfheba, and caufes her hufband
Uriah to be flain, 234 vol. 2. Is
caught by the prophet Nathan, by a
parable, and reproved, 27, vol. 2.
Repents, ibid. Marries Bathfheba,
and of her begets Solomon. 28, vol. 2.
Flies from Jerufalem for fear of his fon
Abfalom, 38, vol. 2. Is curled by
Shimei, 41, vol. 2. Entertained by
Barzillai, and others, 46, vol. 2. Re
turns in peace, 59, vol. 2. Numbers
the people, 65, vol. 2. and thereby
drew the plague upon them, 68, vol,
2- Caufes his fon Solomon to be
anointed king, 74, vol. z. Gives him
direction about building the temple,
77, vol. 2. Advifcs him to deal with
Joab and Shimei, 81, vol. 2. and
dies, 83, vol. 2.
Deborah, a prophetefs, judges Ifrael,
345, vol. 1. Stirs up Barek againft
Sifera, king Jabin's general, ibid. Her
fong of triumph, 348, vol. 1.
Delilah, i. e. a confumer, 393, vol. I.
By importunity prevails with Sampfon,
to tell her wherein he ftrength lay,
394, vol. 1. Then betrays him to
the Philiftines, 395, vol. 1.
Deuteronomy, why that book is called fo,
283, vol. I.
Devi on Gideon's fleece, none on the
ground, 363, vol. 1. Dew on the
ground, none on the fleece, 364,
vol. 1.
Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob, feek-
ing converfe among the heathen, is
ravifhed and defiled, 94, vol. 1.
Dteg, the Edomite, Saul's chief herdf-
man, informs againft Ahimelech the
prieft, for entertaining David, 467,
vol. t. Slay; the priefts of the Lord,
468, vol. 1.
Dodarab, i. e. love, 165, vol. 2.
Dream, Of king Abimelech, 45, vol. TV
Of Jacob, 73, vol, 1. OfLaban, 84,
vol. 1. Of Jofeph, too, vol, 1. Of
Pharoah's butler, in, vol. 1. Of
his baker, 114, vol. 1.. Of kingPha-
roah him/elf, ibid, pf .the foldier in,
the

An Alphabetical TABLE.

the eamp of Midian, 365, vol. 1. Of
king Solomon, 87, vol. 2. Of king
Nebuchadnezzar, 341, vol. 2. Of him
again, 348, vol. a. Of the prophet
Daniel, 353, vol. 2.
Dung-port, why fo called, 41s, vol. 2.
Dttfl, the matter of which Adam was
formed, 5, vol. j. Appointed for
the ferpent's meat, 9, vol. 1. Turn
ed into lice, as a plague upon Egypt,
193, vol. 1. Put upon tie head in
token of forrow, 164, 300, vol. I.

Ear-rings, why formerly worn, 97, vol.
1.
Ebed-melech, the moor, the import of his
name, 321, vol. r. His kindnefs to
the prophet Jeremiah, ibid. His re
ward, 322, vol. 1.
Eben-Ezer, i. c. the ftone of help, 415,
vol. 1.
Ed, i. c. a witnefs, 317 Vol. 1;
Edom, what, 59, vol. 1.
Edrei, i. e. the help of ftrength, 265,
vol. 1.
Ehud, a left handed Benjamite, killeth
Eglon king of Moab, who oppreffed
Ifrael, 342, vol. 1. That fact of his
not to be drawn into example, 343,
vol. 1.
flab, or the oak, 443, vol. 1.
Eldad and Medad, prophefying in the
camp, are informed againft to Mofes,
241, vol. i. He approves their pro
phefying, reproves the informer, 242,
vol. 1.
Eli, the high-prieft, for indulging his
children in their evil courfes, 403,
vol. 1. lofes both his life, and the
priefthood from his family, 409, vol. j.
Eliezer, what it imports, 176, Vol. 1.
Elijah foretelleth a long drought, 134,
vol. 2. Is fent to the brook Cherith,
and fed there by ravens, 135, vol. 2.
The brook drying up, he is fent to be
nourifhed by the widow of Sarepta,
ibid. Raifes her fon to life, 136, vol.
a. Returns to meet king Ahab, 137,
vol. 2. Challenges the falfe prophets
to a trial of the truth- by miracle, ^8,
vol. 2.' Derides them, 139, vol. 2.
Overcomes and flays them, 141, vol.
2. Threatened by Jezebel, he flies
for his life, 142, vol. 2. Is fed by an
ijngel, and tray«J« in the ftrength of

that food forty days and forty nights,
143, vol. a. Anoints Elifha to fuc
ceed him, ibid. Meets king Ahaziah's
meffengers going to Ekron, to enquire
of Baalzebub, if the king fhould reco
ver of his hurt by a fall, and bids
them tell him he fhall die, 168, vol.
2. Calls for fire from heaven, which
deftroyed two rough captains, with
their foldiers, which were fent fuccef
fively to feizc him, 169, vol. 2. Spares
the third captain and his men, entreat
ing for their lives, 170, vol. 2. Di
vides the waters of Jordan with his
mantle, 171, vol. 2. Bleffes Elifha,
his fucceffor, and leaving him his man
tle, is taken up in a fiery chariot, by
a whirlwind, into heaven, 172, vol. 2.
Elifha anointed by Elijah, to fucceed
him in the prophetick office, 144, vol.
2. Leaves his plough and follows
him, ibid. Afks a double portion of
the fpirit that was upon him, 172, vol.
2. The meaning of that, ibid. Grant -
ed conditionally, if he faw him taken
up, which he did, ibid. With Eli
jah's mantle he divides Jordan, ibid.
At Jericho he heals the unwholfome
waters, 173, vol. 2. At Beth-el,
curfed the children that mocked him,
who were thereupon torn by bears,
ibid. Contemns Jehoram, a wicked
king of Ifrael, who in a ftreight came
to him for counfel, 375, vol. z. But
for the fake of Jehofhaphat, king of
¦ Judah, prophefieth deliverance and vic
tory to them, ibid. At Samaria re
lieves a poor widow by the incrcafe of
her oil, 178, vol. 2. In grateful re
turn of Idndnefs fhewed him by
the childlefs Shunamite his landlady,
obtains for her a fon, 180, vol. 2.
And raifes him afterwards from death
to life, 182, vol. 2. At Gilgal heals
the unwholfome pottage, ibid. Mira-
culoufly feeds a great number of men,
with a fmall quantity of bread, 183,
vol. 2. Caufes iron to fwim, ibid.
At Samaria cures Naaman of his le -
profy, 185, vol. 2. Strikes Gehazi
with leprofy, 188, vol. 2. Difcovers
the defigns of the king of Syria, 188,
vol. 2. Strikes the Syrian troops,
which were to feize him, with blind-
nefs, and leads them into Samaria,
caufes them there to be well entertain
ed and difmiffed, 190, vol. 2. In a
great famine prophefieth plenty in Sa
maria,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

maria, 195, vol. 2. Sends a young
prophet to anoint Jehu king over Ifrael,
202, vol. 2. Prophefieth the over
throw of Syria, 219, vol. 2. Dieth
and is buried, 220, vol. 2. His bones
afterwards raife a dead man to life,
ibid, r
Embalming, the firft mention of it, 148,
vol. 1.
Enoch, the feventh from Adam, walked
with God, and was tranflated, 13,
vol. 1. The meaning of that opened,
ibid. A orophecy of his remembered,
ibid.
Ephah, what, 352, vol. 1.
Epbod, a garment for the priefts to wear,
32?, vol. I.
Ephraim, i.e. fruitful, 116, vol. 1.
Efau, the eldeft fon of Ifaac, 59, vol. 1.
The reafon of his name, 60, vol. 1 .
Sells his birth-right, 62, vol. 1.
Grieves his godly parents, by his un
godly marriages, 65, vol. 1. Hates
his brother Jacob, for having gotten
the bieffing from him, 71, vol. 1.
And threatens to flay him for it, ibid.
Efhcol, i. r. a clutter of grapes, 246,
vol. 1.
Efther, the queen, her ftory at large,
369, vol. 2.
Eve, formed out of man, and how, 6,
vol. 1. The reafon of her name, 10,
vol. 1.
Evil-merodach, king of Babylon, releafes
Jehoiachin, king of Judah, after thirty
feven years captivity, 353, vol.2.
Europe, held to be peopled by the pofte-
rity of Japhet, 21, vol. -1.
Efck, i e. contention, 6-„ vol. 1.
Ezckiel the prophet, when he began to
prophefy, and where, 313, vol. 2.
By typical reprefentations, he defcribes
the fiege of Jerufalem, 314, vol. 2.
The miferies of the befieged, 3 1 6, vol.
2. The captivity of fome, deftruction
of others, and difperfion of the reft,
ibid. His death, 33b, vol. a.
Ezion-geber, i. e. the counfel of men,
165, vol. 2.
Ezra, the fcribe, leads a fecond colony
of the Jews from Babylon to Jerufa
lem, 401, vol. 2. Labours to inftruct
and reform both priefts and people,
423, vol. 2.
Exodus, why that book fo na^med, 169,
vol. 1.

