The Library iversity of California, Los Angeles The gift of Mrs. Cummmgs, 1963 HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF THE ISRAELITES. THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF THE ISRAELITES, ACCOEDING TO THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE APOCRYPHA C /7 VOLUME I. THE HI8TOEICAL BOOKS. (WITH A MAP OF PALESTINE, AND A MAP SHOWING THE JOURNEYS OF THE HEBREWS IN THE DESERT.) LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER. 1870. Stack Annex 00 PREFACE. It is not without much diffidence that we offer this unpretending work to the public; indeed we should hardly have ventured to do so, as so many great writers have been engaged upon the same sub- ject, had we not believed that it had never been actually treated in the same way, nor for precisely the same purpose, that we have had in view. It has been our intention to give an account of the history and of the literature of the Israelites for the use of the young, who cannot, without turning the Bible into a lesson-book, acquire the desired knowledge direct from its pages, and who are scarcely prepared to consult works of a learned or a more advanced order. We have attempted to accomplish our task without entering upon any controversial or dogmatical point; for it has been our desire merely to facilitate a familiar acquaintance with the facts and personages of the Holy Scriptures, and so to help our readers to 500204 3 H PKEFACE. find deeper interest in the Bible itself, and to arouse in them a greater wish to study the learned authors who have given us their expositions of the Holy Text. If we succeed in doing so, if after the perusal of our book, the Bible is more eagerly sought for, if its pages are better understood and its teaching con- sequently becomes more effectual, our aim will have been attained. The first part of this work is chiefly historical; while the second contains an account of the pro- phetic and the poetical writings of the Old Testament, and from the nature of the subjects discussed, will be adapted to somewhat maturer readers. It only remains for us to acknowledge how much, on a path often beset by difficulties, we have been indebted to such authors as Stanley, Milman, Kalisch, and Jost. London, September 15 th , 1870. C. de Rothschild. A. de Rothschild. CONTENTS. Page Introduction 1 I. THE EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND. 1. The Creation 3 2. Paradise and the Fall 4 3. The Generations between Adam and Noah 7 4. The Deluge 12 5. Genealogy of Nations 18 6. The Tower of Babel 22 H. HISTORY OF THE HEBREW PATRIARCHS. 7. The Wanderings of Abram and Lot 24 8. The Invasion of the Eastern Kings 28 9. God's Covenant with Abraham and the Birth of Ishmael 31 10. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 37 11. Birth of Isaac and Expulsion of Ha gar 42 12. Intended Sacrifice of Isaac 44 13. Death and Burial of Sarah 47 14. Bebekah 48 15. Death of Abraham; Birth and Youth of Esau and Jacob 51 16. Isaac in Gerar 54 17. The Blessing of Isaac 56 18. Jacob's Journey to Mesopotamia 62 19. Jacob's Sojourn with Laban, his Marriage and Children 64 20. Jacob's Plight, and his Treaty with Laban ... V . . 68 21. Jacob and Esau . 72 IV CONTENTS. Page 22. Jacob in Shechem, Bethel, and Hebron . 77 23. The History of Joseph 79 24. Settlement of Jacob's Family in Egypt ....... 102 25. Joseph acquires for the King the whole Soil of Egypt 104 26. Manasseh and Ephraim 106 27. Jacob's last Address to his Children 108 28. Death and Burial of Jacob; Death of Joseph .... 112 in. THE HISTORY OF MOSES. 29. Oppression of the Hebrews in Egypt 115 30. Birth and early Life of Moses 117 31. The Mission of Moses to Pharaoh 120 32. The ten Egyptian Plagues 127 33. Institution of the Passover; Departure of the Hebrews from Egypt 136 34. Pharaoh's Pursuit and Destruction 139 35. The Song of Moses and the Hebrews at the Bed Sea . 142 36. March of the Hebrews to Marah and Elim ; the Manna , and Quails 144 37. Victory over the Amalekites 148 38. Jethro 150 39. The Revelation on Mount Sinai 152 40. The Book of the Covenant 158 41. The Tabernacle 176 42. The Garments of the Priests 181 43. The golden Calf 187 44. Renewal of the Covenant 190 45. Erection of the Tabernacle 193 46. The Hebrew Sacrifices and Offerings 195 47. The Priests and Levites 208 48. Various Levitical Laws 215 49. Death of Nadab and Abihu . 219 50. Wanderings in the Desert 220 51. Suffering in the Desert 221 52. Discontent of Aaron and Miriam 223 53. Scouts sent to Canaan 224 54. Murmuring of the People and their Punishment . . . 225 55. Rebellion of Korah and his Followers 228 56. The blooming Rod of Aaron 231 57. Water from the Rock 231 CONTENTS. V Page 58. Wanderings continued ............... 232 59. Conquests in the East of the Jordan ...... . . 236 60. Balaam's Prophecies ....... ......... 237 61. New Census and Allotment of the East-Jordanic Land 243 62. Death and Character of Moses ........... 244 IV. THE TIME OF JOSHUA. 63. Capture and Destruction of Jericho ......... 255 64. Capture of Ai and Stratagem of the Gibeonites . . . 260 65. Further Conquests in Canaan . ........... 263 66. The Settle'ment in Palestine ............ 267 67. Death of Joshua .................. 272 V. THE TIME OF THE JUDGES. 68. General Character of the Period .......... 274 69. Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar .............. 280 70. Deborah ...................... 282 71. Gideon ...................... 289 72. Abimelech ..................... 297 73. Tola, Jair, Jephthah ................ 300 74. Ibzan. Elon, Abdon, Samson .......... . . 303 75. The Story of Ruth ................. 310 VI. THE LIFE AND TIME OF SAMUEL. 76. Samuel's Youth .................. 318 77. Capture and Return of the Ark ........... 323 78. Samuel the Judge ................. 327 79. Election of Saul .- ................. 331 VH. THE REIGN OF SAUL (10951055). 80. Saul's Wars .................... 336 81. Saul's Disobedience ................ 339 THE LIFE AND TIME OF DAVID. 82. Youth of David .................. 346 83. David and Goliath ................ 350 84. David persecuted by Saul ............. 354 85. David and Nabal ................. 364 86. Continued Persecution of David ........... 366 87. David in Ziklag .................. 368 VI CONTENTS. Page 88. The Witch of Endor 369 89. David again in Ziklag 371 90. Death of Saul and Jonathan 373 91. David King of Judah 376 92. David King over all Israel (1055 1015) 381 93. The Ark brought to Jerusalem 382 94. David's Victories '. . 385 95. David's Sin 388 96. Amnon, Absalom 392 97. Famine and Expiation 404 98. David's last Deeds and Death 405 IX. THE HISTORY OF KING SOLOMON (1015975). 99. Solomon's 'severe Justice 413 100. Solomon's Wisdom and Power 415 101. The Building of the Temple , 419 102. Dedication of the Temple 422 103. Solomon's Decline and Death 428 104. The Division of the Empire 434 X. THE EMPIRE OF ISRAEL OR EPHRAIM (975722). 105. Jeroboam (975954) 439 106. Nadab (954953) 443 107. Baasha (953930) ... 1 443 108. Elah and Zimri (930928) 444 109. Omri (928918) .' 445 110. Ahab (918897) : . . . 445 111. The Prophet Elijah . ., 446 112. Elijah and the Priests of Baal 448 113. Flight of Elijah; Elisha appointed as his Successor 452 114. War of Aliab with Benhadad 454 115. Murder of Naboth 456 116. Death of Ahab 457 117. Ahaziah (897895) 460 118. Elijah's Disappearance and the first Miracles of Elisha 461 119. Jehoram, King of Israel (895884) 463 120. Elisha ... 465 121. Wars of Jehoram and Elisha's Help 471 122. Jehu made King over Israel 476 CONTENTS. VII Page 123. Jehu (884856) . 478 124. Jehoahaz (856840) . 480 125. Joash (840825) 481 126. Jeroboam H (825784) 483 127. Interregnum; Zachariah; Shallum; Menahem; Pekahiah (784759) 485 128. Pekah (759-^-739) . . 486 129. Hoshea (739722) 487 XL THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH (975588). 130. Rehoboam (975958) 490 131. Abijah (958955) 491 132. Asa (955914) 492 133. Jehoshaphat (914891) 493 134. Joram (891884) 496 135. Ahaziah and Interregnum (884 877) 496 136. Joash (877838) 499 137. Amaziah (838811) 501 138. Uzziah or Azariah (811 759) 502 139. Jotham (759743) 504 140. Ahaz (743728) 505 141. Hezekiah (728699) 507 142. Manasseh (699644) 513 143. Amon (644642) 515 144. Joeiah (642611) 515 145. Jehoahaz or Shallum (611) .521 146. Joiakim (611599) ' 521 147. Jehoiachin (599) ' 524 148. Zedekiah (599588) . . . . 524 XII. THE JEWS UNDER BABYLONIAN EULE (588538). 149. Gedaliah (588560) 527 150. Emigration to Egypt 529 151. The Jews in Babylon 531 Xm. THE JEWS UNDER PERSIAN RULE (538332). 152. Return of the Jews to Canaan (538) 537 153. The Building of the Second Temple (536) 539 VHI CONTENTS. Page 154. The History of Esther 543 155. Ezra the Soribe (458) 551 156. Nehemiah (444) 555 157. Political Condition and Literature 567 158. The Apocrypha 570 XIV. THE JEWS UNDER MACEDONIAN, EGYPTIAN, AND SYRIAN KULE (332164). 159. The Time of Alexander the Great (332329) .... 573 160. Egyptian and Syrian Dominion (323164) 575 161. The Hostilities of Antiochus Epiphanes (176167) . 580 162. Mattathias (167) ...... 586 163. Judas Maccabaeus the Deliverer (167 164) 588 XV. THE JEWS UNDER THE ASMONEANS (16440). 164. Judas Maccabaeus the Ruler (164161) 593 165. Jonathan (161143) ;.,,. , . 602 166. Simon (143136) 610 Conclusion 615 Chronological Table 617 Index . .621 INTRODUCTION. The Hebrew Bible sets forth mainly the history of the Israelites. It relates their origin, their growth, and their decline, from the earliest days until the time when, returning as released captives from a foreign land, they attempted to establish a new commonwealth , which , in its turn, was destroyed by powerful conquerors. But the Bible shows also, how the Israelites were instructed and led by Grod, were elected to receive from Him eternal truths, and singled out to disseminate them throughout the earth. Therefore, it speaks of (rod's wisdom, mercy, and power, and points out, how He watches and rules over individ- uals and nations. Thus it has become the Book for all ages and for all mankind. It presents the most beautiful examples of faith, meekness, obedience, and courage. The laws of Moses are more just , more merciful , and better fitted to promote virtue and happiness than those framed by any other nation of antiquity. The poetry which graces the pages of the Bible , has lost none of its freshness and beauty in the thousands of years that have rolled by since it was first written; it has still the power of stirring up our deepest feelings ; it still affords delight and consolation. And the impassioned words of the prophets, so noble in thought and so fervid in language, remain as imperishable monuments of piety and holy zeal. Thus distinguished by everything that can exalt the mind, delight the imagination, Vol. I. 1 2 INTRODUCTION. and direct man through the difficulties of life, we can well understand how the Bible found its way from the east to all climes , near and far ; and how, coming as the history of God's chosen people, it was hailed as God's own Book to teach and exhort, to gladden and to comfort. The Bible consists of four and twenty Books which, as may be inferred from the preceding remarks, either con- tain laws and history, or poetry and prophecy. But they have been generally divided into three great classes: I. The Law (m'Pi), which is embodied in the five Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, viz. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy ; though the Penta- teuch is not exclusively a code of laws, but relates also the early history of mankind and that of the Hebrews down to the death of Moses. II. The Prophets (trwis;), subdivided into the Earlier Prophets (D'Jt'NT DW2J.) and the Later Prophets (D^'inN DW34); the former comprising the historical Books of Joshua and Judges, two Books of Samuel and two Books of Kings; and the latter, the three great prophets, viz. Isaiah, Jeremiah, andEzekiel, and the twelve minor prophets form- ing one book, viz. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. HI. Poetical and other "Writings (DCTI2), in- cluding the Psalms, Proverbs, and Job; the Song of Solo- mon, Ruth, the Lamentations of Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther; Daniel; Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two Books of Chronicles: of these the first four and the Lamentations are properly poetical, Ecclesiastes is a philosophic work, and Daniel a prophecy, while the rest are historical. I THE EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND. [Genes. I XI.] 1. THE CREATION. [Genes. I. 1. II. 3.] The Bible commences with an account of the origin of the world. That account of the Creation is grand in its simplicity. God produced the world out of nothing by the sole power of His will and command. In the beginning of time, He called into existence the matter out of which heaven and earth were to be formed. But this matter was in confusion and dreary darkness. Within six days He shaped it into a world of order and beauty. On the first day, He said: "Let there be Light" - and "there was Light." The darkness was dispelled ; the first great step was accomplished. On the second day, He divided the waters, which everywhere covered the original matter, by an ex- panse which He called Heaven : one part of the water was kept above this firmament, another beneath it, or upon the Earth. On the third day , He gathered the waters of the earth in certain parts and thus formed the Seas, so that, in other parts, the Dry Land became visible, which He at once clothed with verdure bright and beautiful, with every varie- ty of vegetation, of flower and fruit a world only wanting life to be perfect. Thus the three first days were employed 1* 4 1. THE CKEATIOK. in calling into existence what was most essential light, heaven, and earth. But each of these three creations was to be made more complete, and each therefore engaged again God's care and wisdom. For on the fourth day, He produced the light - giving bodies, the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars; on the fifth, the Birds of the air that rise to the expanse of heaven , and the Fish that teem in the seas ; while on the sixth day, He peopled the earth with Beasts, great and small, with cattle and reptiles animating with joyous life, plain, and hill, and forest. But when the earth was beautiful in its fresh garb of verdure, when the bright sun beamed down from the blue heavens, and the cool waters girt the land like a broad belt, when air, sea, and earth were filled with happy and peace- ful denizens; God, in His wisdom, saw fit to call forth a being able and worthy to enjoy all this beauty, and to rule over all this wealth ; and He created Man in His own image, giving him a mind capable, if not of understanding, at least of adoring Him. Man , gifted with reason and an immortal soul, was entrusted with the dominion over the earth and all that is upon it, over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. The great work of creation was finished on the sixth day. On the seventh, G-od rested; and we are told, He "blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." Thus it became the type of the Sabbath, which men should enjoy after six busy days of labour, and which was to be a blessing to the weary, and a sanctification to all. 2. PAKADISE AND THE FALL. [Genes. II. 4. III. 24.] The earth stood radiand in beauty; God had adorned it with luxuriant vegetation, with lovely flowers, and stately 2. PARADISE AND THE FALL. 5 trees, and delicious fruits. The man, Adam, whom He had created, was placed by Him in a spot which well deserved its name as a "garden of delight" or Eden. It was situated in the vicinity of that extremely fertile and beautiful region, where the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris meet, and where, besides, they are joined by two other streams, which the Bible calls Pison and Gihon. It must, therefore, be looked for in or around the district of the present province of Iran, though it is impossible for us to define its position with exactness. More perfect in its loveliness than any garden we have ever seen, blooming with every plant that is pleasant to look upon, filled with every fruit that is good to the taste, and watered by the four rivers which, separating in the garden towards all direc- tions, flowed forth to fertilize the land such was the exquisite abode of our first ancestor. But he was to enjoy it only in proportion to the labour and care which he would bestow upon its cultivation. Therefore God commanded him to watch and tend it with eager zeal. Among all the trees that abounded in Eden, there were two more wonderful than the rest the tree of know- ledge and the tree of life. And Grod commanded Adam : "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for when thou eatest thereof thou must surely die." But the creation was not complete. Man was not yet perfectly happy. Animal life, so material for his enjoyment, indeed surrounded him on all sides. The numberless birds and the vast variety of beasts, which God brought to him to name, pleased and interested him. But he was without a real companion able to inspire him with deeper sympathy. He still felt alone. God determined upon another act of mercy. Adam fell into a profound sleep, and when he 6 2. PARADISE AND THE FALL. returned to awakening consciousness, it was to see before him a wondrous being, who was both the last and the most beautiful of God's creations. Man called this being Woman, and exclaimed with delight, "This time it is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh ;" and later he named her Eve because she was to become "the mother of all living.'' Man and woman were designed by the Almighty to spend in the garden of Eden an eternal life of happiness and innocence. But this beautiful existence did not continue long. The serpent tempted the woman to make her disobedient to the only command imposed by God upon the first man. That most subtle of all beasts cunningly asked Eve, ''Has indeed God said, You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?" To which the woman answered, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die." Then the serpent, craftily pursuing its object, and relying for success upon human weakness, assured the woman, that she would certainly not die, but that by eating of the forbidden fruit, her eyes would be opened, and she would, like God, be able to distinguish good from evil. The woman, so tempted, and moreover al- lured by the beautiful appearance of the tree, yielded, gath- ered of the fruit, and ate, and gave to her husband, who also tasted of it. Shame followed upon sin. Man and wo- man, hearing the voice of the Lord God in the garden, hid themselves, and were afraid. But God asked Adam sternly, "Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee thou shouldst not eat ?" to which man answered with a cow- ardly trembling, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." The woman, in her turn, timidly threw the guilt upon the serpent who had 3. THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. 7 beguiled her. Severe retribution attended this first sin of disobedience. God cursed the serpent to be the most de- spised among all the animals of creation, to crawl upon its belly, and to eat dust for ever, while it should live in deadly hatred with mankind. "I will put enmity", said God, "between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Then God proclaimed the punishment of man and woman. They were expelled from the garden of Eden, which could be the abode of the innocent alone; they Avere thence- forth to eat their bread in the sweat of their brow: for the earth would be cursed on account of their sin, and would bring forth thorns and thistles, and scanty harvests; so they would have to toil and to struggle till death released them : for they were taken from dust and to dust must they return. Thus man forfeited for ever eternal life and ease on earth, or as it is symbolically expressed in the Bible- narrative, ''God placed before the garden of Eden Cherubinis, with the flame of the revolving sword, to keep the way of the tree of life." 3. THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. [Genes. IV. V.] Adam and Eve, expelled from their happy abode, were sent abroad to recommence a new and sterner life. But an existence of honest labour, ennobled by the guiding light of reason, could not be without dignity and happiness. They saw the reluctant earth yield up its hidden treasures; and before their eyes, barren tracts were changed into fields of waving corn. But an additional blessing was granted to them ; they became the parents of two sons, Cain and Abel. Pride was mingled with their delight when they looked 8 3. THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN* ADAM AND NOAH. upon their children, who were destined to grow into reason- able beings , endowed like themselves with a knowledge of good and evil. Under their care and fondness, the childhood of Cain and Abel passed away. In course of time, Cain became a husbandman, and Abel a shepherd. The brothers, unlike in their occupations, were no less unlike in their dispositions. Cain had to carry on a perpetual struggle with a stubborn and ungrateful soil; it was he who especially felt the curse pronounced against his pa- rents , for he had to work in the sweat of his brow; while Abel had the gentler and easier task of leading his sheep into pleasant green meadows, of watering them at fresh springs, and of reclining near them in the shade of spread- ing trees. Both brothers, however, saw their work succeed, and gratitude impelled them to bring an offering to God. Cain naturally presented the firstfruits of the field, and Abel the firstlings of the flock. They could hardly express more appropriately their humble conviction that all they possessed belonged to their Creator, as they owed it to His mercy. But though Cain was filled with a proper sense of dependence on the will of God, he could not master his evil passions, when he compared his own hard life with the easy existence of his younger brother. Envy rankled and took root in his breast. An offering presented with such feelings could not be acceptable to God, who looks upon the piety of the worshipper rather than upon the value of the gift. While, therefore, his oblation was rejected, Abel's sacrifice was graced with Divine favour. Now the spark of jealousy in Cain's heart was rapidly fanned: "his countenance fell." But God, the all-seeing, the all-merciful, desiring to draw him from the brink of a fearful precipice of sin, reproved him gently. He asked him why he was angry, and why his countenance was fallen? If his offering was not accepted, ought he not to take it as a sure sign that he had not done 3. THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. 9 well? He should search his heart, and he would find that it was tainted by a grievous vice. He ought to take heed, or else repentance would come too late. For a time Cain's envious rancour was silenced ; he spoke to Abel with bro- therly feeling. But when the daily toil recommenced, and the difference of occupations became again painfully strik- ing, the old animosity was revived, and in a moment of ungovernable rage Cain slew Abel. The first murder was perpetrated: the earth was stained with human blood. That blood cried aloud to the Creator, who said to the murderer, "Where is Abel, thy brother?" Like Eve, his mother, Cain tried to evade the enquiries of God. "I know not," said he; "am I my brother's keeper?" But the Lord replied in just anger, 'What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood cries to Me from the ground. Thou art cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be on the earth." Thus Cain, like Adam and Eve, was to wander from his first abode, from his paradise, where his parents dwelt, and where he had passed his childhood. But Cain clung to his miserable existence. Guilty as he was, he wished to live. His prayer was granted; but fearing the wrath of some human avenger, he entreated God for protection of his life. This was also conceded to him. He was branded, how- ever, with the mark of the outlaw, that he might be known and shunned. Thus he wandered about without rest and without peace, and at last settled in the district of Nod, which signifies flight, and which probably represents one of the eastern countries of Asia, far from the early centres of civilisation, and separated from all friendly communion with the rest of the human families. But gradually even Cain, in some degree purified by hard and persevering labour, found relief and consolation. His wife bore him a son, whom 10 3. THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. he called Enoch, which name, meaning instruction, perhaps implied the earnest intention on the part of the sinful fa- ther to train his child in the path of virtue, and thus to guard him against those snares of sin that had blighted his own life: and in order to keep that intention more vividly in remembrance, Cain, when he proceeded to build a city in the land of Nod, called it also Enoch after his son. This city was soon peopled by his descendants: and there the energies and talents of mankind were gradually awakened and exercised. The four next generations men- tioned in the Bible are represented by the names of Irad, Mehujael, Methusael, and Lamech. Here the narra- tive pauses to introduce a social progress of peculiar importance. Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah, of whom the former bore two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Jabal was the first herdsman among the descendants of Cain; he was permitted to follow the easy and peaceful occupation of the pious but short-lived Abel; his ancestor's bloody crime was atoned for, and the curse-laden race was free to commence a new and happier career. A decisive beginning was made in that very generation. For Jabal's younger brother, Jubal, is mentioned to have been "the father of all those that use the lyre and the flute": he was the inventor of musical instruments ; the toil of the daily labour was lightened and beautified by art. Zillah was the mother of Tubalcain, who was the first to manufacture sharp instruments of brass and iron : thus man was better able to force from the earth the grains that support his life, and the flowers that delight his eye; he in some measure acquired the power of creating by his own exertions a second paradise. But be- yond this the descendants of Cain were not permitted to pass ; the next and higher steps were reserved to other and purer branches of the human family. 3 THE GENERATIONS BETWEEN ADAM AND NOAH. 11 Adam and Eve, bereft of both their children, the younger one slain, the elder an outcast, were alone in their misery. Their punishment seemed indeed hard to bear. But when they were blessed with a third son, they called him Seth, meaning "compensation", and accepted him in the place of the good and innocent Abel. And when Seth grew up, he had a son, whom in humbleness he called Enos, the "frail" or "mortal". But it was in the lifetime of this frail Enos, that one of the most important advances was made in the education of mankind. For then "began men to in- voke the name of the Lord." Their spiritual life commenced. They became aware of their insignificance before the Al- mighty ; and they expressed this feeling in prayer. The Bible passes rapidly over the next generations, those of Cainan, Mahalaleel, and Jared ; for a vast field was opened to human energy, and the progress in the inner life is naturally slow and struggling. But the great age which men attained in those periods, materially aided their en- deavours. Man had been originally intended for immortal life; Adam and Eve forfeited this privilege; they became mortal, and with them their descendants. But the diminu- tion of their lives was ordained to be gradual; thus Methuselah attained the remarkable age of 969 years, and Noah of 950 years; but Abraham died at 175, Jacob at 147, Moses at 120, and Joshua at 110 years; while the Psalmist exclaims : "The days of our years are threescore years and ten, and if very strong fourscore years." But in the fourth generation after Enos, the religious efforts and aspirations began to bear fruit. Jared's son, Enoch, was an example of excellence and piety. Even now, after so many thousands of years, he is to us the type of the good and perfect man , who walked with God and in whom Grod peculiarly delighted. As a reward, he was spared the infirmities of old age and the sufferings 12 4. THE DELUGE. of death; for "Enoch walked with God, and he was no more, for God had taken him away." But it is remark- able that he passed from this life into a happier and brighter existence at a comparatively early age; he died younger than any of the primitive patriarchs to teach the lesson that a long life is not in itself a blessing, nor an early death in itself a misfortune ; but that a long life may be a curse if stained by crime, as was proved by the example of Cain, and that an early death may be the high- est favour of God, as was shown by the example of the pious Enoch. 4. THE DELUGE. [Genes. VI-IX.] The tenth descendant from Adam was Noah. At his birth, his father Lamech exclaimed prophetically: "This one will relieve us from our work and the toil of our hands, from the ground which the Lord has cursed." The some- what obscure meaning of these words may be thus explain- ed. It was during the lifetime of Noah that man was first permitted by God to kill for his food the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and to eat the fishes of the sea; he was no longer to subsist merely upon the precarious pro- duce of the land ; his hard struggle with the reluctant soil was lightened; and God's first curse, though not repealed, was mitigated. This involved indeed a sad decline of man from that state of innocence, when all the brute creation lived in happy security and freedom; therefore, remember- ing the harmony and beauty for which the world was de- signed, we should try to lessen the sufferings which we inflict upon animals either for our subsistence or our self- preservation. When Noah was 500 years old, he had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; He was a good and pious man, 4. THE DELUGE. 13 fearing and loving God, and was unlike all the other in- habitants of the earth, who had gradually become more and more depraved. The disobedience of our first ancestors was aggravated in the succeeding generations. They sinned so constantly and so grievously that at last the Lord repented having created man, who had been destined to form the crown and glory of creation. Of so fearful a nature was the pre- vailing corruption, that God determined to extirpate all life by a universal Deluge, not only the men but the beasts also, that no trace might remain of that wicked age. Iniquity should not stain God's earth, which was to be regenerated by a miraculous act of Divine interference. For Noah and his family, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord, were to be saved from the general destruction, as the germs of the future population. It is with feelings of awe that we contemplate God's fearful punishment. We can hardly realise the Deluge, the death of every living creature , the immersion of the whole earth, the dwelling-place of man, in the rising waters sweep- ing over hill and vale, forest and pasture-land, and engulph- ing all rivers, lakes, and seas. God revealed His resolution to His servant Noah: "The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold, I will destroy them with the earth." But as Noah was not to perish with the wicked, God commanded him to build a huge ark of gopher or cypress wood, three stories high, and large enough to receive not only Noah and his sons with their wives, but also two animals of every unclean species, male and female, and seven pairs of every clean species, whether beast or bird or reptile, with the necessary food for the sustenance of all. Thus specimens of the whole brute creation were to be saved with Noah; for God would not altogether destroy the world which He had blessed and pronounced good in all its parts. 14 4. THE DELUGE. Noah built the spacious ark as God had directed; he entered it with his family; and the animals left their green pastures, and their forest homes, and their woody thickets, and came around Noah, who took them into the ark in accordance with God's commands. Noah had attained the great age of six hundred years , when he was to witness a stupendous change, and to bid farewell to the world he had known before. The Deluge commenced on the seven- teenth day of the second month. Now torrents of rain de- scended in floods from the heavens, and the fountains of the deep gushed forth. The seas, the rivers, and the lakes began to swell and overflow, carrying away with them stately trees, and cities, and all works of human industry. Then indeed must man's sinful heart have been smitten with bitter pangs of regret and shame. Did it at last humble itself before the merciful Creator, who had been so long-suffering, so slow to anger? Can we not see even now, after the lapse of thousands of years, those terrible scenes of despair and agony, when men struggled desperately, but in vain, to save their doomed lives by toiling up the towering rocks and rugged mountain peaks? Can we not hear that piercing wail from earth to heaven, as the floods dashed, and foamed, and roared, as the waters, stern workers of their Master's bidding, rose higher than the towering rocks, higher than the rugged mountain peaks? At last the relentless floods covered all living things , and buried all in one appalling grave. No bird, no beast, no human being, could withstand God's judgment. But amid this scene of ruin and devastation, the ark, guarded by the Lord, floated on steadily and securely. During forty days it was borne up by the increasing waters which prevailed upon the earth, overtopping, by fifteen cu- bits, the loftiest mountain crests. Then the waters began to decrease, and on the seven- teenth day of the seventh month , or after exactly five 4. THE DELUGE. 