p.
Famine in Canaan, 25, vol; 1. Again,
62, vol. 1. In Egypt and elfewhere,
116, vol. 1; In Canaan again, 349,
vol. 1. In the land of Ifrael, 135, vol.
z. In Samaria, 191, vol. 2. In Je
rufalem, 324, vol.2. 415, vol.2.
Fecial-laws, i. e. the laws of war and
heraldry, 265, vol. I.
Figs, laid as a plaifter on king Hezekiah's
fore, cured it, 375, vol. 2.
Fire, that which confumed the firft
burnt-offering under the law, came
out from before the Lord, 229, vol. 2.
Ought to be kept always burning, 230,
vol. z. They that offered ftrange
fire, were burnt. to death by fire from
God, ibid.
Fire from heaven, came upon David's
burnt-offering, 70, vol. 2. So alfo
on Solomon's, 99, vol. 2. Again on
Elijah's, 141, vol. 2.
Fire from heaven, deftroyed the two cap
tains, with their foldiers, 169, vol.2:
Firfl-born of Egypt flain, 204, vol. 1.
Firft-born of Ifrael devoted to the .
Lord, 206; vol. 1.
Flies, one of the plagues pf Egypt, 193,
vol. 1.
Flood of Noah defcribed, 15, vol. ,.
Formation of man, c, vol. i. Of woman,
6, vol. 1.
Fowls, whether produced of water, or of
earth, 4, vol.i.
Friendfhip, good, between Jonathan and
David, 451, vol. 1.
Friendfhip, hurtful, between Jehofhaphat
and Ahab, 156, 157, vol. 2. Be
tween Jehofhaphat and Ahaziah, 165,.
v. a.
Frags, one of the plagues of Egypt, 191,

Gedaliah, made governor of Judea by
king Nebuchadnezzar, 327, v. 1:
Is treacheroufly flain by Ifhmael, 329,
v. 2.
Gehazi, the prophet Elijah's fervant, 18,
v. 2. His covetoufnefs, forgery, and
lying, is punifhed with leprofy, 188,
v. 2.
Gene/is, why that book fo called, 1, v. 1;
Gerar, i. e. ftriving, 127, v. 2,
Gerfhom, what, 176, y. 1. Cikvtiites

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Ctbmnites, who, 305, v. 1. Draw the
Ifraelites, by guile, to make a peace
with them, and how, ibid. Are pu
niflied with flavery, 307, v. 1. Slain
by king Saul, 61, v. 2. Their death
avenged by a famine on Ifrael, ibid.
That removed by hanging up feven of
Saul's fons, 62, v. 2.
Gideon, who, 360, v. 1. Raifed up by
God to deliver Ifrael, 361, v. j.
Throws down the altar of Baal, 362,
v. 1. Is profecuted for it, defended
by his father Joafh, and thereupon fir-
named Jerub-baal, ibid. Raifes an
army, 363, v. 1. Afks a fign, and
has it twice over, ibid. His army is
reduced from thirty-two thoufand to
three hundred ; goes to the enemies
camp by night, to hear news, 365, v.
1. Hears the foldier's dream of the
barley-cake, with the interpretation,
ibid. Falls with his three hundred men
upon the Midianites, and routs them,
367, v. 1. Chaftifes the men of Suc-
coth and Penuel, ibid. Slays Zebah
and Zalmunna, two kings of Midian,
369, v. 1. Pacifies the Ephraimites,
ibid. Refufes the government, ibid.
Begs of the Ifraelites the ear-rings of
theirprey, 370, v.. 1. Ofthem makes
an ephod, ibid. Which proves a fnare
to his own houfe and to all Ifrael,
. . ibid.
Gileadites, for not coming to join with
the reft of Ifrael in a common caufe of
juftice againft the Benjamites, fevere-
ly punifhed, 346, -v. 1.
Cilgal, i. e. rolling, 297, v. I.
Gird up thy loins, what, 202, v. 2.
Goliath, a giant defcribed, 444, v. 1.
Defies Ifrael, ibid. Is flain by David,
448, v. 1.
Gopher-wood, what, 15, v. 1.
Grafs-boppers, one of the plagues of Egypt,
199, v. 1.
Grove, what, 283, v. 2.
Gynacem, i. e. the houfe for women,
372, v. 2.

H.
Habakkuk, the prophet, about what time
he prophefied, 291, v. 2.
Hagar, Sarai's maid, her ftory, 35, v. 1.
Haggai, the prophet, when he prophe
fied, 390, v. 2. The general tendenty
of his prophecy,, ibid.

Hail, one of the plagues of Egypt, 197,
v. 1.
Ham, fon of Noah, his fin and punifh
ment, 20, v. 1. What people de-
fcended from him, 22, v. 1.
Haman, who, 374, v. 2. Favourite to
king Ahafuerus, 375, v. 2. His pride
and difdain of Mordecai the Jew, ibid.
Obtains a decree to flay all the Jews,
376, v. 2. Is hanged himfelf, 384, v. 2.
Hananiah, one of Daniel's companions,
called Shadrach, 339, v. z. Caft into
a fiery furnace, came out unhurt, 347,
v. 2.
Hand of Mofes made leprous, reftored,
181, v. 1. Of Jeroboam withered,
reftored, ibid.
Hannah, wife of Elkanah, upbraided
with barrennefs by her rival Peninnah,
prays for a fon, and vows to give him
to thc Lord, 400, v. 1. Is by Eli the
prieft fufpected of drunkennefs, but
clears herfelf, ibid. Bears a fon (Samuel)
401, v. 1. and dedicates him to the
Lord in Shiloh, ibid.
Harhonah, what, 383, v. 2.
Hazeroth, i. e. palaces, 243, v. 1.
Hebrews, fo called from Eber, 2r, v. r.
Helkab-Hazzurim^ i. *. the field of ftrong
men, 3, v. 2.
Hezekiah, king of Judah, reforms, 259,
v. 2. Breaks the brafen-ferpent, 264,
v. 2. Denies fubjection to the Affyrian
king, 265, •/. z. Is fain to fubmit
again, and pay a fine, 266, v. z.
Threatened by the Affyrian, he goes
to God for refuge, 267, v. 2. Sends
to the prophet Ifaiah to pray for him,
269, v. 2. Receives a gracious an
fwer from God, 271, v. 2. Is highly
advanced in riches and honour, 273,
v. z. Falls fick, and receives a mef
fage of death, 274, v. 2. Intreatsthe
Lord, ibid. Is reftored to health, and
has fifteen years added to his life, ibid.
His recovery confirmed by miracle,
275, v. 2. Shews his treafures to the
ambafl'adors of the king of Babylon,
276, v. 2. And is reproved by the
prophet for it, 277, v. 2.
Hephni and Phinehas, fons of. Eli the
prieft, their wickednefs, 403, v. 1.
' Their punifhment, 409, v. 1.
Horeb, i.e. forfaken, 177, V. 1.
Hormab, i.e. utter deftruction, ±62, v. 2.
Hofea the prophet, when he prophefied,
237, v. 2. The general tendency of
his prophecy, ibid, Huldah,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Hubtab, a prophetefs, confulted by king
Jofiah, a86, v. 2. Her anfwer, 187,
v. 2.
Hufhai, a faithful friend to king David,
40, v. a. His equivocal dealing with
Abfalom, 42, v. 2. His counfel, 44,
v. s.

Jaban, a king of Canaan, oppreffes If
rael, 344, v. 1. Beaten by Barak,
346, v. 1.
Jacob, a younger fon of Ifaac, 60, v. 1 .
Buys the birth-right of his brother
Efau, 62, v. I. Gets the bieffing
alfo, €7, v. 1. Flies to Padan-Aram,
72, v. 1. His dream by the way, 73,
v. I. His vow thereupon, 74, vol. 1;
Falls in love with his coufin Rachel,
76, v. I. Serves his uncle Laban
feven years for her, ibid. Is put off
with Leah, 77, v. 1. Serves feven
years more for Rachel, ibid. Serves
yet fix years more for cattle, 81, v. 1.
His policy to encreafe his flock, ibid.
Departs privately, 84, v. 1. Is pur
fued, ibid. Met by the angels of God,
87, v. 1. Sends a pacifying meffage
to his brother Efau, ibid. Is afraid of
him, 88, v. I. Prays to God for de
liverance, 89, V. I. Sends a prefent
to Efau, 90, V. 1. Wreftles with an
angel, and prevails, 91. V. 1. Yet
goes off lame, ibid. Is kindly recei
ved by his brother Efau, 92, V. 1.
Sorroweth for the deflowering of his
daughter Dinah, 94, Vol. 1. Blames
his fons for their cruelty towards the
Shechemites, 96, V. 1. Refents the
injury done him by his fon Reuben,
99, V. 1. Laments the lofs of his fon
Jofeph, 103, V. i. Goes down into
Egypt to him, 133, V.i. Bleffes his
children, 140, V. 1. Dies, 148, . Vi.
And is buried in his own burying-
ground in Canaan, 149, V. 1.
Jail, the wife of Heber the Kenite,
kills Sifera, king Jabin's general, who
fled to her for fafety, 347, V. 1.
Jahaz, i. e, ftrife, 264, V. 1.
Jannes and Jambres, i, e, a fupplanter
and a rebel, 190, V. *.
Japhet, with his brother Shem, dutiful
ly cover the nakednefs of their father
Noah, 21,, V. i. and are bleffed by