15 months, the ark rested over the peaks of Mount Ararat. The country of Ararat, bearing the same name as the mountain, is a part of the beautiful province of Armenia, one of the most fertile countries of the north. "The region around the mountain makes the impression of a dreary and devastated wilderness; it is haunted by bears, small tigers, lynxes, and lions, and is infested by large and extremely venomous serpents, which frequently impede the progress of caravans. . . At a little distance, the summit does not appear particularly imposing ; for numerous lower mountains obstruct the view; and the plateau itself, on which it rises, is of considerable height. But viewed from the vast plain which skirts its base, it appears as if the highest mountains in the world had been piled upon each other to form this one sublime immensity of earth and rock and snow. Here the aspect is overwhelming; it awes the mind with the stupendous power of the Creator; the peaks seem to reach into the very heart of heaven, and the sides disappear dimly in the endless horizon." * The ark, hovering over this mountain range, gradually descended as the water subsided; and on the first day of the tenth month, it rested on its highest peak, which, like other elevated points, began then to emerge from the floods. Here Noah, still imprisoned, looked forth upon the wide - spreading though decreasing waters; and after waiting forty days longer, anxious to know the con- dition of the earth, he sent forth a raven from the ark. This bird, glad to regain and to enjoy its liberty, and thriving in the humid atmosphere, returned to the ark only to be fed, flitting to and fro, until the waters had quite abated. Yet Noah, anxiously hoping that the floods were disappearing from the land, sent out another bird, and this time a dove. But the dove, more delicate than the raven, * Kalisch, Commentary on Genesis, p. 190. 16 4. THE DELUGE. found no resting-place, and returned to the ark. After seven days it was again sent forth, and now it returned at eventime with a fresh olive leaf in its mouth. Then Noah knew that the earth was almost free from the flood, although still unfit for habitation. After another seven days, the winged messenger was sent out again, and returned no more. Like Noah in the days of old, we still regard the dove and the olive leaf as symbolical of peace and joy. And a feeling of gladness must in truth have filled Noah's heart, for the floods had disappeared from the earth; the Deluge had fulfilled its awful mission. In the beginning of the first month, the surface of the earth was cleared from the waters; and on the twenty seventh day of the second month, or exactly 365 days after the commencement of the flood, the ground was perfectly dry. At the command of the Lord, Noah left the ark, and with him his wife, his sons and their wives, and every living creature that he had saved from destruction. Anxious to testify his thankful- ness to Grod for having preserved him from the universal doom, he built an altar, and presented a stupendous burnt- sacrifice of every clean beast and of every clean fowl. God graciously accepted this offering, and said: "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake ; for the cogitation of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again smite any more every living being as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Thus, by a covenant of mercy, the earth was thenceforth to remain unharmed ; nature was to continue in her uninterrupted course, and never again was the whole globe to suffer for the sins of man : God promised to mea- sure the deeds of His children not by the standard of justice but by that of compassionate love, and to remember in His judgments the innate weakness of the human heart. 4. THE DELUGE. 17 The history of mankind seems to recommence with Noah. Similar to Adam , he was placed by God in a new world, beautiful and blooming, the father of the only family that was to people the earth, the ruler over all living things. But he received more unlimited dominion over the animal world than was ever allowed to Adam: from his time, the brute creation lived in fear of man; and man partially subsisted on animal food. To preserve the re- membrance of the original security of all beasts. God prohib- ited man to eat their blood, which was regarded as their soul or principle of life. And stern was His decree against the shedder of human blood. Murder was to be unsparingly avenged by death; for could a greater crime be conceived than that of destroying a being created by God in His own image? Thus the Lord established for evermore His covenant with Noah, and also with every living creature, that there should never again be a flood to destroy the earth. As a sign of this covenant, the brilliant rain -bow spanned the heavens, bright with the Almighty's promise of mercy to His erring creatures ; for God said: "I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring, clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, that I shall remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Noah's three sons were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham had not inherited his father's piety; he was guilty of unlilial conduct, which drew down upon him Noah's severe anger. "Cursed," he said, "be Canaan (for Ham was Canaan's ancestor); a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren." But Noah blessed his other two sons, promising large territories to Japheth, and dominion and glory to Shem. Vol. I. 9 18 5. GENEALOGY OF NATIONS. Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood ; he was an active husbandman and cultivator of the vine; and when he had witnessed the gradual increase of the human family after its all but total extirpation, he died at the age of nine hundred and fifty years. 5. GENEALOGY OF NATIONS. [Genes. X.] The Biblical narrative, interrupting for a short time the history of individuals, pauses to enumerate the gene- rations of the sons of Noah. Shem, Ham, and Japheth were the ancestors of nations, and their descendants the founders of cities and empires. The children of Japheth settled in the northern and western continents of the globe ; the pro- geny of Ham established themselves in the south ; and the offspring of Shem were gathered in the central parts of the ancient world. The following list embodies the names of Noah's descendants, together with the tribes, countries, or cities, which they probably represent. I. JAPHETH, embodying the nations of the North and "West. I. Gomer The Bactrians; Mountain nations. 1. Ashkenaz Rhagae, in Great Media. 2. Biphath Rhipaean mountains. 3. Togarmah Taurica (Crimea). II. Magog The Scythians. in. Madai The Medes. IV. Javan Greece; Maritime Countries. 1. Elishah Hellas. 2. Tarshish Tartessus, in Spain. 5. GEKEALOGY OF XATIOXS. 19 3. Kittiin Cyprus. 4. Dodanim The Daunians, in Italy. V. Tubal The Tibareni I- , 7T , r ., , in Northern Armenia. VI. Meshech The Moscht VII. Tiras The Chain of the Taurus. II. HAM, including the nations of the South. I. Gush Tribes of Southern Africa and Arabia. 1 . Seba Meroe, in Ethiopia. 2. Havilah Near the Arabian Gulf. 3. Sabtah The Astabori, near the river Tacazze. 4. Raamah Regnia, in Arabia. a) Sheba Saba,-in Arabia Felix. b) Dedan On the north-western coast of the Arabian Gulf, and near the Persian Gulf. 5. Sabtechah in Ethiopia; perhaps Nigritia. 6. Babel Babylon. 7. Erech Orchoe, on the Euphrates. 8. Accad Tel Nimroud, or Akkerkuf, near Bag- dad. %f Calneh A town in Chalonitis (perhaps Ctesi- phon), on the Tigris. 10. Nineveh Nineveh, on the Tigris. 1 1 . Eehoboth Ir Probably on the eastern banks of the Euphrates. 12. Calah Kalah Sherghat, fifty-five miles south of Mosul. 1 3. Resen - - Nimroud, seventeen miles south of Mosul. IT. Mizraiin Egypt. \ . Ludim Letus, or Letopolis, in Lower Egypt. 2. Aiiaraim Perhaps Cynopolis , the town of Anubis, in Middle Egypt. 2* 20 6. GENEALOGY OF NATIONS. 3. Lehabim The Libyans. 4. Naphtuhim Napata, in the north of Meroe. 5. Pathrusim Upper Egypt, or Thebais. 6. Casluhim Chemnis, or Panopolis. a) Philistim Philistines. 7. Caphtorim Coptos, in the Upper Thebaid. TTT. Phut Phaiat, or Libya, near Egypt; or perhaps Buto, in the Delta. IV. Canaan Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. 1. Sidon Sidon, in Phoenicia. 2. Heth The Hittites, near Hebron, Bethel, etc. 3. The Jebusite In and around Jerusalem. 4. The Amorite On both sides of the Jordan. 5. The Grirgasite In the centre of Palestine. 6. The Hivite In Shechem and Gibeon, and near the Hermon. 7. The Arkite Area, in Phoenicia, at the north- western foot of the Lebanon. 8. The Sinnite Sinnas, near Area. 9. The Arvadite The island Aradus at the northern coast of Phoenicia. 10. The Zemarite Simyra, twenty -four miles south-east of Antaradus. 11. The Hamathite Epiphania, in Syria. III. SHEM, representing the central parts of the ancient world. I. E 1 a m Elymais, in Persia. IL Asshur Assyria. ILL. Arphaxad Arrhaphachitis, in North Assyria. 1 . Salah Along the eastern banks of the Tigris. 2. Eber In the west of the Tigris and Euphrates. a) Peleg ' In various parts of Arabia Deserta. 5. GENEALOGY OF NATIONS. 21 b) Joktan Kachtan, in the north of Ned- sheran. 1. Almodad In Arabia Deserta. 2. Sheleph - - The Salapeni, in Arabia Felix. 3. Hazarinaveth Hadramaut, in the south of Arabia. 4. Jerah The coast and mountain of the Moon, near Hadramaut. 5. Hadoram Likewise adjoining Hadra- maut, on the coast. 6. Uzal Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. 7. Diklah ] 8. Obal I Uncertain. 9. Abimael I 10. Sheba The Sabaeans, in the eastern parts of Arabia. 1 1 . Ophir On the southern or south-eastern coast of Arabia. 12. Havilah Near the Persian Gulf. 13. Jobab In Arabia Deserta. IV. L u d The Lydians, originally living in the high- lands of Armenia. V. Aram Aramaea , including northern Mesopota- mia, Syria, and districts of Arabia. 1. Uz Ausitis, in the northern parts of Arabia Deserta. 2. Hul perhaps Golan, in the east of the Jordan. 3. Gether perhaps Geshur, on the Orontes. 4. Mash The Mysians. * * See Xofwcfc, Commentary on Genesis, pp. 231233. 22 6. THE TOWER OF BABEL. [Genes. XI.] From the highlands of Armenia, where the ark had rested after the Deluge, the earlier descendants of Noah migrated southward till they arrived in the beautiful and fertile plain of Shinar, situated between the two great rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Foreseeing the vast increase of the human family, they determined to build a large city with a stupendous tower, to serve for all future time as a centre of unity to man- kind. They not only desired to construct an imposing dwelling-place, but they intended to pile up a gigantic tower "whose top might reach to heaven, and by which they might make themselves a name." Thus filled with pride and vanity, they actually began the ambitious scheme. With brick for stone and bitumen for mortar, they pursued their work with vigour, and the town rose rapidly. But the Lord was displeased at their arrogance and haughti- ness. Therefore, He confounded their language suddenly, so that they could not understand one another. Annoyed and bewildered, the workmen renounced their labour ; and the city, commenced with such proud hopes but never com- pleted, was called Babel, meaning confusion. Thus the Bible accounts for the perplexing diversity of languages , which thoughtful men might well have deplored as a serious impediment to the brotherly intercourse between nations. After this sad tale of man's vanity and God's speedy punishment, the Bible returns to the history of Shem. The generations followed each other in quiet succession; they had to re-discover many of the arts lost by the Deluge; but their chief pursuits were probably those of agriculture and cattle-breeding. The representative of the ninth generation after Noah was Terah, who became the father of three sons : Abrani (later called Abraham), Nahor, and Haran. Haran 6. 'THE TOWER OF BABEL. 23 had a son named Lot, and two daughters Milcah and Iscah. But Haran died before his father Terah. Nahor took Mil- cah for his wife; while Abram married his half-sister Sarai. Milcah bore many children to her husband, but Sarai was childless. This family journeyed together from Ur of the Chaldees, with the intention of emigrating into the land of Canaan, but they stopped on their way at Haran. Here Terah died in the course of time at the age of two hundred and five years. E. THE HISTORY OF THE HEBREW PATRIARCHS. [Genes. XII L.] 7. THE WANDEKINGS OF ABEAM AND LOT. [Genes. XII. XIII.] Abram lived to his seventy - fifth year in his old Mesopotamian home; but he was to spend the remaining and most eventful portion of his life in distant lands. The first patriarch, the father of the chosen people, descended from an idolatrous family and born in a heathen country, was to leave all the old associations and give up all the old ties which might weaken his faith and courage, and was to wander forth to unknown tribes to establish a new domicile. "Go out of thy country," said God to him, "and from the place of thy birth, and from thy father's house, into the land which I shall show thee. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless thee, and curse him that curses thee; and in thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed." It was a great and glorious pro- mise, full of glad tidings to unborn generations , the first revelation which God vouchsafed to man since the days of Noah. When Abram, full of faith and obedience, heard the Divine word, he instantly prepared to go whither he knew 7. WAXDEBIXGS OF ABKAM AND LOT. 25 not: it WAS enough for him that he left a land of superstition and idolatry. With him went Sarai his wife, Lot his nephew, and all the members of his household. They jour- neyed forth, like all nomadic herdsmen, driving their flocks and their herds before them, with their tents slung on poles. Arriving in Canaan, he passed through the land, till he halted for the first time in the vale of Shechem. It may have been the remarkable beauty of the spot which induced the patriarch there to pitch his tents, and to rest for a while beneath the oaks of Moreh. "Here", so tells us the traveller Van de Velde, ''here is no wilderness, no wild thicket, but always verdure, always shade, not of the oak, the terebinth, and the coral tree, but of the olive grove so soft in colour, so picturesque in form, that for its sake we can willingly dispense with all other wood. Here is no impetuous mountain torrent, yet water in more copious supplies than anywhere else in the land; and it is just to its many fountains, rills, and watercourses, that the valley, which in some places does not exceed a hundred feet, owes its exquisite beauty." But apart from the attractions of the scene, the fact of the plain of Shechem lying in the very centre of that country which was finally to belong to the descendants of the patriarch, may have suggested to him the propriety of pitching his tents within its groves; and there, where idolatry prevailed, he built an altar to the one true, eternal Grod. And there the Lord appeared to him, with the renewal of the old promises. Again the patriarch wandered on, taking the direct southern high-road of Palestine, and rested near the town of Bethel. Here also he built an altar, invoked the name of the Lord, and thus consecrated to Him an idolatrous city before called Luz. But he soon left Bethel to wander again southwards; for as yet he had fixed upon no per- 26 7. WANDERINGS OF ABBAM AND LOT. manent resting-place. Whilst on this journey, a famine broke out in the land, one of the terrible scourges and trials, by which eastern countries are so frequently visited. Egypt, that rich and fruitful land, long known as the store-house of the world, was now the aim of the patriarch's wandering. He had arrived with his caravan on the confines of Egypt, when he was troubled by a strange fear. Sarai his wife was of remarkable beauty; inight not one of the nobles of Egypt, nay the king himself, with true eastern despo- tism, kill him in order to obtain her? A deception, consid- ered harmless by Abram, and deemed necessary to avoid that calamity, presented itself to his mind. He said to Sarai : 'Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul may live because of thee." As Abram had foreseen, the Egyptians were struck by his wife's beauty, which was probably of a much higher order than that of their own countrywomen. Her praise reached the ears of Pharaoh. Eager to see the stranger, he ordered her to be brought before him. She must have found favour in his eyes : for Abram was kindly treated for her sake, and received rich presents of men- and maidservants, of sheep and oxen, asses and camels. But the displeasure of God fell upon Pharaoh, who by terrible plagues was warned of the sin he was tempted to commit. In just anger, the heathen king, feeling that he had been ensnared by untruth, summoned Abram before him, and indignantly exclaimed: "Why didst thou say, she is my sister, so I might have taken her to me to wife: and now behold thy wife, take her and go thy way." Abram heard in silence this merited rebuke, and humiliated by the generosity of the heathen king, he took his wife, his household, and his vast possess-' ions, left Egypt, and returned to the south of Canaan. Perhaps impelled by gratitude, and stimulated by growing faith, he went once more to Bethel, to the place where 7. WANDERINGS OF ABEAM AND LOT. 27 he had before built an altar to Grod, and there he again worshipped by prayer. At this consecrated spot, the tents were again unfurled, and the numerous herds and flocks of Abrain and Lot grazed around, spreading over miles of country. But the patriarchs had not long .encamped, when a strife arose between their herdsmen. The district did not yield sufficient pasture for the cattle of both, for it was occupied by Canaanite tribes also. Abram's peaceful spirit was saddened by these dissensions, and forgetful of his own higher claims, he said to his nephew Lot: "Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if thou will take the left hand, then I shall go to the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Abram and Lot were standing on the height near Bethel, and from this point they gazed over a wide extent of country. To the east, they saw before them the range of hills above Jericho, the wide valley of the Jordan, and the distant plain of Moab; to the west and south, their eyes were met by the bleak hills of Judah, and the future site of the city of Jerusalem, while to the north was the luxuriant land of Samaria. They looked down into the fruitful and blooming val- ley of the Jordan teeming with vegetation and rippling with delicious streams: it was indeed like the garden of Eden, or like the rich land of Egypt they had just left; but the people of these lovely districts "were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly". Lot made his choice unhesitatingly; and separating himself from his generous and unselfish kinsman, he journeyed eastward, and finally pitched his tents near Sodom. 