him, ibid. What people dcfcended
from Japhet, ibid. .
Icbabob, fon of Phinchas, and grandfon
of Eli, why fo named, 410, V. 1.
Idols, called dungy gods, 154, V. 2.
Jedidiab, i. t. Beloved of the Lord, 28,
V. 2.
Jebaziel, i. e. The vifion of God, 163,
V. 2.
Jehoafh, an infant of a year old, faved
from Athaliah's fword, 211, V. 2.
Kept hid fix years in the temple, and
then anointed king, by Jehoiadah the
high-prieft, ibid. Ruled well while
Jehoiadah lived, 213, V. a. After
wards fell away to idolatry, 216, V. a.
For which being reproved by Zecha
riah the fon of Jehoiadah, he caufed
him to be ftoned to death, ibid. And
was afterwards flain himfelf by his own
fervants, 27, V. 2.
Jehoiakim (or ERakim) fon of king Jofiah,
made king of Judah by Pharaoh-Ne
cho, king of Egypt, 293, V. a. Be
fieged in Jerufalem by Nebuchadnezzar,
B97, V, a. Taken and carried to
Babylon, and fent back under tribute,
ibid. Burns the roll (or book) which
God had commanded Jeremiah to
write, 302, V. 2. Is thereupon fe-
verely reproved and threatened, 303,
V. a. Is taken by Nebuchadnezzar,
bound in fetters to be carried to Baby
lon, but dies in the way, ibid.
Jehoiacbin (or Jeconiah, called in con
tempt Coniah) fucceeded his father
Jehoiakim, did evil, 304, V. a. Had
grievous judgments denounced againft
him, ibid. Was taken by Nebuchad
nezzar, and carried captive to Babylon,
ibid. Releafed and advanced by Evil-
Merodach, thirty-feven years after,
353, V. 2. '
Jehoram (or Joram) ton of Ahab a
wicked king of Ifrael, 200, V. 2.
Wounded in battle againft Hazael, 201
V. a. Slain by Jehu, 205 V. 2.
Jehoram, fon of Jehofhaphat king of
Judah, his wicked reign, 199 V. 2.
Reproved by a writing faid to come
to him from the prophet Elijah, who
had been tranflated fome years before
ibid. He flew all his brethren ibid.
and died miferably by the falling out
of his bowels 200. V. 2.
Jehofhaphat, a good king of Judah, en
ters into affinity and league with Ahab,
a wicked king of Ifrael, 155, V. 2.
Which

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Which had like to have coft him his
life, 159, vol. 2. Is reproved for it,
160, vol. 2, Reforms his people,
161, vol. 2. Invaded by a great army*
ibid. He cries to God for help, and
receives an affurance of it, 163, vol.
2. Going forth to the battle finds
his enemies flain by one another, ibid.
Joins again in league with king Aha
ziah (a wicked fon of wicked Ahab),
is reproved for it, 165, vol. 2. and
punifhed with the lofs of his fleet, ibid,
joins a third time with Jehoram (ano
ther wicked "on of wicked Ahab)
174, vol. 2.
Jehovah, 187, vol. 1.
Jebovab-Jir'eh, what, 51, vol. 1;
Jebovab-Sbalom, what, 362, vol. I.
Jebovab-N'ijfi, what, 215, vol. I.
Jehu, a prophet of the Lord, 133,
vol. 2.
Jehu, a captain anointed king over Ifrael,
202, vol. 2. .Goes againft Jehoram
king of Ifrael, 204, vol. 2. Slays
both him and Ahaziah king of Judah,
205, vol. a. Caufes Jezebel to be
thrown down from a window, and trod
Under foot, 206, vol. 2. . Caufes fe
venty of Ahab's fons to be beheaded,
and their heads laid in two heaps
at the gate of Jezreel, 207, vol. 2.
Slays forty-two men of the brethren
of king Ahaziah, .208, vol. 2. Got
the worfhippers of Baal, by a wile, to
gether, and flew them all, 209, vol. 2.
Burnt the images, and brake down the
houfe of Baal, and made it a draught
houfe, ibid. Yet kept up Jeroboam's
calfiworfhip, 210, vol. 2.
Jephthah, who, and what the name fig
nifies, 378, vol. 1. Is driven away
by his brethren, but recalled to de
fend them againft the Ammonites,
ibid. Makes a vow for fuccefs, 380,
vol. 1. Fights with and fubdues the
Ammonites, ibid. Confecrates his
daughter to the Lord, in performance
of his vow, 382, vol. 1. Is quarrel
led with by the Ephraimites, 384, vol.
1. Fights with, and routs them,
ibid.
Jeremiah the prophet, when he began
to prophefy, 285, vol. a. Kis la
mentation for king Jofiah, 290, vol. 2.
He foretells the captivity and death of
king Jehoahaz, or Shallum, 292, vol.
2. Prophefieth againft Jerufalem and
the temple, 293, vol. 2- Is thereupon
Vol. II.

feized by the priefts and people, 293,
vol. 2. Refcued by the princes, 294, vol.
2. Delivered by Abikam, 295, vol. 2,'
Wears a yoke upon his neck, for a type
of (he captivity, 306, vol. 2. Fore
tells the death of Hananiah, a falfe
prophet, 307, vol. a. . and of Ahab'
and Zedekiah, two other falfe pro
phets, 310, vol. 2. Prophefies again
that Jerufalem fliall be taken, 312,
vol, 2. Is beaten for it, .and laid hy
the heels, 313, vol, 2. Seized for a
deferter, 319, vol. 2. Put into the
dungeon, ibid. Removed to a better
prifon, 320, vol. 2. Let down by
cords into a filthy dungeon, where his
feet ftuck in the. mire, ibid. Taken
out by Ebedmelech the moor, and re
turned to his former prifon, 321, vol.
1. Again predicts the captivity, 322,
vol. 2. yet purchafes land (though
himfelf in prifon) to fhew there fhould
be a return from the captivity, 324,
vol* 2. Set free when the city was
taken, he goes to live at Mizpah with
Gedaliah, governor of Judea, 328,
vol. 2. From thence is carried againft
his will into Egypt, 533, vol. 2.
There ftoned to death, 336, vol. 2.
Jericho befieged and taken, and how, 299,
vol. 1.
Jeroboam, fon of Nebat, fets up idol-
calves at Dan and Beth-el, 113, vol.'
2. Stands by his altar, when the pro--
phet cried againft it, 114, vol. 2.'
His hand, which he ftretched out
againft the prophet, withered, 115,
vol. 2. At his requeft to the prophet,
and the prophet's to God, it is reftor
ed, ibid. Sends his wife in difguife,
to enquire of the prophet whether his
ton1, who was fick, fhould live or die,-
1,20, vol. 2. His folly therein noted,'
ibid. He leads into the field an army
of eight hundred thoufand chofen men,
123, vol. a. and has five hundred'
thoufand of them flain in one day,
by Abijah, king of Judah, who had
but four hundred thoufand men in all,
125, vol. 2. Is ftricken by God,
and dies, 129, vol. 2.
Jeroboam, fon of Johafh king of Ifrael,
224, vol. 2. a wicked prince, but a
great warrior, ibid.
Jerub-baaL, its fignification, 363, vol. 1.
Jerufalem, taken by king David from the
Jebufites, 10, vol. 2. Plundered by
Shifhak, king of Egypt, 119, vol. 2-
G- § Difrnantkd,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Difmantled, and plundered by Joafh,
king of Ifrael, 223, vol. 2. Befieged
by Nebuchadnezzar, 315, vol. 2.
Taken, plundered, and deftroyed with
fire, 396, vol. 2. Began to be re
built, 365, vol. 2.
Jefhimon, i. c. the wildernefs, 264, 273,
vol. 1.
Jews, return from Babylon, 364, vol. 2.
Begin to rebuild the temple, 365,
vol. 2. Are hindered, 366, vol. 2.
Encouraged by the prophet, 390, vol.
2. Authorized by king Darius, 394,
vol. 2. Go on andfinifhit, ibid.
Joab, fon to David's fifter Zeruiah, a,
vol. 2. Captain of the forces of
Judah, ibid. Kills Abner treacher-
oufly, 7, vol. 2. Scales the fort of
Jebus, or Jerufalem, and is made ge
neral of all king David's forces, 10,
vol. 2. Cunningly procures Abfalom's
pardon, 34, vol. 2. Defeats his for
ces, 48, vol. 2. And having him at
advantage, flew him, ibid. Expoftu-
lates boldly with his king about it,
51, vol. 2. Treacheroufly kills Amafa,
c8, vol. 2. Sides with Adonijah, in
his confpiracy againft the king, 72,
vol. 2. Flies to the altar for refuge,
85, vol. a. and is flain there, 86,
vol. 2.
Joachim, i. e. the refurrection of the
Lord, 174, vol. 1.
Job, who he was, 153, vol. 1. When
he lived, 155, vol. 1. His loffes, 157,
vol. I. His trials in his perfon, 159,
vol. 1. by his wife, 162, vol. 1. by
friends, 164, vol. 1. His fubmiffion
to God, 167, vol. I. His reward,
168, vol. I. By geneial confent he
lives before Mofes, 155, vol. 1.
Joel, the prophet, about what time he
lived, 239, vol. 2. The general ten
dency of his prophecy, ibid.
Jonah, the prophet, about what time he
began to prophefy, 225, vol.2. Sent
to Nineveh, ibid. His ftory, ibid.
Jonadab, a fubtile man, contrives the
means for Amnon to enjoy his fifter
Thamar's company, 29, vol. 2.
Jonathan, eldeft fon of king Saul, fmites
a garrifon of the Philiftines, 427, vol.
1. Again, 429, vol. 1. Taftes the
forbidden honey, 43Z, vol. 1. and is
doomed to die, 434, vol. 1. but ref
cued by the people, 435, vol. 1. Con
tracts a lading friendfhip with David,
4ji, vol. 1.' Ventures his life for

him, 461, vol. 1. Is flain, 491,
vol. 1. and lamented by David, 493,'
vol. 1.
Jordan, divides its ftrcam for Ifrael to
pafs over, 294, vol. 1. Again for the
prophet Elijah and Elifha to pafs over,
171, vol. 1.
Jofeph, fon of Jacob by Rachel, by tel
ling tales of his brethren, procured
their ill-will, 100, vol. 1. Dreams
of his advancement over them, ibid.
Is fold into Egypt, 102, vol. 1.
Bought by Potiphar, ibid. Made ovcr-
feer of his houfe, 108, vol. 1. Tempt
ed, and accufed by his miftrefs, 109,
vol. I. . Imprifoned by his mafter,
no, vol. 1. Expounds the dreams
of Pharoah's two fervants, ill, vol. 1..
andofPharoah himfelf, 113, vol. 1.
Is made governor of Egypt, 114, vol. j.
Stores up the corn, 1 15, vol. 1. Saves
the people alive, but makes them
bondmen to Pharoah, 118, vol. 1.
Deals roughly with his brethren, 1 19,
vol. 1. Difcovers himfelf to them,
129, vol. j. Sends for his father,
130, vol. 1. Maintains them all,
137, vol. 1. Buries his father, 149,
vol. 1. And engages his brethren to
carry his bones with them into Ca
naan, 151, vol. 1. which is done,
205, vol. 1.
Jofhua, the fon of Nun, fervant to
Mofes, 213, vol. 1. Beats the Ama-
lekites, 214, vol. 1. Is one of the
good fpies, 245, vol. 1. Succeeds
Mofes in the government, 289, vol. 1.
Sends fpies to Jericho, 290, vol. 1.
Leads the people over Jordan, 294,
vol. 1. Takes Jericho, 299, vol. 1.
And Ai, 303, vol. 1. Stops thc fun
and moon in their courfe, 309, vol. 1.
Hangs up five kings, 310, vol. 1.
Subdues the reft, 311, vol. 1. Di
vides the good land by lot among the
tribes, 312, vol. 1. The people's
token of gratitude to him, 318, vol.
1. His death and burial, 319, vol. 1.
Jofiah, king of Judah, prophefied of by
name three hundred years before he
was born, 115, vol. 2. His reforma
tion, 282, vol. 2. Going to fight
with Pharoah-Nccho, king of Egypt,
he is wounded and dies, 289, vol. 2.
Is much lamented, 290, vol. 2. His
elegy, ibid.
Jotham, youngeft fon of Gideon, his pa
rable of the trees ehoofing a king, 37'>

An Alphabetical TABLE.

371, vol. I.
Ifaac, the promifed feed, mocked by"his
brother Ifhmael, 46, vol. t. Carries
the wood -wherewith he himfelf was to
be made « burnt-offering, and fuffers
himfelf to be bound, and laid upon the
altar, 50, vol. 1. Is redeemed with
aram of God's providing, 51, vol. 1,
Marries Rebckah, 58, vol. 1. After
.twenty years barrennefs, upon his in-
treating the Lord for her, fhe bare
him twins, 59, vol. 1. Driven by
famine to the Philiftines, he hazards
his wife under the name of his fifter,
62, vol. 1. Shuns contention, 63,
vol. 1. Being blind, gives the bief
fing unwittingly to Jacob, 68, vol. 1.
Sends him to his mother's kindred for
a wife, 72, vol. 1. His death and
burial, 107, vol. 1.
Ifaiah the prophet, who, 242, vol. 2.
When he began to prophefy, ibid. De
nounces judgments againft Sennache
rib, 271, vol. 2. Is fent to king
Hezekiah with a meffage of death,
274, vol. 2. Returns with another
meffage of recovery, and prolonging
of life, 275, vol. 2. Confirmed by a
miracle, ibid. Prefcribes a cure for
Hezekiah's forei ibid. Reproves him
for fhewing his treafures to the Baby
lonians, 276, vol. 2. Is cruelly put
to death by king Manaffeh, his fon in
law, 279, vol. 2.
Ifhbofheth, Saul's fon, made king by Ab
ner, 2, vol. 2. Murdered by two
ruffians, 8, vol. a. who carrying his
head to king David, in hopes of re
wards, were by his command flaiii, 9,
vol. 2.
Ifhmael, Abraham's fon by Hagar, 35,
vol. 1. Mocks his brother Ifaac, 46,
vol. 1. Is (together with his mother)
turned out of doors for it, ibid,
Ifhmael, fon of Nathaniel, treacheroufly
flays Gedaliah the governor of Judea,
with the Jews and Chaldeans that were
with him at Mizpah, 329, vol. 2,
More of his deceit and cruelty, 330,
yol. 2. He flies to the Ammonites,
ibid.
Ifrael, the ffrname of Jacob, given him,
by God, and why, 91, vol. 1,
Ifraelites, go down to Egypt for bread,
119, vol.2. Are grievoufly oppreffed
there, 170, vol. I. yet increafe abun
dantly, 171, vol. 1. Are brought
gut pf Egypt, 204, vol. 1. Pafs

through the Red-fea, 209, vol. t.
Murmur in the wildemefs, firft for
water, an, vol. 1. then for flefh,
ibid. Again for water, 213, vol. 1.
and again for flefh, 240, vol. 1. then
again for water, 259, vol. 1. And
for both bread and water, 262, vol. 1.
Entered the good land at the laft, 297,
vol. 1. Had it divided by lot amongft
them, 312, vol. 1. Where them
felves divided afterward i.-ito two king
doms, in, vol. 2. And both, at
length carried into captivity; Ifrael,
256, vol. 2. Judah, 326, vol. a. '
Judah, a fon of Jacob, by marrying with
a Canaanite, 104, vol. 1. was drawn
to commit inceft, 105, vol. 1. what
it fignifies, 142, vol. 1.
Judge, the firft itinerant one, 415, vol. 2.
K.
Keilah, a town in Judah, defended by-
David againft the Philiftines, 470,
vol. 1.
Keturah, Abraham's fecond wife, or
concubine, 59. vol. 1.
Kibroth-Hattaavah, i. e. thc *graves of
luft, 843. vol. 1.
Kingdoms, fometimes fuffer for the fins
which their kings, in their kingly ca
pacity commit, 61. vol. 1. -
Kir-harafcth, i. e. a wall of workman
fhip, 177. vol. 1.
Korah, who, 252. vol. 1: Raifes a rebel
lion againft Mofes and Aaron, ibid.
wallowed up of the earth, 255. vol. 1
L.
Laban, gives Jacob Leah to wife, in
ftead of Rachel, 76, vol. 1. Grudged
his profperity, 82, vol. 1. Changes
his wages, 83, vol. 1. Purfues Jacob,
184, vol. 1. Is charged by God in a
dream, not to fpeak roughly to him,
ibid. Searches his fluff for his gods,
85, vol. 1. Makes a covenant with
him, and parts friendly, 86, vol. i. '
l*aifh, a city defcribed, 330, vol. 1.
Surprized, taken and burnt by the'-
Danites, 332, vol. 1. Rebuilt and
called Dan, ibid.
Language confounded, and why, 22'vol. 1.
Lamentation at Jacob's funeral, 148, vol.
-. 1. Of David for Saul and Jonathan,
' 493, vol. 1. Of the Ifraelites for the
P g 2 death

An Alphabetical TABLE.