28 8. THE INVASION OF THE EASTERN KINGS. Abram, left alone in his encampment near Bethel, received from God another of those promises so full of hope and gladness. He was bidden to lift his eyes to the north and south, the east and west; for all that land should be- long to him and to his descendants for ever from the valley of the Jordan in the east to the shores of the Medi- terranean in the west, from the Arabian tracts in the south northwards to the heights crowned by the cedars of Le- banon. And great and numerous should his progeny be, for thus sounded the Divine pledge: "I shall make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then thy seed shall also be numbered. Arise, pass through the land, in its length and in its breadth ; for to thee I shall give it." Thus commanded by the Lord, Abram journeyed south- wards, and dwelt in the oak-groves of Mamre, in the fertile plain of Hebron. This town is surrounded by elevations which include the highest peaks in the mountain ranges of Judah; and its vicinity is even now rich in vineyards and orchards, wells and blooming pastures, numerous herds and flocks. Here among the beautiful groves, Abram consecrated another altar to the Lord who so mercifully guided him. 8. THE INVASION OF THE EASTERN KINGS. [Genes. XIV.] The peaceful life of the patriarchs was to be inter- rupted by the din of warfare and the dangers of battle. In the plain of the Jordan there were five cities, probably belonging to the earliest settlements of the Canaanites Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim, and Bela or Zoar. These cities had been conquered by Chedorlaomer, the powerful king of Elam, in the east of the Tigris. For twelve years they paid .tribute to him, but in the thir- 8. THE INVASION OF THE EASTERN KINGS. 29 teenth they rebelled. Incensed at the growing independ- ence of the subdued cities, the great king of Elam resolv- ed upon speedy chastisement; and summoning the aid of three neighbouring kings, he marched forth from his territory, intent upon conquest and destruction. Crossing the Tigris and Euphrates, and sweeping along on the great military road south-westward, the allied monarchs sub- jected in their impetuous march cities and nations; they seemed invincible. They gained their first victories in the land of the Ammonites; then passing the river Arnon, they continued their conquests in the province of Hoab, in the land of the Idumeans, and even in the impregnable moun- tain fortresses of Sin, the strongholds of the ancient Horites. Further still they pressed onward to the very border of the wilderness which divides Arabia from Egypt, devastat- ing and slaughtering as far as the Oasis of Paran. The victors then turned in their course, and descended upon the valley of the Jordan, the proper object of their expedition. The five cities trembled with terror at the approach of the re- lentless conquerors. Yet anxious to resist the invaders to the last, the five kings marched out at the head of their armies, and met the enemy in the valley of Siddim, near the dangerous bitumen pits, which they hoped would entrap the unwary and restless strangers. A desperate battle was fought. The four eastern kings, stimulated by success and sup- ported by superior strength, overpowered their unfortunate opponents, and partially ensnared them in the very bitumen pits, which were to have become their own graves. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled in trembling haste towards the mountainous tracts of Jericho, leaving their rich possessions in the hands of the conquerors. And great as the spoil, was the number of the wailing captives of war who followed the triumphant march of the returning kings. 30 P. THE INVASION OP THE EASTERN KINGS. Amongst these captives was Lot, Abram's nephew, who had remained in Sodom, his chosen place of residence. Abram was in his oak-groves of Mamre, far away from these turbulent scenes of ambition and bloodshed, when a mess- enger, who had escaped from the battlefield, arrived with the tidings that his kinsman was a prisoner, a slave of the great king of Elam. The patriarch instantly resolved upon his rescue. He did not stay to consider the overwhelming numbers and the superior skill of arms, against which he would have to contend; but summoning Mamre and his two brothers, and the men of his household consisting of 318 tried and faithful servants, he led them on to the pursuit. It was a daring act, but it proved Abram's firm belief in G-od's help and justice. The kings were marching northward, and had already arrived at Dan, the extreme northern boundary of the land. At nightfall, the patriarch descried the foreign hosts; he divided his men into three bands, and rushed upon the enemy. "We are told no details of this memorable encounter; but as in after -ages, the heathens were defeated by the worshippers of the true Grod. They fled, pursued by Abrarn as far as Hobah, to the west of Damascus. The booty must have been large indeed; for it consisted of all the plunder which the four kings had extorted from the numerous cities they had conquered. Laden with this wealth, and accompanied by Lot and his released fellow-captives, the conquering patriarch re- turned towards his home. In the valley of Shaveh he was met by one of the princes of Sodom, who came forth with Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. This is the first mention we have of Jerusalem; for doubtless Salem was the germ of the future holy city, and Melchizedek, its ruler, impressed by the example of Abram's pure life, had probably renounced idolatry and was strugg- 9. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABKAHAM. 31 ling towards truth and enlightenment. In accordance with his priestly office, he brought bread and wine, the sym- bols of worldly success and religious purity, and gave them to Abram, adding to this typical offering a blessing so true and so simple that it might have come from the lips of the patriarch himself: "Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be the Most High God who hath delivered thy enemies into thy hand." To Melchizedek were presented the tithes of all the booty a foreshadowing of the law which assigned the tenth part of all produce to the Levites. The prince of Sodom then gratefully offered to Abram the whole of the spoil he had brought back: but the patriarch, unwilling to be enriched by the wealth of idolaters, refused everything J from a thread to a shoe-latchet"; but he permitted his faithful allies Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre to take their due portions. The great eastern kings and their armies, like the five tributary cities and their princes, now disappear from the scene, and we are again led back to the oak -groves of Mamre whither Abram at once returned, and to the reve- lations of God to His faithful servant. 9. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM AND THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL. , [Genes. XV XVII.] It was night when the word of the Lord came in a vision to Abram; it came as it had come before to streng- then his faith and his hope by glorious promises: "Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield; thy reward will be very great." But Abram answered the Lord despondingly and with a bitter outburst of sorrow. "Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, since I go childless, and the proprietor of 32 9. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. my house will be Dammesek Eliezer?" What could that great reward be, if a stranger were to succeed him as the master of his household? It was the first word of complaint that had fallen from Abram's lips, the first doubt in God's unfailing truth. The answer full of comfort came to him forthwith, that no stranger should be his heir, but his own child. To enhance the force of these words, the Lord called Abrarn from his tent, and bid him look vipwards to the heavens. Brilliantly beautiful, more beautiful than we in our western lands can imagine, is an eastern night; the sky is of a deeper blue; the air lighter and purer and laden with fragrance ; the stars shine with a more resplend- ent, and yet a softer light. "We see the figure of the patriarch standing at the door of his tent, gazing upwards and listening to the Divine words: "Look now towards heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them; so shall thy seed be." Thus encouraged, Abram grew stronger in faith, and he believed in God. But lest he be uncertain to whom he was to look for the fulfilment of the great promise, God spoke again: "I am the Lord who brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it." Yet Abram relasped into his doubts, and forgetting that nothing is impossible to the Divine will, he asked for a sign to assure him of the certainty of the promise. Full of mercy for human weakness , God granted the prayer. It was, as it is still, an eastern custom to ratify treaties and compacts by killing animals and divid- ing them in pieces, through which the contracting parties pass. In accordance with that custom, God commanded Abram to slay a heifer, a she -goat, and a ram, each three years old, together with a turtle-dove and a young pigeon, to divide the quadrupeds, and to place the halves opposite each other. Birds of prey came down upon the flesh; but Abram scared them anxiously away. Yet at nightfall, a AND BIRTH OF ISHMAEL. 33 profound sleep came upon Abrain, and again a vision was vouchsafed to him, but this time one not altogether of a com- forting nature. "Know of a surety", said the Lord, "that thy seed will he a stranger in a land that is not theirs and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. But that nation also which they will serve, I will judge, and afterwards they shall return hither, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." As the voice of the Lord ceased in the midst of the dense darkness, a flame of fire descended upon the sacrifice; and while the animals were consumed, the Lord repeated solemnly : "To thy seed have I given this land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates the Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaim, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites." But Abram was still childless, and saw no heir to his house but his servant Eliezer. Now Sarai had a handmaid, called Hagar, an Egyptian woman; this maid she gave as a second wife to the patriarch, and at last his long cherished wish seemed about to be realised. 'But Hagar, so favoured by God, despised her mistress, and distrust and jealousy sprang up in Abram's peaceful household. Sarai appealed at last, in terms of angry reproof, to her husband, who would not step between his wife and her servant, but re- lying upon Sarai's sense of justice, merely said, "Behold, thy maid is in thy hand, do to her as it pleases thee." But the unfortunate Hagar was ill-treated by her mistress, and fled from Mamre, determined to return to her own country. She wandered on southwards from Hebron to the desert of Shur, and stayed, to rest and to refresh herself, at a fountain in the wilderness. Here an angel of the Lord appeared to her, asking, whence she had come and whither she was bound? She answered in all the bitterness of her spirit, "I vol. i. 3 34 9. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABBAHAM flee from my mistress Sarai." Then the angel of the Lord bid her return again to her mistress and humble herself before her. But Hagar must indeed have rejoiced at the promise then conveyed to her by the words of the Lord; for the angel continued: "I 'will multiply thy seed exceed- ingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. Behold, thou wilt bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard thy affliction; and he will be a wild ass of a man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell before all his brethren" - - the true and pithy description of the Bedouin, bold, lawless, undaunted, and free. Full of ama- zement at this strange but glorious prophecy, Hagar called the name of the well Beer-lahai-roi, that is, the well \vhere she had seen the Divine presence and yet lived. She re- turned forthwith to Mamre, where her child was born. Abram, then eighty-six years old, in his joy and gratitude called the child Ishmael, or "Grod has heard me." In due time all that the angel foretold of Ishmael's descendants was realized: the Arabs have indeed been, as they still are, comparable only to the zebra of the deserts which they inhabit. "Against them alone time seems to have no sickle, and the conqueror's sword no edge. They have defied the softening influence of civilization, and mocked the attacks of the invader. Ungovernable and roaming, obeying no law but their spirit of adventure, re- garding all mankind as their enemies, whom they must either attack with their spears, or elude with their faithful steeds, and cherishing their deserts as heartily as they despise the constraint of towns and communities: the Be- douins are the outlaws among the nations. Plunder is legitimate gain, and daring robbery is prais, d as valour. Liberty is the element which the Arabs breathe ; and if they were thrown into servitude, they would either break the yoke or perish in the attempt. They cannot indeed be better compared than with a wild ass. . . They may be hunted like game, but they cannot be caught ; their wants are few, they neither covet wealth, nor tempt the conqueror's avarice; and the waste tracts shunned by other nations, are their terrestrial paradise. 'In the desert everybody is everybody's enemy,' is their proverbial saying; and they express, there- fore, only in other words, the sense of our text : 'his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him.' Their love of liberty is frequently carried to the utmost pitch of unbridled ferocity; they seek danger for its own sake; they delight in the excitement of combat and pursuit; and even among themselves, sanguinary feuds are often carried on during centuries; the fearful custom of avenging of blood has a decided influence upon their cha- racters; it renders them suspicious and vindictive; it teaches them cunning and treachery ; and the cruelty and bloodthirstiness which it engenders, arm friend against friend, and relative against relative. Thus the prediction of our text has also its sad application : the Bedouin's hand is uplifted not only against the unwary pilgrim who happens to traverse his deserts, but against the descendants of his own tribes, and against those who speak his own tongue." * Abram was being constantly comforted and streng- thened by Divine revelation; few of his descendants were so frequently favoured with visions, were so incessantly re- minded of the fulfilment of the Divine promises. He had no outward symbols of faith. No holy Temple, no sacred Ark, no regular worship or sacrifice were there to attest the presence of Grod; but the spirit of the Lord dwelt among the oak-groves of Mamre. When Abram had attained the age of ninety-nine years, the Lord appeared to him again, repeating the assurance * Kaluch, Commentary on Genesis, pp. 378, 379. 