death of Samuel, 475, vol. I. Of
David over Abner, 7, vol. 2. Of
Jeremiah and the Jews for Jofiah,
290, vol. 2.
Law, the Talique law, what, 12, vol.
i.
Leah, Laban's eldeft daughter, given to
Jacob inftead of Rachel, 76, vol. 1.
Gives him her maid Zilpah for a con
cubine, 76, ibid.
Levites, taken in exchange for the firft-
born, 238, vol. I.
Levite, and his concubine, their ftory,
3 -2, vol. 1.
Leviticus, why that book fo called, 129,
vol. 1.
Lice, one of the plagues of Egypt, 193,
vol. 1.
Light, the firft thing we read of that God
pronounced good, 1, vol. I.
Light, in the dwellings of the children
of Ifrael, when the Egyptians fat all
in darknefs, 201, vol. 1.
Lion, flain by Sampfon, 388, vol. 1.
By David, 447, vol. i. Slew the
difobedient prophet, 117, vol. 2.
Touched not Daniel, though fhut into
their den with them, 360, vol. 2,
Devoured his accufers, ibid.
Locufis (or grafshoppers) one of the pla
gues of Egypt, 200, vol. 1.
Lot, who, 24, vol. 1. Parting from
Abraham, goes towards Sodom, 28,
vol. 1. Is taken prifoner, 30, vol. 1.
Refcued by his uncle Abraham, ibid.
Entertains unwittingly the angels that
came to deftroy Sodom, 39, vol. I.
Is delivered by them, 41, vol. 1.
Betrayed by his daughters, commits
inceft with them, 43, vol. 1.
M.
Maachah, mother of Afa, king of Judah,
removed from being queen, becaufe
fhe made an idol ;n a grove, 126, vol.
2.
Magicianf, could not expound Pharoah's
dreams, 113, vol. 1, Nor Nebu
chadnezzar's, 348, vol. 2. Nor read
the writing on the wall to Belfhazzar,
354, vol. 2. Nor bring forth lice,
193, vol. 1.
Magor-miJJabid, i. c fear round abont,
313, vol.z.
Mahanaim, i. c, two hofts or camps, 87,
vol. I.

Maber-fhalal-hafhbaz, what it fignifie^,
252, vol. 2.
ManajJ'eb, king of Judah, his wicked
reign, 278, vol. 2. Punifhment,
279, vol. 2. Repentance, reftora-
tion, 280, vol. a. and reformation,
ibid. His death, 281, vol. 2.
ManaJJ'eb, imports forgetfulnefs, 116,
vol. 1.
Manna, what, 212, vol. 1. Why fo
called, ibid. How to be ordered, ibid.
Some of it kept in a pot in the ark,
for a memorial, 213, vol. 1.
Maon, i. e, a place ,of offence, 475,
vol. 1.
Marah, fignifies bitternefs, 210, vol. 1,
Mariners, laboured hard to have faved
Jonah, 227, vol. 2.
Mark feton'Cain, 12, vol. 1.
Marriage, inftituted by God in paradifq,
6, vol. 1. Forbidden between near
kindreds, 231, vol. 1. More efpecially
with unbelievers, Deut. vii. 3. Such
marriages, and the effects thereof, a
principal caufe of the flood, 14, vol.
I. Were a grief of mind unto Ifaac
and Rebekah, 65, vol. 1. Zealoufly
contended againft, and reformed by
Ezra, 404, vol. 2. and Nehemiah,
428, vol. 2.
Meafure of fine flour, what, 192,. vol, z.
Melchizedeck, king of Salem (/. e. of
righteoufnefs) entertained Abraham
and his foldiers, 31, vol. 1. and in
requital is prefented by Abraham with
the tenth of the fpoils, ibid.
Mephibofheth, the lame fon of Jonathan,
received into efpecial favour by king
David, and reftored to the eftate of
his anceftors, 20, vol, 2. By the
treachery and falfhood of his fervant
Ziba, deprived of half of it, 41, vol.
2. 55, vol. a-
Merab, i. e. Chiding and fighting,
453, vol. 1.
Mefha, king of Moab, beaten in battle,
and befieged, makes a defperate fally,
and is repulfed, 177, vol. a. Sacri-
ficeth his eldeft fon in fight of the bc-
fiegers, ibid, who thereupon raife the
fiege, ibid.
Methegammab, or the bridle of bondage,
18, vol. 2.
Micah, the Ephraimite, his ftory, from
326, to 332. vol. 1.
Micah, the prophet, when he began to
prophefy, 245, vol. a. The general
tendency

An Alphabetical TABLE.

tendency of his prophecy, ibid.
Michal, the' daughter of Saul, given in
marriage to David for a fnare, 453,
vol. 1. Contrives his efcape from his
father's guards, and how, 456, vol.
1. Is taken from him, and given to
another, 480, vol. 1. Reftored to
him upon demand, 5, vol. 2. De-
fpifeth him for dancing before the
ark, 15, vol. a. and is punifhed for
it, 16, vol. 2.
Micron, i, e. Fear, 429, vol. 1.
Mile, Two thoufand cubits, is fo com
monly accounted, 293, vol. i,
. Mulo, or the fortrefs, 371, 10, vol. 2.
265, vol. 2.
Miriam, who, 172, vol. 1. Set to
watch her little brother Mofes, calls
her mother to be his nurfe, 173, vol. 1.
Sings with the women the fong of de
liverance on the bank of the Red fea,
209, vol. 1. Murmurs againft Mofes,
243, vol.1. Is ftricken with leprofy,
and fhut out of the camp, 244, vol. 1.
Her death and burial, 259, vol. 1.
Mifbael, or Mefhach, one of Daniel's
companions, caft into a fiery furnace,
came out unhurt, 347, vol. a.
Mizpeh, i. e. Judgment, 335, vol. 1.
and watch-tower, 414, vol. I.
Mocking, feverely punifhed, in Ifhmael,
46, vol. 1. In the children of Beth
el, 173, vol. 2.
Molech, an idol defcribed, 248, vol. 2:
To pafs through the fire to Molech, ex
plained, ibid.
Months and days, yet retain the heathen-
ifh name, 317, vol. i.
M<"'decai, the Jew, carried to Babylon
in Jehoiachin's captivity, 305, vol. 2.
Refufes to bow to Haman, and why,
375, vol. 2. Difcovers a plot againft
the king) 377, vol. a. Is advanced,
386, vol. 2.
Moriah, i.e. the fear of God, 49, vol. I.
Mofes, born, 173, vol. 1. Found (fup
pofed by fome to be the writer of Job,
153, vol. 1.) and taken up by Pha-
roah's daughter, 173, vol. 1. And
why fo called, 174, vol. 1. Put to
nurfe to his own mother, ibid.
Brought into Pharoah's court, ibid.
Grown a man, he flew an Egyptian
for fmiting an Hebrew, ibid. Flies
to Midian for fafety, 175, vol. 1.
Keeps Jethro's fheep, and marries his
daughter Zipporah, 176, vol. 1. Sees
the burning bufh, J77, vol. 1. Is

fent by God with a meffage to Phih
roah, 178, vol. 1. Loth to go, ibid.
At length yields, 183, vol. 1. Delir
vers his meffage to Pharoah, 185,
vol. 1. who rejects it, ibid. Brings
manyplagues upon Egypt, 191 to 201,
vol. 1. Leads the Ifraelites out of
Egypt, 204, vol. 1, Through the
Red-fea, 209, vol. 1. Goes into the
mount to God, 2*16, vol. 1. And re
ceives from him the law in tables of
ftone, ibid. In his zeal againft ido
latry, breaks thc tables, and deftroys
the golden calf which Aaron had made,
219, vol. 1. Caufes the Levites to
flay the idolaters, 221, vol. 1. Went
up again into the mount, with new
tables, and received from God the
law (or decalogue) written therein,
224, vol. 1. His face fhined, 225,
vol. 1. His failures at the waters of
Meribah, 259, vol. 1. His fong,
285^ vol. 1. His bieffing on the peo
ple, 286, vol. i. His death and bu
rial, ibid.
Murrain, one of the plagues of Egypt,
195, vol. J.
Mujical inftruments invented by Jubal,
fon of Cain, 12, vol. 1.

N.
Naaman, the Syrian, a leper, 184, vol. z.
Sent to be cured by the prophet Elifha,
185, vol. a. Taking offence at the
prophet's plain direction, refufcs to
follow it, ibid. Being'perfuaded to
try it, is recovered, ibid. Returning
to thc prophet, acknowledges the true
God, 186, vol. 2. And offers the
prophet a prefent, which he refufed,
ibid. Declares he will not offer unto
any other god, fave the Lord, and de
precates an offence for bowing in the
houfe of Rimmon, ibid. The mean
ing of that place opened, 187, vol. z.
Nabal, by churlifh rudenefs provoked
David, 476, vol. 1. Made fenfible
of the danger he had thereby run into,
dies, 479, vol. 2.
Naboth, refuting to part with his inhe
ritance to Ahab, 152, V. 2. Is falfe-
ly accufed, condemned and ftoned to
death, 153, V. 2.
Nadah and Abihu, fons of Aaron, burnt
by fire from the Lor4, for offering
ftrange fire to him, 230, V. 1. Nahafh,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Nahafh, king of Ammon, his haughty
and cruel demand of the men of Jabefh-
gilcad, 417, V. 1.
Nahum, the prophet, when he prophe
fied, 292, V. 2. Againft whom,
ibid.
Naomi, her ftory, 349, V. 1. and figni-
fication of hername, 351, V. 1.
Nathan, the prophet, fent to reprove
king David, 26, V. 2. Catches him
by a parable, ibid. Difcovers Adoni-
jah's plot, 72, V. 2.
Nazarite, i. e. Devoted to the Lord,
402, V. 1.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, bc-
fieges Jerufalem, 316, V. 1, Takes,
facks, and burns it, 325, V. a.
Dreams of a great image, 341, V. a.
Is tioubled at it, ibid. His magicians
cannot tell him what it was, ibid.
Daniel doth, and expounds it, 343,
V. 2. He fets up an image to be
'.vorfhipped on pain of death, 345,
V. 2. Caufes Daniel's three friends,
for refufing it, to be caft into a fiery
furnace, 347, V. a. Dreams another
dream of a great tree, 34?, V. 2.
His magicians could not interpret it,
Hid, Daniel does, 349, V. 2, He
vaunts himfelf, 350, v. 2. Is driven
from men, eats grafs, as oxen, is re
ftored to his underftanding and throne,
351, V. 2. Acknowledges both his
own fin and God's mercy, 352, V.2.
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards to
king Nebuchadnezzar, 326, V. 2.
His kindnefs to the prophet Jeremiah,
327, V. 2,
Nehemiah, who, 407, V. 2. His forrow
for the defolation of Jerufalem, 408,
V. 2. His prayer to God, ibid. Pe
tition to the king, 409, V. 2. Jour
ney to Jerufalem, 410, V. 2. His
anfwer to Sanballat, 419, V. 2. His
diligence in repairing the walls, 414,
V. 2. Care and wifdom, in compo-
fing a difference amongft his own peo
ple, 416, V. 2. His liberality, 417,
V. 2. His zeal, 428, V. 2.
Nehufhtam, i.e. a piece of brafs, 263,
V. 1.
Nethinims, what it imports, 308, V. 1,
who, 398, V. 2.
Nergal, thc God of the Cuthites, 250,
V. 2. What fort of idol, ibid.
Nibhaz, the God of the Avites, 258,
V. 2. What fort of idol, ibid.

Nimrod, founder of the firft great empire,
23, V. 1.
Nifroch, what, 273, V. 1.
Noah, buildeth the ark, 16, V. 1. After
the flood, planteth a vineyard, and
drinking too freely of the wine, dif
covered his own nakednefs, 21, V. t.
Nob, a city of the priefts, utterly deftroy
ed by Saul, 468, V. 1.
Nod, i.e. a fugitive, 12, V. 1.
Numbers, the fourth book of Mofes, why
called by that name, 235, V. 1.

O.
Oaths, came from the heathen, 4I,
V. 1,
Obadiah, fteward to king Ahab, his piety
in feeding God's prophets, and hiding
them from the rage of Jezebel, 137,
V. 2.
Obadiah, the prophet, about what time
he lived, 336, V. 2. Whom he pro
phefied againft, Hid,
Ohed, i.e. a fervant, 357, V. 1.
Og, king of Bafhan, beaten and flain in
battle, 264, V. 1. His iron bed,
265, V. 1.
Omer, a meafure, of what quantity,2i3,
V. 1.
Omri, a wicked king of Ifrael, made laws
to compel the people to idolatry, 133,
V. 2. Built Samaria, 134, V. 2.
Onan, his fin, 104, V. 1.
Organs, invented by Jubal, fon of Cain,
12, V. 1,
Othniel, by his valour wins Acbfah,
daughter of Caleb, 322, V. 1. Delivers,
and judges Ifrael, 326, V. ,.
Oil, when firft ufed, and how, 74, V. 1;
What it fignifies in confecrations.
ibid. '

Painting the face, ufed by Jezebel, 206,
V, 2.
Parable, of the trees chufing a king,
372, V. 1. Of the rich man's taking
the poor man's lamb, to entertain his
gueft with, 26, V. 2. Of the woman
of Tekoa, 33, V. 2. Of the thiftle
and cedar, 223, V. 2.
Pafbur, the fon of Immer, the prieft,
fmote the prophet Jeremiah, and put
hin)

An Alphabetical TABLE.

him in the flocks, 313, V. 2. His
name fignifies increafing liberty, Hid.
Paffover, why fo called, when inftituted,
how to be ordered and eaten, 205,
V. 1. 6'
Peftilence, called the fword of thc Lord,
67, V. 2.
Pcniel, i. e. the face of God, 92, V. 1.
Pharoah, king of Egypt, oppreffes the
Ifraelites, 170, V. 1, Cha-ges the
midwives to kill all the male infants,
ibid. Hardening his heart againft God,
refufes to let the Ifraelites go to wor
fhip God, 189 to 204, V. 1. Wea
ried with plagues, he at length drives
them out, 205, V. 1. Afterwards
purfues them into the Red-fea, 206,
V. 1. And is there drowned with
his whole army, 209, V. 1.
Pharez, i, e. a breaking forth, 356,
V. 1.
Phineas, fon of Eleazer, his zeal in flay
ing Zimri and Cozbi, 152. V. 1.
Goes with others upon a commiffion
of inquiry, concerning the altar fet up
on the border of Jordan, 174, V. 2.
Pbinehas, fon of Eli, his fin, 4035 V. 1.
Punifhment, 409, V. 1.
Piece of filver, what, 191, V. 2.
Pifgab, the hill, 264, V. 1.
Plaifter of figs, cured king Hezekiah's
boil, 275, V. 2.
Polygamy, brought in by Lamech, fon of
Cain, 12, V. 1.
Prophet, i. e. a fpokefman or interpreter,
189, V. 1.
Prophets, the manner of fixing their pro
phecies to the gate of the temple,
296, V. 2.
Priefts, what portion was allotted them
from the people, 258, 279, V. 1.
Prophecies, the manner of regiftering and
keeping them, 296, V. 2.
Pul, king of Affyria, fuppofed to be that
king of Nineveh whom Jonah preached
to, 247, vol. a.
Pulpit of wood, of what fashion, 423,
vol. 2.
Pur, the lot caft before Haman for find
ing a fit feafon to move for the de-
ftruction of the Jews, 375, vol. 2.
Purim, a feaft inftituted by queen Efther
and Mordecai, in thankfulnefs for the
deliverance of the Jews from that
danger, 388, vol. 2.

Snails, brought for food for Ifrael in the
wildernefs, 212, vol. 1. Again, 243,
vol. 1.
Sluccn of Sheba, comes to vifit king So
lomon, 103, vol. 2. Propounds rid
dles to him, ibid. Admires his wif
dom and grandeur, 104, vol. 2. an4
blefl'es Cod, ibid.
Queen Maachah, depofed by her fon Afa,
for making an idol, 126, vol. a.
Queen of heaven, what, 334, vol. a.

Rabfhakeh, fent by Sennacherib, king of
Affyria, rails at Hezekiah, and blaf-
phemes God, 267, 270, vol. z.
Rachel, daughter of Laban, and wife of
Jacob, being barren, gives her maid
Bilhah to her hufband for a concubine,
78, vol. 1. Longs for Reuben's man
drakes, 79, vol. 1. Bargains with
Leah for them, 80, vol. 1. Steals
her father's gods, 85, vol. j. Her
policy in hiding them, 86, vol. 1.
Her death and burial, 99, vol. t.
Rahab, called the harlot, receives the
fpies at Jericho, 291, vol. 1. Hides
and difmiffes them, 292, vol. 1. Is
faved, 299, vol. 1.
Rainbow, fet in the cloud after the
flood, for a token of God's covenant
with man, 20, vol. 1.
Ram, caught in a thicked, for an offer
ing inftead of Ifaac, 51, vol. 1.
Rams-horns, ufed for trumpets in the
fiege of Jericho, 298, vol. 1.
Ravens bring Elijah food, 135, vol. a.
Rebekah, goes with Abraham's fervant,
, to be wife to Ifaac, 58, vol. ,. Is
barren about twenty years, 59, vol. i.
Then bears twins, Efau and Jacob,
60, vol.1. Gets the bieffing by craft
for her fon Jacob, 67, vol. 1. Her
death and burial, 107, vol. 1.
Rechabites, who, 299, vol. a. Their
founder aid laws, ibid.
Red-fea, divided for Ifrael to pafs through
208, vol. 1. "Whence called Red,
210, vol, 1.
Rche-boham, fon of Solomon, by follow
ing, rafh counfel, lofes ten tribes, m,
vol. 2. Raifes an army to reducs
them by force, 112, vol. 2. Forbid
by God, defifts, 113, vol. 2.. His
tricnniuia,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

triennlum, 119, vol. 2. His fins,
punifhment, and fubmiffion, ibid,
Rcbobctb, i. e. Room, 64, vol. I.
Renting of garments, a token of forrow,
103, 128, 248, 381, 492, 377,
vol. 2.
Reuben, finds mandrakes, or flowers,
79, vol. 1. Defiles his father's bed,
99, vol. 1.
Reuel, father to Hobab, called alfo Je-
thro, 175, vol. 1.
Rizpah, Saul's concubine, her pious
care for the bodies of Saul's fons, that
were hanged to atone for the flaugh
ter ef the Gibeonites, 62, vol. 2.
Rod of Aaron, budded, bloffomed, and
bare ripe almonds, 257, vol. 1.
Roofs of houfes^ made flat to walk upon,
291, vol. 1.
Ruth, the Moabitefs, her ftory, 349,
vol. 1.