3* 36 9. GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. He had so often given him before. But no longer satisfied with a passive faith, since He intended to conclude a cove- nant with the patriarch, He exhorted him at the same time "to walk before God and be perfect." Abram, awed by the Divine presence, fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying, "As for Me, behold My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of a multitude of nations, and thy name shall no more be Abram but Abraham, for a father of a multitude of nations I have made thee." The 'name "Abram", meaning only great father, was altered into "Abraham", father of a numerous progeny a change which implied that the appointed time was draw- ing near, when God's promises were to find their first ful- filment. To strengthen the covenant between the Lord and Abraham, the rite of circumcision was commanded as a Divine law. Sarai now received for the first time the direct blessing of God; hitherto she had been called Sarai, "the struggling woman", because she had "contended" with her childlessness ; but henceforth she should be known by the noble and proud name of "Sarah", Queen: "I shall bless her", said God, "and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her." But Abraham marvelled at the promise and doubted. He could not believe in that child of his old age, and he tremblingly said to God: "0 that Ishmael might live before Thee!" But God mercifully repeated His promise: "Indeed Sarah thy wife will bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant with his seed after him." And remembering Abraham's plaintive cry, the Lord said: "And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; behold, I have blessed him, and I shall make him fruitful and shall multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I shall make him a great nation." 10. DESTEUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMOBRAH. 37 But the glory of transmitting the name of the true God from generation to generation was to be the blessed 1 inheritance of Isaac, the child whom Sarah should bear in the ensuing year. 10. THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. [Genes. XVIII XX.] Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day, when he saw three men approaching. Rejoiced to find an opportunity for exercising the duties of hospitality, he welcomed the strangers cordially. He pressed them not to pass his tent, but to rest beneath the shade of the trees, whilst he fetched water to wash their feet, and bread for refreshment. No servant was to assist in preparing the strangers' meal, but Sarah herself, the wife of the great emir, baked the cakes of fine flour, while Abraham hastened to the herd, choosing a young and tender calf, which was made ready without delay. Cream and milk were added to the repast, of which the guests partook in the presence of Abraham. The strangers were messengers of God sent to repeat the old promise, but with greater distinctness: "I shall surely come again to thee at the return of this season; and behold, Sarah thy wife will have a son." Sarah had meanwhile stayed in the tent, where unseen she heard the angel's words. She laughed within herself at the promise ; she had but little faith in the Divine power. But the voice of God reproved her for this lack of confidence: "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too difficult for the Lord?" Sarah, ashamed and afraid, stammered forth a denial, "I did not laugh", whereupon God said, "Nay, thou didst laugh." The heavenly messengers then rose and went in the 38 10. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMOKRAH. direction of Sodom. As a mark of courtesy towards his parting guests, Abraham accompanied them on their way. Since the battle of the eastern kings, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had grown in wickedness so exceedingly, that God had decreed their immediate destruction. He com- municated this intention to Abraham, His faithful servant. The patriarch heard the announcement with grief and dismay; and impelled by his spirit of justice and mercy, he made this request to the Lord: "Supposing that fifty good men lived in the city of Sodom, would not God spare the place for the sake of the fifty? That be far from Thee to do in this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" And the Lord said : "If I find fifty righteous men within the city, I shall spare all the place for their sake." But this was not enough for Abraham: might not the wickedness be even greater than he had imagined? Perhaps there were no more than forty -five good men in Sodom; no more than forty, or thirty, or twenty, or even ten? God listened graciously to each fervent supplication of the patriarch, and granted it : He readily accepted the prayer coming from a pure and faithful heart. The city of Sodom should not be destroyed if it contained but ten righteous men. Two of the angels who had visited Abraham's tent at noon, came to Sodom in the evening. Lot was sitting in the gates of the city. Just as the Forum of Home, or the market-place of the medieval towns, was the general resort for old and young, as the village green is even now in our own hamlets, so are the gates of the city the usual place of assembly among eastern tribes, where the people meet for business or pleasure. For there is usually the court of justice, there the vendor sells his goods, the news of the day are discussed, the law is read, and there, in the towns of Judah and Israel, might often have been heard the warning 10. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AXD GOMORRAH. 39 voice of the prophet. Lot resembled his kinsman Abraham in genuine hospitality. At the approach of the strangers, he rose, bowed his face to th'e ground, and pressingly entreated them to be his guests, till they yielded and repaired with him to his house. The stranger was considered sacred in the eyes of the host; the duty of hospitality had, in the east, grown into a law. But the people of Sodom, steeped in sin, determined to make Lot suffer for his display of benevolence. They gathered before his door, audaciously demanding the strangers to be given up to them. With much of the courage of the great patriarch, Lot went forth from his house, and faced the incensed multitude. Those who had accepted the shelter of his house, he could on no account permit to be harmed. But the crowd was more enraged against him than against his guests, they taxed and taunted him with an in- solent assumption of superiority, and pressing round him, attempted to break open the door of the house. But the angels, who had come to rescue Lot and to try the Sodom- ites, put forth their hands, brought Lot in safety back to the house, and struck the multitude with blindness, so that they groped in confusion about the door. It had thus, alas, been praved that the wickedness of Sodom was indeed very great, and that there were not even ten righteous men in the city. The destruction was, there- fore, determined upon by God. Lot alone, belonging to the faniily of Abraham, and having shown generosity, fearless- ness, and charity, was to be saved, and with him his wife, his two daughters, and the two men of Sodom to whom his daughters were betrothed. But the frivolous and depraved minds of his intended sons-in-law were unable to compre- hend the danger; they wantonly and mockingly refused his only means of their deliverance. It was the last morning that was ever to dawn upon the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot was urged by the angels to depart with his family ; 40 10. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. but still they lingered, till the angels, seizing them by their hands, led them out of the walls of the doomed city. Here they were enjoined to pursue their way steadily and without looking back, eastward beyond the district of the Jordan. But Lot trembled, and entreated of the Lord to let him take refuge in the small town of Zoar, which was near Sodom, a place so poor and insignificant that it could hardly have incurred the Divine anger. His request was granted, and the town of Zoar escaped destruction. The sun rose in his full glory over the earth, when the Avan- derers arrived at their place of refuge; at the same moment brimstone and fire descended from the heavens upon Sodom and Gomorrah and upon the plain of the Jordan. Lot's wife, curious to see the fate of the cities she had left, dis- obeyed the Divine command, and looked behind her. The punishment followed instantaneously; she was changed into a pillar of salt. Lot ultimately left Zoar, and he and his descendants inhabited the provinces of Moab and Ammon. Abraham, remembering Grod's gracious promise, repaired early in the morning to the spot where he had prayed to the Lord on the previous day. The blooming valley was hidden by smoke ; giant furnaces rose from earth to heaven where the proud cities of the Jordan had stood; and the wild flames were rapidly consuming the land. "When the devastation was complete, when the labour of man, the vegetation of the once fruitful soil, and man himself had been destroyed, a vast lake of salt and asphalt or bitumen lay in the east of the desert of Judah. The Dead Sea is one of the marvels of the earth. All eastern travellers who visit its shores, gaze with a sad curiosity upon this lifeless and dreary region. The soil has a burnt appearance, the gravel is almost black, and the trees in the neighbourhood are encrusted with salt. No flocks or herds can pasture in those desolate tracts, birds fly anxiously 10. DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH. 41 over the surface of the lake, but hardly ever find a resting- place in its neighbourhood. Mysterious in its origin , the Dead Sea will always retain that fascination over man, which the wonderful and inexplicable never fail to exercise, and it would be strange indeed if a deep feeling of religious awe did not strike into the pilgrim's heart when he stands beside the tombs of the cities buried by the Lord because of their exceeding wickedness. After this fearful catastrophe, Abraham left Mamre, where his tents had been pitched for so long a time, and wandered southwards, staying at different places between JCadesh and Shur, until he came at last to G-erar in the territory of the Philistines. Here the same strange scene was enacted as before in the land of Egypt. Abraham, t doubting the protection of God, represented Sarah as his sister, and not as his wife. Abhnelech, like Pharaoh of Egypt, sent for the stranger and was on the point of taking her for his wife, when he was saved from committing that sin by God's merciful interposition. Abimelech, the hea- then king, was a virtuous and pious man ; he restored Sarah to Abraham, justly reprimanding him for his deception, and enquiring into the motive of his conduct. The patriarch excused himself by saying that he thought he was travelling in a wicked and godless country, where he might be slain for his wife's sake; and that Sarah, although his wife, was indeed by birth his half-sister. Generous like the Egyptian king, Abimelech loaded Abraham with presents, even in- viting him to dwell in whatever part of his land he might choose. But he strongly recommended him in future to take precautions that Sarah should be fully known and recognised as his wife. 42 11. BIETH OF ISAAC AND EXPULSION OF HAGAK. [Genes. XXI.] The hundredth year of Abraham's life had commenced, when the fulfilment of God's promise came as it had been predicted. A son, who received the name of Isaac, was born, to Abraham, the heir to his rich possessions, the heir to the blessings vouchsafed by God to the race of the patri- arch : he was to transmit the worship of the true God to- future generations. Sarah who had shown so little faith, had a glorious old age; God had indeed blessed her; she, now felt that she was justly called Sarah, the mother of nations. Isaac grew from an infant to a child, and Abraham gave a great feast on the day he was weaned. Ishmael, the son of Hagar, now a youth about sixteen years old, felt bitterly towards his brother Isaac, the chosen heir of his father, and he openly mocked him. Sarah's spirit was roused; she had never loved the child of the bond- woman, though she had tolerated him within her tent. Now full of pride and jealousy, she resolved upon expelling Hagar and her son from the home which had sheltered them so long. Just as sixteen years ago she had pleaded her cause before Abraham, so she pleaded it again. The patriarch's gentle spirit felt the injustice of Sarah ; he loved his son Ishmael, although he knew that to Isaac belonged the pri- vileges of the firstborn. But God commanded Abraham to- listen to the voice of Sarah ; while He promised His Divine protection to Ishmael also, who was to be like Isaac the father of a great nation. Abraham, obedient as usual to the behest of the Lord, rose early in the morning and sent Hagar and her son from his tent. His heart must have smitten him as he gave her bread for the journey, and slung the skin of water over her shoulder. The bondwoman, leading her son 11. BIRTH OF ISAAC AND EXPULSION OP HAGAR. 43 by the hand, set forth upon her weary way, and came to the desert region near Beer-sheba, evidently taking the direc- tion of her native Egypt. Here the trials of the wanderers commenced. The water in the skin was spent, and thirst began to torment them. Thirst in the parched and sandy desert, where the heat is oppressive, and the foot aches with the burning soil, is indeed the height of agony. Ish- mael, fainting from weariness and exhaustion, seems to have felt this fearful torture more strongly than his mother. Hagar, taking her son in her arms, placed him beneath a shrub, and, in woful despair, sat down at some distance from him, for she said: "I will not see my child die. r What a scene of sadness mother and son lying down to die in the wilderness! And Hagar lifted up her voice and wept. God heard that cry of anguish, and He called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her: "What aileth thee, Hagar?" Then followed words of reassurance and comfort, sweet words to the bleeding heart of the poor fugitive: "Rise, take the boy, and hold him by thy hand, for I shall make of him a great nation." God opened Hagar's eyes, and she saw before her the cool and delicious waters of a fountain; she hurried to it, and filling the skin gave her son to drink. Ishmael grew strong and powerful, and lived in the district of Paran: the wild desert was his home, the bow his weapon, and liberty the soul of his existence. His mother chose for him an Egyptian wife, one of her own country-women. Abraham continued to dwell in the land of Gerar, and concluded a covenant of peace with king Abimelech. The latter was soon called upon to prove his peaceful intentions towards Abraham. Among nomad chiefs, whose wealth con- sists mainly of flocks and herds, the possession of a well is of the utmost importance. Abimelech's servants had vio- 44 12. INTENDED SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. lently taken away the well of water which the patriarch had dug for his own use; as soon as the king heard of this act of injustice, he ordered his men at once to re- store the well. To ratify the covenant, Abraham offered up a sacrifice, and called the place where the vows of friendship had been exchanged, Beer-sheba. He moreover marked the spot by planting a tamarisk, and he there wor- shipped the Lord, the everlasting God. 12. INTENDED SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. [Genes. XXII.] Faith in God and obedience to His commands were the two noblest and brightest qualities in Abraham's cha- racter. From the early days of his wanderings, he had evinced with few exceptions a steady and unflinching reliance and trust. He had left his own house, he had given up his family ties, to journey into a strange land. He had pitched his tents in the south and the north, in Egypt, in Hebron, and in Gerar, and wherever he went he invoked the name of the Lord. He had proved himself a warrior, and had defeated mighty armies. He had pleaded on behalf of the doomed cities ; he had seen the anger and the mercy of the Divine Judge. He had delighted in the youthful Ishmael, and had yet without murmuring sent him forth with his mother. But greater than all previous struggles, was the final trial imposed upon him whilst dwelling in peace and prosperity, the friend of the king, and honoured as a nomad chief in the land of the Philistines. Had the Bible only recorded this one act of faith, Abraham would be transcendently great in his obe- dience; but relating it as the last and the severest of his tests, it gloriously crowns a long and virtuous life ; it gives the finishing stroke to the picture of sublime and childlike 12. INTENDED SACRIFICE OF ISAAC. 45 trust. The event is narrated in the Bible with inimitable beauty and simplicity. "And it was after these things that God tried Abra- ham, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Behold here I am. And He said, Take now thy son, thy only one, whom thou lovest, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah ; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I shall tell thee. And Abraham rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clove the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose, and went to the place which God had told him. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar." We must pause a moment to refer to that place seen on the third day by Abraham. The land of Moriah was doubtless the district round about the city of Jerusalem, and the hill was that later hallowed by the Ark of the Co- venant there deposited by David, and by the Temple which was there erected by Solomon. The spot destined to be the dwelling-place of God's glory, was consecrated by the grandest act of piety and faith. When Abraham saw the mountain from afar, he felt that the time for the sacrifice was at hand; so "he said to his young men, Remain here with the ass, and I and the youth will go thither, and we will worship and return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and the knife ; and they went both of them together. And Isaac said to Abraham his father, and said, My father; and he said, Behold here I am, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt- offering?" To that question so terrible to the father's tortured heart, the answer was given untainted by despair, breathing faith alone : "My son, God will look out for Him- 46 12. INTENDED SACKIFICE OF ISAAC. self a lamb for a burnt-offering." The text continues: "And they went both of them together ; and they came to the place which God had told him; and Abraham built there an altar, and arranged the wood, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to kill his son." It was enough ; Abraham had been tried, and had shown himself worthy indeed of the great and holy mission God had entrusted to him. The sacrifice, although not offered in reality, had been accepted by the Lord, and the horror of shedding the blood of his dearly beloved son was spared to the patriarch. Thus it was proved that God detests human sacrifices even if meant to testify the most ardent piety; and the Law is inexorable in denouncing them as an abomi- nation. Abraham had been ready to sacrifice his dearest hopes, his paternal love, his brightest promises when he raised the knife to kill his son; could God require more? The angel of the Lord stayed his uplifted hand, and called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham; and he said, Here am I. And He said, Lay not thy hand upon the youth, nor do to him anything; for now I know that thou fearest God and hast not withheld thy son, thy only one, from Me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked; and behold, in the back-ground a ram was entangled in a thicket by his horns ; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt-offering instead of his son." The place was now sacred to the Lord; Abraham gave it the name of Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will see or select), which also implied that on this mount the Lord's nation would be seen, worshipping on the spot where their great ancestor had so nobly fought and conquered. After this marvellous act of faith, and when Isaac was restored to his father, the Lord called again from heaven and repeated those promises and hopes which had so often been given to the patriarch, 13. DEATH AND BUKIAL OP SARAH. 47 the promise of numberless descendants, of great possessions, of conquest over the enemy, and of blessings that would come to all the nations of the earth through his seed. Exalted and comforted by these assurances, Abraham returned with Isaac, and they went together to Beer-sheba. 13. DEATH AND BURIAL OF SARAH. [Genes. XXIII.] Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years old when she died, not at Beer-sheba, but at Hebron where the patri- arch had once more pitched his tents, and where he mourned and wept for her. Although he had dwelt so long in Ca- naan, he owned no foot of ground; but he was anxious to purchase from the Hittites a burial place which was to belong to his descendants for ever. The people of the land, however, who venerated and loved the patriarch, entreated of him to bury his dead in any one of their own sepulchres, for none would refuse him this privilege. But Abraham declined their offer; he went to the gates of the city where the people were assembled, and begged of Ephron, the son of Zohar, to sell him the cave of Machpelah for a burial ground. Ephron desired Abraham to accept the cave together with the whole field of which it formed a part as a gift, but artfully intimated that he valued it at four hundred shekels, probably an exorbitant price. Abraham, without pausing to consider the sum, weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named, and took rightful possession of the field and the cave which lay before Mamre. The piece of land bought of the heathen by Abraham in the presence of all the children of Heth, was now considered a hallowed spot; there Sarah was buried," and afterwards Abraham and the later patriarchs. 48 14. EEBEKAH. [Genes. XXIV.] Abraham was advanced in years, and his strength was declining. But he had been greatly blessed by God in all things. When his son Isaac was forty years old, he longed to find a wife for him, fit to become the mother of nations, the mother of God's elected people. No woman of Canaan was worthy of such a destiny. Therefore, Abraham called Eliezer, the faithful servant of his house, and pledged him by a solemn oath, not to take a wife for his son from among the daughters of the Canaanites, but to choose one from his own family in his Mesopotamian home, whither he was at once to proceed. Eliezer, conscious of the great importance of his mission, asked what he should do if the maiden refused to follow him: should he take Isaac to the land of the Eu- phrates? But this Abraham positively forbade, mindful that Canaan was the land of Divine promise, and implicitly believing that the angel of the Lord would lead Eliezer's steps; but should the maiden not consent to follow him, then he was freed from the obligations of his oath. So Eliezer set out upon his errand of trust in such a manner, as became the messenger of a great nomad chief. His cara- van consisted of ten camels which were required for him- self and his companions, and for the numerous and costly presents which he took with him for Isaac's future bride and for her family. He journeyed eastward until he came to Mesopotamia and saw the city of Nahor in the distance. He halted towards the evening at the principal well with- out the gates of the city, at the time when he knew the women would come out to draw water. Full of eagerness to accomplish his mission, and knowing how completely Abraham had ever been under the direct guidance of God, he determined to yield unreservedly to the direction of the 14. REBEKAH. 49 Divine spirit, and to act strictly as God might show him. And he said : "0 Lord Grod of my master Abraham, I pray Thee, send me good speed this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water: and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water. And let it be that the maiden to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher. I pray thee, that I may drink, and who will then say, Drink, and I will give water to thy camels also; let her be she whom Thou hast appoint- ed for Thy servant, for Isaac; and thereby I shall know that Thou hast shown kindness to my master." As Eliezer ended his words, there came from the gates of the city a comely maiden. She descended to the well and filled her pitcher. Eliezer at once approached her, and said: "Let me, I pray thee, taste a little water of thy pitcher." Full of courtesy, she not only cheerfully acceded to the request, but proposed, with kindly zeal, to draw water for the camels also. Eliezer wondered in delighted silence, and stood looking at the maiden as she drew the water from the well, emptying her vessel into the trough, and then resuming her task until all the camels were refreshed. Her goodness and activ- ity made him hope that she was the destined bride of his master. So he took a nose-ring and bracelets of gold, and placing them in Rebekah's hands, asked: "Whose daughter art thou? r and wishing to test her with respect to that great eastern virtue, hospitality, he added: "Is there room in thy father's house for me to stay in?" The maiden's answer re- joiced Eliezer: "lam," she said, "a daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore toNahor;" and she continued with evident pleasure: "We have both straw and provender enough, and room to stay in." The Divine guidance had thus not forsaken the faithful servant, pious and godfear- ing like his master. Rebekah returned at once to her father's house, and Vol. i. 4 5() 14. REBEKAH. showing the presents related her meeting at the well. When her brother Laban heard it, he hastened to the spot, where he found Eliezer with his caravan. He accosted him with gentle politeness and sincere hospitality: "Come, thou bless- ed of the Lord; wherefore dost thou stand without? and I have cleared the house, and there is room for the camels." Thus saying he led the way to the city, and received Eliezer and his whole caravan into his house. Straw and provender were brought for the camels, and a meal was speedily pre- pared for the travellers. But the faithful servant would not taste food before he had performed his mission. He related with touching simplicity the motives and the whole his- tory of his journey to Mesopotamia, beginning his narrative by a description of the greatness and the wealth of his master Abraham, and then giving a detailed account of the important charge entrusted to him, of his solemn oath, of his arrival at the well, of his prayer to Grod, of the ap- pearance ofRebekah, and of the wonderful fulfilment of the prayer. And in conclusion he said : "Now if you will do kindness and truth to my master, tell me : and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left." Bethuel and Laban, struck by the evident interference of God throughout the narrative of Eliezer, felt that Rebekah was indeed destined to become the wife of Isaac, the beloved of Grod; so they readily consented to her departure. Eliezer, in a transport of delight and gratitude, now produced his presents costly garments and glittering trinkets of gold and silver for Rebekah, and valuable gifts for her brother Laban and for her mother. Then commenced the feast, and at last the faithful Eliezer retired to rest after the fatigues of the eventful journey. But early the next morning, he begged of his hosts to let him return to his master. He would not even consent to a delay of a few days; and although the bride's parents wished her to remain a short time longer 15. YOUTH OP ESAU AND JACOB. 51 in the home of her youth, he entreated for an instant departure. At this urgent request, Rebekah was asked whether she would go, and she answered: "I will go." So the maiden was blessed by her relatives, and the caravan set forth again, Rebekah attended by her nurse and her maids, as behoved the sister of the wealthy Laban. Isaac, still sad at heart for the loss of his mother, was wandering out in his fields at evening, absorbed in meditation. He lifted up his eyes and saw a line of camels approaching from the distance. Rebekah had also perceived the solitary figure in the field, and had respectfully alighted from her camel. When told that Isaac was before her, she covered herself with her veil. Eliezer then related to Isaac the strange history of his journey: "'and Isaac brought Re- bekah into his mother Sarah's tent, and she became his wife, and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death." 15. DEATH OF ABRAHAM; BIRTH AND YOUTH OF ESAU AND JACOB. [Genes. XXV.] Abraham had attained the good old age of a hundred and seventy-five years when he died. The two brothers Isaac and Ishmael met to mourn for their father. The wild huntsman came back from the desert to the tents at Gerar, and forgetting their ancient strife and animosity, the bro- thers fulfilled together their last melancholy filial duty. They buried the patriarch by the side of Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. The Bible mentions six other sons of Abra- ham born to him by another wife, Keturah ; these sons, after receiving gifts from their father, were sent to the extreme east, and did not share the inheritance of Isaac. Ishmael, the mighty man of the desert, became the father of twelve 4* 52 15. YOUTH OF ESAU AND JACOB. great nomad chiefs. They took up their abodes in all parts of Arabia, and intermarried with the daughters of the native people. They became the ancestors of the roaming Bedouins of the desert, and of the sheikhs who dwell in towns and villages; their descendants spread all over the Arabian peninsula, some living in Arabia Felix, others between Ara- bia Proper and the Syrian Desert, others taking possession of the heights of Ituraea, or wandering in the tracts of Arabia Deserta. Ishmael died at the age of a hundred and thirty-seven years, honoured by the numerous and powerful clans which had gradually sprung up at his side. Isaac had been married twenty years and as yet no children had been born to him. Grieved and depressed, he prayed earnestly to God that Rebekah might be blessed with offspring. God heard the supplication, and Rebekah became the mother of twin sons, who were called Esau and Jacob. Before their birth, it was revealed to her that these sons should be the fathers of powerful nations, but that the elder should be under the dominion of the younger. Though twins, they were utterly unlike one another, and as they grew in years, this difference became more and more striking. Esau resembled Ishmael in vigour of person; he was fond of danger and adventure; he loved the chase and wandered forth day after day, absorbed by his favourite pastime. Jacob, on the other hand, was pensive and gentle like Isaac, u a righteous man dwelling in tents". But Isaac loved his eldest son Esau, and ate of the venison which he brought home from the chase, while the younger and more peaceful son was the favourite of the mother, who perhaps kept in faithful remembrance the promise that the right- eous Jacob was to rule over his brother. One day Esau returned from his usual exciting pur- suit, wearied and worn' by his toils. His younger brother 15. YOUTH OF ESAU AXD JACOB. 53 Jacob had a dish of lentils before him, a tempting meal for the tired hunter. Esau eagerly begged for the "red, red pottage", which he longed to devour. Jacob, calm and self- possessed, probably despising the coarseness of his brother Esau, was determined to take advantage of his exhaustion. Therefore, he said shrewdly, "Sell me to-day thy birth- right.^ Esau, fainting with hunger, cared at that moment little for his natural privileges, as Jacob's keen penetration had divined. He ceded to him his right of seniority, and confirmed the cession by an oath. Then he received the much wished-for pottage, and "he ate and drank, and rose, and went away, and despised his birth-right." The Bible tells this remarkable transaction in the shortest and simplest manner. A few pithy lines suffice to show us the weary huntsman falling into the net of his crafty brother, and the sacrifice of the rights of primo- geniture or the satisfaction of the moment. We cannot help condemning Jacob: yet though we pity Esau, our pity is weakened when we see his utter indifference to all the higher prerogatives of his birth; he did not possess the qualities essential to a descendant of Abraham, the destin- ed father of a holy nation; he was as unworthy as he was unmindful of propagating the noble truths entrusted to his race: but although this was evident to the more cultivated and more aspiring Jacob, he debased himself in the eyes of God by trying to fulfil the prophecy of his birth by his own unjustifiable means. For Jacob, unlike Abraham, was insincere and ambitious; great sorrows and manifold trials were necessary to elevate his faith and purify his life. 54 16. ISAAC IN GERAR. [Genes. XXVI.] Once again there was a famine in the land, just such another scourge as there had been in the days of Abraham, when he wandered southward into Egypt. But Isaac was commanded by God not to enter into that country of super- stition and idolatry; so he left Beer-Lahai-Roi , and went to Gerar to the king Abimelech, who had been so devoted an ally of the great patriarch. Before Isaac set forth with his vast possessions, God blessed him and promised to fulfil all the pledges He had given to Abraham "because Abraham obeyed My voice, and observed My observances, My commandments, My statutes, and My doctrines." So Isaac settled in Gerar; but like his father Abraham, he dread- ed the people's recklessness, and apprehended they might kill him for the sake of his beautiful wife Rebekah. So t he resorted to stratagem and made her pass for his sister. But his true relation with Rebekah was discovered; and as before, the worshipper of the true God was reproved by the heathen king. Abimelech not only allowed the patri- arch to dwell in his land, but gave him his powerful pro- tection. Thus in Gerar Isaac's numerous tents were pitched, and his flocks and herds grazed in undisturbed tranquillity. Meanwhile the two brothers Esau and Jacob grew in years and in vigour. We may suppose that Esau followed the chase with the Philistine hunters; while Jacob dwelt among the tents, and cultivated the rich and blooming land which rewarded the husbandsman's industry a hundredfold, and was an unfailing source of wealth and influence. When the Philistines saw the stranger becoming "exceed- ingly great", they envied him and showed their ill-feeling by trying to vex and molest him. As a rich herdsman, Isaac must have taken possession of a large number of wells, 16. ISAAC IN GERAR. 55 Avhich were of course indispensable for the maintenance of his cattle. Most of these wells had been dug by the ser- vants of Abraham who had jealously guarded them from the herdsmen of Abimelech. But the envious Philistines, not daring to make an open struggle for the wells, had secretly stopped them up with earth. Abimelech, foreseeing serious contentions, said to Isaac: "Go from us; for thou art mightier than we." Peaceful and animated by goodwill towards the king, Isaac left the district which was yielding him such rich harvests, and went down into the valley of Grerar, where he fixed his abode. But here again the wells became a cause of strife: the Philistines had stopped up those which Abraham had dug, so that the herdsmen of Isaac had to recommence their labours. And when at last the refreshing springs burst forth from the depths of the valley, the herdsmen of Grerar claimed the water as their own. Isaac gave to the well the appropriate name of Esek (contention), and with his usual meekness he left it to commence his work afresh. But again the native herdsmen took possession of the well which Isaac called Sitnah (strife). Anxious to avoid further dissensions, he removed to another part of the valley, where he again dug a well. This time his gentle forbearance was rewarded, he was not annoyed by the Philistines, and he gave to the happy spot the name Rehoboth (enlargement), exclaiming with pious gratitude, Tor now the Lord has enlarged us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." Near this spot was Beer-sheba, where Abraham and Abimelech had made their covenant of peace. Here the great patriarch had built an altar to Grod and had invoked His name. At this sacred place, Isaac was favoured with a Divine vision: the Lord appeared bidding him to be firm and fearless, for he was blessed as the son of Abraham. Beneath the shade of the tamarisk-tree which his father had planted, he built up an 56 16. ISAAC IN GEBAK. altar where he paid homage to the name of the Lord, and there he remained and there again he dug a well. Whilst living at Beer-sheba, in his quiet and sacred retirement, three powerful men came to him, the king Abimelech, his councillor Ahuzzath, and the general of his army Pichol. Isaac, astonished at their arrival, at once imagined some evil design and asked distrustfully, ''Wherefore do you come to me, and you hate me, and have sent me away from you." But the king came in peace and friendship. Convinced that Isaac was under the special protection of the Lord, he longed for his alliance; therefore he renewed with him the covenant which he had made before with Abraham. As a sign of friendship the Philistines ate and drank with the patriarch, and before their departure on the following morning, they swore fidelity one to another. In comme- moration of the oath, the well dug at that spot was called Shibah, harmonising with Beer-sheba, the name of the city. The two sons of Isaac, who had evidently lived with their father in the land of the Philistines, are not mentioned in all these transactions; but Esau must have dwelt much among strangers, for he chose for himself two wives, Judith and Basemath, both Hittite maidens, daughters of idolaters. He thus estranged himself more than ever from the chosen family, and brought by his unhappy choice grief and sorrow upon Isaac and Rebekah. 17. THE BLESSING OF ISAAC. [Genes. XXVII.] The Bible, although it is the story of the chosen people, although it tells us of the wonderful blessings conferred by God upon the patriarchs, upon those men who handed down the worship of the true and everlasting God from generation 17. BLESSING OF ISAAC. 57 to generation, never omits recording the errors and the fail- ings of the favoured race or of the founders of its glory; it does not seek to extol that which deserves condemna- tion; nor does it try to excuse what is open to censure or scorn. Jacob was called the righteous man; he possessed the superior refinement of soul and the elevation of mind necessary for the heir of his father's great spiritual trea- sures; he was, like Isaac and Abraham, to be the elected of the Lord, guided by Him, blessed, strengthened, taught by Him. But Jacob was not graced by the purity of heart, the grand and simple faith which distinguished Abraham, nor by the gentle and pious self-denying spirit of Isaac. The story of the pottage by which he purchased the birth-right, is followed by another incident more painful still for those who would fain love and venerate the grandchild of Abra- ham, the father of Joseph. Isaac had become an old man stricken with years. His eyes were dim so that he could not see, and he felt that his life was waning. So he wished to give to his firstborn Esau his blessing before he died. It was and still is the custom among eastern nations to ratify compacts and co- venants by a meal; and hence, when a parent is about to bestow upon his child his final blessing, which in some re- spects partakes of the character of a covenant, the same means of ratification is not unusually adopted. Therefore, the aged patriarch called his son and said : ^Behold, I pray thee, I am old, I know not the day of my death: and there- fore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field and hunt for me some venison; and make me a palatable meal, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die." - - Away sped the hunter Esau to do his father's bidding. But Rebekah had listened in the seclusion of the tent when Isaac spoke, and in a moment her resolve was 58 17. BLESSING OF ISAAC. taken. Esau should not receive the blessing, which, as she believed, belonged even from his birth to her younger and dearer son. She went to Jacob, and hastily related to him what she had heard, and then she continued, "Listen to my voice, according to that which I command thee. Gro, I pray thee, to the flocks, and fetch me from there two good kids of the goats, and I will make them a palatable meal for thy father, such as he loves. And thou shalt bring it to thy father, and he may eat, that he may bless thee before his death.'* Jacob heard this wily scheme, not with indignation or repugnance, but with a fear that it might not be suc- cessful. Esau was a hairy man, and Jacob a smooth man: would not the blind father, when stretching forth his hands towards his child, discover the deception, and would then the blessing not be changed into a curse? Rebekah was the bolder and more resolute spirit, she replied to Jacob's hesitating doubt, "Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice and go and fetch the kids for me." She was prepared for any emergency. The animals were killed, and a palatable meal such as Isaac loved, was soon ready. Then she dressed her younger son in the festive garments of Esau, and to render the resemblance perfect, she covered his smooth neck and hands with the skins of the kids. She then put the meal into his hands, and sent him to his father. The patriarch, aged and infirm, was reposing on his bed when Jacob appeared before him. "Who art thou, my son?" asked the blind man. "I am Esau, thy firstborn, I have done as thou badest me: rise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me." At that voice, so unlike the voice he had anticipated, Isaac's suspicions were aroused, and he asked: "How is it that thou hast found so quickly, my son?" Surprised by this unexpected question, Jacob in trembling haste added blasphemy to deceit, for he 17. BLESSING OF ISAAC. 59 answered: "Indeed the Lord thy God brought it in my way." But Isaac was far from satisfied. "Come near," he said, "I pray thee, that I may feel thee whether thou art indeed my son Esau or not." Then he touched him with his hand, and with a feeling of distrust still lingering in his niind, he exclaimed, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are Esau's hands." How touching, how sad are the words of the poor blind father, as he put the last searching question to his treacherous child, "Art thou indeed my sou Esau?" And Jacob, unmoved and unabashed, answered firmly, "I am." Isaac could no longer cling to his suspicions and anxious forebodings; he ate of the meat and drank of the wine. Then he embraced Jacob, and bending over him, smelt the perfume of his garments, of the garments of his hunter son. "Many parts of Arabia and Palestine exhale a most delicious odour; after a refreshing rain especially, the air is perfumed with a fragrance inexpressibly sweet; and the soil furrowed by the plough-share emits often the balmy treasures hidden in its depths." Thus the garments of Esau, the man of the field, who roamed through hill and valley, were redolent of the scent of aromatic herbs; they called up in Isaac's mind the pictures of freshness, health, and abundance; his spirit, moved and struck, assumed a prophetic elevation as he began the blessing, "See the odour of my son is like the odour of a field which the Lord has blessed." And he continued: "And God may give thee of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine. "Nations will serve thee and peoples will prostrate themselves before thee. "Be lord over thy brothers and let thy mother's sons prostrate themselves before thee. "Cursed be those who curse thee, and blessed those who bless thee." g0 17. BLESSING OF ISAAC. It was the spirit of the Lord that put these words into the mouth of the patriarch, words that were literally fulfilled; for he promised to his son's descendants a land rich and beautiful, waving with cornfields and covered with vineyards, the holy land, the land of Palestine; he moreover gave him the pledge of complete dominion over the stranger, the Canaanite, and over the children of Esau, the Edomites. Jacob received this blessing and departed. He had hardly gone out from his father's presence, when Esau appeared within the tent. He carried a dish of venison in his hand, and bringing it to Isaac, said : "Let my father rise and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me." "Who art thou?" exclaimed Isaac with a sad misgiving of evil. "I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau." Then the unfortunate father was overwhelmed with grief, for he knew that the precious benefits he had bestowed could not be revoked ; the voice of God had spoken within him. "I have blessed Jacob", he said, "and he shall certainly be blessed!" Esau, at these words of his father, burst into a cry of anguish, and he said: "Bless me also, o my father." His brother Jacob had twice deceived him; he had taken away his birth-right and his blessing; and had not Isaac reserved words of comfort for him also? Esau, urged his request upon his father with all the vehement passion of his nature, he could not bear to think that those aged hands should not rest upon his head, that those revered lips should not open to bless him, the eldest child. Isaac answered and said: "Behold, I have made Jacob thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and with corn and wine have I supported him, and what then shall I do to thee, my son?" Without envy, without animosity to his brother, but full of disappointment and genuine affection, Esau ex- claimed in a burst of tears: "Hast thou but one blessing, my father?" 17. BLESSING OF ISAAC. 61 Then Isaac spoke again, spoke as the prophetic spirit urged him: "Behold, without the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, and without the dew of heaven from above. "And by thy sword shalt thou live ; yet shalt thou serve thy brother. "But when thou truly desirest it , thou shalt break his yoke from thy neck." These words truly revealed Esau's future history. In striking contrast with the fair and fruitful land of promise, is the tract of country near mount Seir, which was to be- long to the descendants of Esau, the Edomites. It is a rocky and barren region, one of the most desolate and sterile parts of the globe. Those valleys alone which are on the frontiers of Palestine are capable of tolerable cul- tivation. As the Ishmaelite was to live by his bow, so the Edomite was to subsist by his sword. The people of Edom, fierce and warlike, kept up a bitter and constant feud with the Israelites. The conflict began before Palestine was conquered; Saul inarched into their territory; David car- ried on a sanguinary war against them, and stationed gar- risons in their land, though, in Solomon's* time, they at- tempted a revolution under the leadership of Hadad. After the division of the empire, they remained subject to Judah, but under the reign of king Joram (B.C. 890), with a return of their old spirit of independence, they broke their yoke, proclaimed their own king, and remained free for a consider- able time. Under Ahaz (741), they even invaded Judea, and enjoyed complete liberty, until they were at last subjected by the Chaldean conquerors. Thus the prophecy of Isaac was realized in the distant future, as Esau himself, the wild and impetuous man of nature, was a type of his descendants, the Edomites. The grieved and wounded spirit of the elder brother 62 18. JACOB'S JOTTBXEY TO MESOPOTAMIA. now burnt with hatred against Jacob ; in his passion he felt as if he could slay his brother, although he knew the agony which such a deed would cause his father. Rebekah heard with dismay the anger of Esau; fearful for her fa- vourite son, she bid him flee from Beer-sheba, and wander to the home of her youth, to her brother Laban, who still lived in Haran. There he should remain in safety until Esau's wrath was calmed down. Then appealing to Isaac, she urged him to allow his son to depart; for might he not, if he stayed in Canaan, marry a Hittite maiden, as Esau had done, and thus make her own life a burden ? Isaac shared her apprehensions and her feelings on this point; he, there- fore, readily consented, recommended his son to take a wife from the daughters of Laban, and dismissed him with a fervent and affectionate benediction: "And may Grod the Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful , and multiply thee, that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojourn, which God gave to Abraham." So Jacob departed for Padan-aram. When Esau heard of the blessing of Isaac and of the solemn injunction upon Jacob not to marry a Canaanite, he felt that his own two Hittite wives were offensive to his parents ; and desirous to please them, he chose another maiden, a daughter of Ishmael, one of his own kinswomen, and made her his third wife. 18. JACOB'S JOURNEY TO MESOPOTAMIA. [Genes. XXVIII.] We have seen how Jacob, partially by cunning and skill, partially by more spiritual and higher yearnings, won for himself his brother's birth -right and his father's blessing. We now follow him on his journeys, as he goes forth armed with that prudence which never forsook him, and with that energy which enabled him .to struggle against adversity and 18. JACOB'S JOURNEY TO MESOPOTAMIA. fi.3 hardship. And yet, although Jacob had not the sublime faith of Abraham, or the pious obedience of Isaac, he stood under the special protection of the Lord, because he was to be the propagator of the true faith. Jacob left the south of Palestine and turned towards Mesopotamia, towards the land whence Abraham had emigrated. The day waned, and night found the young wanderer in an open field before the town Luz, still within the territory of- Canaan. Wea*ry from his journey, he took stones for his pillow, and lay down to rest ; and with the earth for his couch and the bright starlit heavens for his canopy, he fell asleep. And in his rest, he was favoured by a marvellous dream. A vast ladder seemed to rise beside him, whose foot rested upon the earth and whose top reached to heaven. Up and down this ladder ascended and descended the angels of God. From above came the voice of the Lord, as it had come to Abraham and Isaac, giving promise and strength: "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee shall I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread to the west and to the east, and to the north and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and I shall guard thee wherever thou goest, and shall bring thee back into this land; for I shall not leave thee until I have done that of which I have spoken to thee." When Jacob awoke out of his sleep he felt the profound reality of his dream, and he exclaimed f "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not ;" and he was afraid and said, "How awful is this place ! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." And he called the town instead of Luz Beth-El "the house of God," a name which has since been applied to every sanctuary throughout the world. Jacob's words, 64 19. JACOB'S SOJOUEN WITH LABAN. "The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not," have a pe- culiar fitness. "There is indeed in the region round Beth-el nothing to indicate the Divine Presence ; no religio loci, no awful shades, no lofty hills. Bare, wild rocks, a beaten tho- roughfare; these are the only features of the primeval sanct- uary of that God, of whom nature itself there teaches us, that if He could, in such a scene, so emphatically reveal Himself to the houseless exile, He is 'with him', Avith his true ser- vants everywhere, and will 'keep them in all places whither they go.'" * The stone that had heen Jacob's pillow, was sanctified by the vision of the night. Jacob set it up for a memorial, anointed it with oil, and thus it became an ob- ject of veneration for many later ages. The sacred narrative constantly returns to it, and we shall see Beth-el re-appear in future centuries as one of the holy places of the kingdom of Israel, where the grossest idolatry was practised. Before Jacob left the spot, he offered up a vow promising true and faithful worship to God and devoted charity to man. "This stone", he declared, "which I have set for a monument, shall be a house of God, and of all that Thou wilt give me, I shall surely give the tenth part of it to Thee." 19. JACOB'S SOJOURN WITH LABAN, HIS MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN. [Genes. XXIX XXX. 24.] Jacob departed from the solitary field, and traversing the desert tracts in the east of the Jordan, he at last drew near to the town of Nahor. A well, surrounded by herds- men with their cattle, showed him that he was approaching the dwelling-place of man. The shepherds came from Haran, and were of course acquainted with the wealthy Laban. Whilst they were answering the questions of Jacob, they * Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 220. 