Sabbath-day's journey, what, 24:, vol. 1.
Sacrifice, how it ought to be offered by
the law, 441, vol. 1.
Salem, :. e. Peace, 30, vol. 1.
Salt, its property and emblem, 124,
vol. 2.
Salmanefer, king of Affyria, befieged
Samaria three years, and took it, 256,
vol. 2. Bound king Hofea, and car
ried the ten tribes into captivity,
ibid.
Samaria, when, and by whom built, 134,
vol. 2. The chief city of the ten
tribes, ibid. Is ftraitly befieged, 190,
vol. 2. Diftreffed by famine, 191,
vol.2. Relieved, 195, vol. a. Be
fieged again, 256, vol. 2. Taken
and depopulated, ibid. Re-peopled
by colonies of mixed people out of
Affyria, 257, vol. 2.
Salu, its fignification, 276, vol, 1.
Samaritans, a mongrel people, fent to
replant Samaria and the country about
it, 257, vol. a. Infefted by lions
fent Dy God amongft them, ibid.
Enemies to the Jews, 365, vol. 2.
Hinder the building of the temple,
366, vol. 2. And repairing of Jeru
falem, 413, vol. a.
Sampfon, his ftory, 386, vol. 1. What
hits name fignifies, 387, vol. 1.

Samuel the prophet, defcended froni
Korah, 399, vol. 1. Bred up under
Eli, 4C2, vol. 1. his name imports
afked of God, 401, vol. 1. Goes in
circuit, as an itinerant judge, 415,
vol. 1. Anoints Saul king, 421,
vol. 1. Reproves him for his difo
bedience, 428, 438, vol. 1. Hews
king Agag in pieces, 440, vol. i.
Anoints David king, 442, vol. I.
His death and burial, 475, vol. 1.
Sanballat, a great enemy to the Jews,
410, vol. 2. Confpires againft Ne
hemiah, to entrap and flay him, 413,
vol. 1. Is difappointed, 414, vol. 1.
Sarai (i. e. beauty and houfewifry)
the wife of Abraham, 25, vol. 1;
Boeing barren, gives Hagar to her huf
band for a concubine, 33, vol. 1.
Has her name changed to Sarah, 36,
vol. 1. What both fignify, ibid.
Sarah, reproved for laughing at thc pro
mife of a fon, denies' it, and is con
victed, 38, vol. I. Conceives and
bears Ifaac, at the 90th year of her
age, 45, vol. 1. Her death and bu
rial, 51, vol. J.
Satan, an adverfary, compaffes the earth,
157, vol. 1. Accufes Job, ibidi
Cannot hurt the godly without leave,
ibid. Afflicts Job, ibid. Is limited,
ibid. Provokes David to number If
rael, 65, vol. 2.
Saul, fon of Kifh, fent to feek his fa
ther's affes, 418, vol. 1. Not find
ing them, goes to Samuel the Seer
for information, 419, vol. 1. Is by
him anointed king over Ifrael, 421,
vol. 1. Beats the Ammonites, and
delivers Jabefh-gilead, 424, vol. 1.
Offers a burnt-offering againft the law,
427, vol. 1. Is reproved for it by
Samuel, 428, vol. 1. Would have
put his fon Jonathan to death, for
tafting honey unwittingly againft his
command, 435, vol. 1. Is fent to
deftroy Amalek, 436 vol 1. Does
it by halves, 437 vol 1. Is for his
difobedience rejected by God, 438
vol 1. Troubled with an evil fpirit,
442 vol 1 Attempts to kill David
452, vol 1 Again 456 vol 1 Purfues
him to Najoth, 457 vol i Is there de
tained among the prophets ibid. At
tempts to kill his own fon Jonathan for
interceding for David 462 vol 1 Hunts
David from place to place 470, 471, vol,-

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Vol. I. Invaded by the Philiftines,
and forfaken of God, feeks to a witch
for council, 486, vol. 1. Confults
the Devil in the likenefs of Samuel,
487, vol. 1. Is told his doom, 488,
vol. 1. Beaten by the Philiftines,
fallcth on his own fword, and dieth,
491, vol. 2.
Scorpions, Rehoboam's, what fort of
fcourges thefe were, no, vol. a.
Seer, the name in old time for a prophet,
419, vol. 1.
Scir, i. e. Briftled or hairy, 107, vol. I,
Sennacherib, king of Affyria, fets a fine
on king Hezekiah, 266, vol. 2.
Having received it, he fends an army
againft Jerufalem, 267, vol. 2. Boafts
of his ftrength, ibid. Blafphemes God,
ibid. Has one hundred eighty-five
thoufand of his foldiers flain in one
night by an angel of God, 273, vol.
a. Flies back into his own country,
is there flain by his own fons, and why,
ibid.
Servants, releafed according to the law,
317, vol. 2. Forced to their fervices
again, ibid.
Shadow, brought ten degrees back on the
fun-dial, 275, vol. 2.
Sheba, rebelling againft king David, 57,
vol. 2. is purfued to Abel, ibid, and
hath his head ftruck oft" there, and
thrown over the wall, 59, vol. 2.
Shebna, a very bad minifter in the court
of king Hezekiah, 278, vol. 2.
Shecbemites, firft drawn to be circumcifed,
95, vol. 1. Then flain, 96, vol. 1.
Shekel, from whence it had its name and
fignification, 53, vol. 1.
Shekels, the feveral forts and values,
326, 329, 370, vol. 1. 69, vol. 2.
Shem, with his brother Japhet, duti
fully cover the nakednefs of their fa
ther Noah, and are bleffed, 21, vol. 1.
What people defcended from Shem,
ibid.
Shemaiah, a prophet of God, fent with
a meffage to king Rehoboam, 112,
vol. 2. Again, 119, vol. 2.
Shemaiah, a falfe prophet, enemy to
Jeremiah, 311, vol. 2. Threatened
by God, ibid. Another of that name
hired by Sanballat to difcourage Nehe
miah, 419, vol. 2.
Serpent tempted Eve, and how, 7, vol. 1.
His punifhment, 9, vol. 1.
Serpents, bite the children of Ifreel, 263,
vol. 1. .
Vol. II.

Serpent of brafs, fet up to cure thofe that
were fo bitten, 263, vol. 1. Broken
by king Hezekiah, and why, 264,
vol. 2.
Shamma, i. e. Defolation or perdition,
one of the fons of Jeffe, 442, vol. 1.
Sbe^u-brcad, what, and why fo called,
464, vol. 1.
Shefhbazzar, the Chaldean name of Ze-
robabel, 364, vol. 2.
Shibboleth, a tcft put upon the Ephrai
mites, 385, vol. 1.
Shilob, the place where the tabernacle
was fet up, 3 iz, vol. ,. Where the
Lord revealed himfelf to Samuel, 407,
vol. 1.
Sittdim, afterwards called the Salt-fea,
29, vol. !.
Sihon, king of the Amorites, flain by
Ifrael, 264, vol. 1.
Shimei, rails on and curfes king David,
41, vol. 2. Afterwards fubmits,
begs pardon, and has it, 53, vol. 2.
Is notwithstanding, after David's
death, confined by king Solomon to
Jerufalem, on pain of death, 86, vol.
2. After three years reftraint, for
getting himfelf, goes out in purfuit
of two fugitive fervants, and dies for
it, 87, vol.2.
Shittim, i, e, turning afide, 275, vol. T.
Shoes, put offin reverence to God, 178,
vol. 1. and'289, vol. 1.
Shoe, the putting it off in civil contracts,
what itfignified, 356, vol. 1.
Shunamite, entertains the prophet Elifha,
179, vol. 2. Having long been child-
lefs, has a fon given her, 180, vol. 2.
it dies, ibid, and is raifed to life again,
182, vol. 2.
Silver, fo plentiful in Solomon's time,
that it was not valued, 102, vol. 2.
Simeon and Levi, two of- Jacob's . fons,
their treachery and cruelty on the
Shechemites, 91, vol. 1.
Sinai, the fame with Horeb, 177, vol. 1.
Sifera, general to king Jabin, beaten by
Barak, 346, vol. 1. Slain by a wo
man, 347, vol. 1.
Sitnab, i. e. Hatred, 64, vol. I.
Slavery, how it debafes the fpirit, 207,
vol. 1.
Sodomites, their fin, 40, vol. 1. Their
punifhment, 42, vol. a.
Solomon, i. e. peaceable, he was the fon
of David by Bath-fheba, 28, vol. 2.
Anointed king in his father's lite-
time, 74, vol. 2. Slays his brother
H h Adonijah,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Adonijah, 85, vol. 2. Joab, 86,
vol. 2. and Shimei, 87, vol. 2.
Dreams, and pra;s fcr wifdom, 88,
vol. a. Exercifes it, in deciding the
controverfy between two harlots, 89,
vol. 2, Builds the temple, 92, vol.
2. His own palace, 100, vol. a.
Entertains the queen of Sheba, 103,
vol. 2. His magnificence, ibid. His
fall, 105, vol. 2. His punifhment,
ibid. His return, 10S, vol. 2. and
end, ibid,
Sorek, i, c. both wine and hiffing, 393,
vol. 1.
Spies, twelve fent forth to fearch the
iand of Canaan, 245, vol. 1. Ten
of them bring a bad report, 247,
vol. 1. and are punifhed with prefent
death, 250, vol. 1. The other two,
Caleb and Jofhua, bring a good report,
248, vol. I. and are rewarded, 250,
vol. 1,
Succoth, has its name from the booths
Jacob built for his cattle, 93, vol. 1.
Succotb-benotb, what fort of idol, 258,
vol. 2.
Sun and Moon, ftand ftill at Jofhua's com
mand, 309, vol. 1.
Swearing introduced by the heathen,
48, vol. 1. *

Tabcal, uncertain whom, 250, vol. 2.
Taberah, i. e. burning, 240, vol. I.
Tabernacle, fet up, 227, vol. I.
Taliquelaw, what, 12, vol. 1.
Tamar, Daughter of king David, deflow
ered by her brother Amnon, 30, vol.
Thamar, daughter-in-law to Judah, her
ftory, 104, vol. 1.
Talent of filver, the value, 184, vol. 2.
188, vol. 2. Of gold, the value, 25,
vol. 2:
Tartak, a god of the Avites, what fort
of idol, 258, vol. 2.
Temple, built by Solomon, 93, vol. 2.
Deftroyed by Nebuzaradan, 326, vol.
2. Rebuilt by Zerubbabel, 391,
vol. 2.
Tenths or Tithes, firft given by Abraham
to Melchizedeck, of the fpoils taken
in battle, in return of kindnefs for
Melchizedeck's courteous entertain
ment to him and his foldiers, 31,

vol. 1. Vowed by Jacob voluntarily
and conditionally, 75, vol. 1. Under
the law, given (not to the priefts, but)
to the Levites, for their laborious fer
vice, a58, vol. 1. The tithes of the
tithes given by the Levites to the
prie!lsr ibid. And both made ceremo
nial by heaving, ibid.
Teraphim, what, 327, vol. 1.
Tbermuthis, who, 173, vol. 1
Thigh, Put thy band under my, what, 137,
vol. 1.
Threfhing of corn, how performed in old
time, 69, vol. 2.
Thunder and Lightening, one of the pla
gues of Egypt, 197, vol.i
Thundering, called the voice of God, 198,
vol. 1.
Tiglath-pilefer, king of Affyria, takes
Damafcus, kills king Rezin, and car
ries the Syrians into captivity, 252,
vol. 2. This captivity prophefied of
by Ifaiah and Amos, ibid. He carried
alfo part of Ifrael captives to Affyria,
253, vol. 2.
Tob, i.e. Goodnefs, 378, vol. 1,
Tobiah i.e. a good Lord, 421, vol. 2.
the Ammonite, an enemy to the Jews,
410, vol. 2.
Tobit, carried captive, with the ten tribes,
into Affyria, by Salmanefer, 256,
vol. 2.
Topheth, a place where children were fa
crificed unto Moloch, 283, vol. 2.
why called fo, 248, vol. z.
Trees, went forth to chufe a king, 372,
vol. 1.
Tribute, a badge of fervitude, 144, vol.
1.
Tubal-Cain, an inftructor of artificers.
in brafs andiron, 12, vol. 1.

fail, worn by Rebekah, and why, 58,
vol. 1. By Thamar, and why, 104,
vol. 1. By Mofes, and why, 225,
vol. 1.
Vafhti, i. e, drinking, king Ahafuerus's
queen depofed for her difobedience,
370, vol. 2.
Venifon, the beloved meat of Ifaac, 60,
66, vol. 1.
Vineyard, the firft we read of, planted by
Noah, 21, vol. 1. Violence,

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Violence, ufed by the falfe prophets, 156,
311, vol. 2.
Voice, of blood unjuftly fhed, cries to God
for vengeance, 11, vol. 1.
Uriah, the Hittite, his ftory, 23, vol. 2.
Uzzah, touching the ark againft the law,
though with a good meaning, is ftrick-
en dead, 13, vol. 2.
Uzziah, king of Judah, his ftrength and
acts, 24T, vol. 2. Did well at firft,
ibid. Afterwards puffed up with prof-
perity, went into the temple to burn
incenfe, ibid. Was withftood by the
priefts, 242, vol. 2. Smitten, with
leprofy, ibid. Shut up for it, and
died, ibid.

W.
Wall, i, e. a defence, a phrafe, 403,
vol. 2.
Watchmen, fet on the tops of towers, to
give notice of the approach of ene
mies, 50, vol. 2.
Waters turned to blood, as a plague on
Egypt, 191, vol. 1.
Waters, bitter, 210, vol. 1. Made
fweet, and how, 211, vol. 1.
Waters, unwholfome, healed, and how,
173, vol. 2.
Weapons of War, invented by Tubal-Cain,
13, vol. 1.
Whale, fwallowed difobedient Jonah,
227, vol. 2. And caft him out, when
grown better, upon the dry land, 228,
vol. 2.
Wheel, ufed in old time for beating out
corn, 69, vol. "2.
Woman, fo called, becaufe taken out of
man, 6, vol. 1. Being beguiled by
the ferpent, fhe beguiled the man,
ibid.
Woman, flew Sifera, 347, vol. 1. Abi
melech, 376, vol. 1.
Woman, by her wifdom, faved a city,
58, vol. 2.
Women eat their own children, 191,
vol. 2.

Yoke, put for oppreflion, 109, vol. 2.
Worn by the prophet Jeremiah about
his neck, as a type of the captivity-
foretold, 306, vol. z.

Yokes, fent by the prophet to feveral na*
tions, as types of their bondage, 306,
vol. 2.
Young Counfellors, ruined king Rehoboam,
no, vol. 2.
Young men (it was foretold) fhould fee
vifions, 240, vol. 2.
Young virgin brought to cherifh king
David in his old age, 71, vol. 2.

Z.
Zachariah, king of Ifrael (the fourth
from Jehu, and laft of his race) flain
by Shallum, 246, vol. 2. And he by
Menahem, ibid,
Zadoc, a trufty fervant to king David, 39,
vol. 2. Made high-prieft in the room
of Abiathar, 85, vol. a.
Zaphnath-paaneah, i, c, a revealer of fe-
crets, 115, vol. 1.
Zeal, of Mofes, 219, vol. 1. Of Phi-
neas, 276, vol. 1. Of Jehu, 204,
vol. 2. Of Hezekiah, 259, vol. 2.
Of Jofiah, 282, vol. 2.
Zebulon, i. e. Dwelling, 144, vol. 1.
Zechariah, fon of Jehoiadah the high-
prieft, ftoned to death by command of
king Joafh, for reproving him and his
peoplefor their fin, 216, vol. 2.
Zechariah, the prophet, when he pro
phefied, 392, vol. 2. The general
fcope of his prophecy, ibid,
Zedekiah, king of Judah, did evil, 306,
vol. 2. Is threatened with fore judg
ments, ibid. Rebels againft king Ne
buchadnezzar-, 316, vol. 2. Is befieged
injerufalem, ibid. Flies when the city
is taken, 325, vol. 2. Is purfued,
taken, brought back, ibid. Sees his
fons flain, — then has his eyes put out,
Is bound in fetters of brafs,— Carried
fo bound to Babylon, and kept there
in prifon till he died, 326, vol. 2.
Zephaniah, the prophet, when he prophe
fied, 293, vol. 2. The general fcope
of his prophecy, ibid.
Zerubbabel, who, 364, vol. 2; Brings
back the captive Jews from Babylon,
ibid. Rebuilds the temple, 365, 392,
393, vol. 2.
Ziba, an old fervant to Saul, 20, vol. 2:
Made fteward to Mephibofheth, Saul's
fon, ibid. Slanders his mafter to king
David, and thereby gets firft all, 41,
vol. 2. at laft half of his eftate from
him, 55, vol; 2; Zilahf

An Alphabetical TABLE.

Zilabi mother of Tubal-Cain, and one
of the wives of Lamech, the polyga
mic-, 12, vol. 1.
Xilpah, handmaid of Leah, given by her
to Jacob for a concubine, 79, vol. 1.
Zimri, the import of his name, and his
daring ait, 276, vol. x. He and
Cozbi flain, ibid.
Zimri, king of Ifrael but feven days,
133, vol. a. Befieged by Omri in

Terza, burns the palace, and himfelf
in it, ibid.
Zion, a ftrong hold in Jerufalem, taken
by king David from the Jebufites, 10,
vol. a. Called afterwards the city of
David, n, vol. a.
Ziphites, to curry favour with Saul, offer
to betray David into his hands, 471,
480, vol. 1.
Zur, i.e. Strong, 276, vol. 1.