19. JACOB'S SOJOURN WITH LABAN. 65 saw advancing towards them Rachel, the daughter of La- ban, driving her flock of sheep before her. Like Rebekah, her occupations led her out into the field; like Rebekah, she was respectful and courteous towards the stranger. Now, the shepherds were obliged to delay the watering of their flocks until all the herdsmen of the neighbourhood had assembled; for it was only by their united efforts that the heavy stone, which covered the mouth of the well, could be rolled away. Jacob, however, was determined to show by an act of attention his friendship for his kinswoman. When, therefore, Rachel approached, he went to the well, and with his own unaided strength performed the feat of removing the ponderous stone. Filled with tenderness for the child of his mother's brother, Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. Then he told her, that he was the son of Rebekah, her father's sister. Placing full reliance in the stranger, she at once hastened home to in- form her father of his arrival. Laban, the cordial and hos- pitable Laban of old, came forth to the well to meet his kinsman, and to bring him back as the honoured and loved guest of his house. He was delighted with his young rela- tive, and exclaimed, "Surely, thou art my bone and my flesh." But Jacob, full of strength and activity, could not 'bear to eat the bread of idleness ; he took part in all the occupations of the house and the field, and Laban felt that, in all justice, his kinsman should not serve him without a reward. Laban had, besides Rachel, another and older daughter, Leah. But Rachel was very beautiful, while the eyes of her sister were weak and dim. Jacob loved Rachel, and he offered to Laban to work for him during seven years, if, at the end of that time, he received Rachel for his wife. Laban apparently assented to the proposal, and replied, "It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should vol. i. r> 66 19. JACOB'S SOJOURN WITH LABAN. give her to another man; abide with me." "So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days for the love he bore to her." The time for the marri- age had approached; but Labanfelt vexed .and disappointed that the younger sister should marry before the elder. With the deceit worthy of his sister Rebekah, Laban bethought himself of a scheme by which he might substitute Leah for Rachel. Shrewdly taking advantage of the long and thick Veil worn by the Eastern maiden on her marriage day, he brought Leah, thus closely shrouded, to the unsuspecting Jacob, who learnt the dishonesty of Laban too late. As he had deceived his father, so his own kinsman now deceived him. When he upbraided Laban, the latter sheltered him- self under vain excuses : "It is not done so in our place to give the younger before the elder." But he proposed that Jacob should celebrate his marriage - week , and that he might then take Rachel as a second wife, and work for her another seven years. Jacob, unwilling to renounce the maiden whom he had loved so long, agreed to this unjust demand, and in seven days he married Rachel also. In accordance with the eastern custom, each daughter received her maid-servant; Zilpah was given to Leah, and Bilhah to Rachel. Jacob's love for Rachel was true and strong; he never could quite forgive the deception of Laban, and although Leah blessed him with offspring, and Rachel remained childless, still he clung to the younger sister with greater fondness than to the elder. Leah felt bitterly the indifference of her husband, so bitterly indeed that at the birth of her firstborn son, Reuben, she exclaimed, "Surely the Lord has looked upon my affliction, for now my husband will love me." But that love was still denied her; and when a second Bon, Simeon, was born to her, she said again, "Surely the Lord has heard that I ain hated, and He has given me this 19. JACOB'S SOJOURN WITH LABAX. 67 son also," But the affection she so longed for was even now withheld; for when she became the mother of a third son, Levi, she gave utterance to her deep attachment in the words, "Now this time will my husband be joined to me, for I have born him three sons." Jacob's heart must have been touched at last, for Leah was full of joy and gratitude when she exclaimed at the birth of her fourth son, Judah, M This time I will praise the Lord." After a long interval she had two more sons, Issachar and Zebulun, and last of all a daughter, Dinah. Moreover, the two maids, Bilhah and Zilpah, bore children to Jacob; the sons of Bilhah were named Dan and Naphtali, those of Zilpah Grad and Asher. Rachel had envied her sister Leah, and full of sorrow and vexation, she vented her disappointment in words of anger. God remembered her at last, and when she became the mother of a son, she called him Joseph, exclaim- ing in gladness, "God has taken away my reproach; may the Lord add to me another son!" Jacob had served Laban long and faithfully. During the fourteen years he had lived with his kinsman, the house of the latter had been blessed and had prospered, and his wealth and possessions had vastly increased. Jacob now felt that the time had come for him to return to Beer-sheba ; he had never received from Rebekah the message which, at his departure, she had promised to send him. He was ninety years of age and still an exile and a servant. So he entreated of Laban to let him depart. Laban, fully ap- preciating the advantage of Jacob's services, could not bear the thought of losing them. Therefore, he offered" him any reward he might propose. Jacob bethought himself of a stratagem by which he hoped to secure the finest por- tions of Laban's flocks. He succeeded so well that in six years he found himself the master of very considerable wealth. The Bible, after detailing the scheme of Jacob, 5* 68 20. JACOB'S FLIGHT. which is another stain upon his character, tells us that "he increased exceedingly, and possessed much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses." 20. JACOB'S FLIGHT, AND HIS TREATY WITH LABAN. [Genes. XXXI.] The unprecedented increase of Jacob's property, and the corresponding diminution of his own, must have opened Lahan's eyes with regard to the fraud of which he had been the victim, and he naturally regarded JacoD with suspicion and distrust. Indeed the latter felt, that he could no longer dwell in Padan-aram with safety. The voice of the Lord bid him at once return to his native country. So he sent for Leah ^and Rachel to meet him in the fields where he was tending his flocks. There he told them that they must prepare for immediate departure. "I see", he said, "your father's countenance that it is not towards me as in former days; but the God of my father has been with me, and you know that with all my power I have served your father." Then accusing Laban of deceit and injustice, he spoke of the Divine protection which was granted to him, and through which, in spite of the stratagems and frauds of Laban and his sons, he had obtained great wealth. Quite unconscious of the deep-laid schemes of their husband, Leah and Rachel readily agreed to follow him to the land of his birth, and spoke of their father with cold harshness : "Are we not regarded by him as strangers ? for he has sold us, and has -also entirely eaten up our money. Indeed all the wealth which G-od has taken from our father, it belongs to us and to our children : and now whatever God has said to thee, do." Jacob proceeded forthwith to carry out his departure or rather his flight. The time was peculiarly favourable. 20. JACOB'S PLIGHT. 69 Laban had gone forth to shear his sheep. Rachel, who still clung to the superstitious idolatry of her youth, took with her as a protection the Teraphim or house-gods which belonged to her father, and which she knew he valued highly. Secretly and in precipitate haste the caravan pass- ed out of the city ; first Leah and Rachel with their chil- dren; next their handmaids and their children, all sitting upon camels; and then followed Jacob with his train of servants, driving his vast herds and flocks before them. As their road lay westwards, they crossed the Euphrates, and turned their steps toward the range of the mountains of G-ilead. On these rich pastures Jacob's herds and flocks grazed for a time whilst he pitched his tents and rested on the mountain. In the mean time, Laban had been informed of the flight, he at once set out in pursuit, and found Jacob and his companions in the region of Grilead, after a seven days' precipitate journey. Here he halted for the night at the foot of the mountain, and was visited by an awe-inspiring vision. The Lord warned him that he should take care not to harm Jacob in any way. With this solemn bidding still ringing in his ears, Laban appeared before his son-in- law. He was full of indignation and anger, and could with difficulty govern his passion. He burst forth directly into accusations, which were indeed well merited by Jacob's cunning conduct : "What hast thou done, that thpu hast deceived my heart, and carried away my daughters, like captives taken with the sword?" He then upbraided him for having fled secretly and deceitfully; he said that Jacob had acted foolishly in not telling him his intentions, whereas he would willingly have sent him away with song and music ; he had not even permitted him to kiss his children and grand-children before they left him, perhaps for ever. He added, with ill -repressed anger, that it would be in his 70 30. JACOB'S FLIGHT. power to do him injury; yet he refrained from revenge be- cause the God of Abraham had spoken to him in the night and had warned him against violence. And he concluded by urging that if Jacob had departed, because he longed for his father's home, it was certainly inexcusable that he had stolen his gods. Jacob, with a self-possession that never for- sook him, was resolved not to humble himself before Laban. He knew that he had acted wrongly, but he pleaded falsely : "Indeed, I was afraid; for I said, perhaps thou wouldst take by force thy daughters from me;" and then, conscious of his. innocence with regard to the theft of the Teraphim, which Rachel had taken without his knowledge, he vehemently and with uncalled - for exaggeration demanded justice of Laban: "With whomsoever," he said, "thou findest thy gods, let him not live: before our kindred, search what is with me and take it to thee." Laban's investigation for the treasured Teraphim was fruitless. Rachel had hidden away the image in the litter of her camel; and the true daugh- ter of a crafty father, the true wife of a crafty husband, had seated herself on the litter, and remained there sitting during the search. Now Jacob believed he had a right to burst forth into angry invectives against Laban; he had been wrongfully accused; his innocence was clear: had he not been a good and faithful servant of Laban for twenty years? had he not increased the wealth of his kinsman by working for him incessantly and unweariedly? "Thus I was," he exclaimed ; "in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes ; and thou hast changed my wages ten times : had not the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, been with me, indeed thou wouldst now have sent me away empty; God has seen the affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight." These last words of Jacob must haye powerfully impressed Laban; 20. JACOB'S FLIGHT. 71 they probably brought before him the solemn vision of the night, and he felt that he must bow before the will of the Lord, even if the agent of that Divine will was unworthy of the love and protection he enjoyed. With a sudden generosity and goodwill, which would else be inexplicable, Laban answered: "The daughters are my daughters, and the children are my children, and the cattle are my cattle, and all that thou seest is mine : and what can I do this day to these my daughters, or to their children whom they have born? And now come, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee." The proposed reconciliation was effected, and the altar was raised by the two kinsmen. Laban gave it the Chaldee name Jegar-sahadutha , and Jacob the Hebrew appellation Gal-ed, both meaning Pile of Witness. Here a feast was prepared, and here Laban and Jacob swore to each other friendship and peace. Leah and Rachel were to remain the only wives of the patriarch, and never was Jacob to invade the territory of the Aramaeans. The proceedings were ratified by the invocation of the name of the Lord and by a sacrificial meal. Early on the following morning Laban bid farewell to his children and grand-children, blessed them, and departed to return to his home. The name of Laban now disappears from the sacred narrative, and the country of Mesopotamia falls into the background, as Jacob proceeds to the land of Palestine. Journeying along from Mizpah in Grilead, angels met him on his path. He felt that Grod's presence accompanied him, the place was hallowed in his eyes, and he gave jp it the name of Mahanaim or the Double Camp. The future sanctity of the spot was foreshadowed by the appearance of the angels; for in later ages Mahanaim became one of the towns set aside for the Levites. 21. JACOB AND ESAU. [Genes. XXXII. XXXIII.] Jacob's first thoughts on returning to the home of his youth were directed upon his brother Esau whom he had so grievously wronged. He was near his territory; and it was not unnatural that he should be seized with misgivings and fear. Therefore, he sent men into the country of Edom with this message to the great lord Esau: "Thus says thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and stayed there until now; and I have oxen and asses, flocks and menservants and womenservants, and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy eyes." The messengers returned from Edom with the alarming intelligence that Esau had set out to meet Jacob at the head of four hundred men. Surely this foreboded angry strife and hatred: so thought Jacob. He was trem- bling with consternation. But even then his prudence did not forsake him. He divided his people and his possessions into two distinct camps ; so that, if Esau should smite the one half, the other might escape. And then, feeling that safety and deliverance were in the hands of the Lord alone, he prayed to God, and his prayer was full of humility and true contrition: "0 God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, o Lord who saidst to me, Return to thy country and to the land of thy birth, and I will do well to thee; I am too little for all the mercies and for all the truth, which Thou hast shown to Thy servant ; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two e;u>n>s. Deliver me, 1 pray Thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, the mother with the children. And Thou saidst, I will surely do thee good and make thy seed as the sand of the sea,, which cannot be numbered for 21. JACOB AND ESAU. 73 multitude." Then, anxious to propitiate Esau, he sent a present to his brother with true oriental magnificence. Numerous servants were entrusted with vast droves of cattle flocks of sheep and goats, camels with their young, herds of bulls and cows, and asses with their foals. Five hundred and fifty animals were thus separated into divisions, which under the charge of servants followed one another at intervals. Esau, advancing in his march, would thus be constantly met by the generous bounty of Jacob, and each servant was bidden to repeat, on Esau's enquiry, the same words : "They are thy servant Jacob's ; it is a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold he is also behind us." Jacob himself did not quietly await the arrival of his brother, but proceeded onwards chiefly at night, as the heat prevented travelling by day. He crossed the ford of the river Jabbok with his wives and children and maidservants, and then prepared to pass the remainder of the night alone in retirement and meditation. In that one night, when he felt that the next day might bring him disgrace or death, the story of the sins and misdeeds of his whole life must have passed before him. It was a night of agony, of conflicting feelings, of prayer and humiliation. There an event happened which is best related in the words of the Bible itself: "And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the rising of the morn- ing dawn. And when He saw, that He did not prevail against him, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was brought out of the joint as He wrest- led with him. And He said, Let Me go, for the morning dawn rises. And he said, I will not let Thee go, unless Thou bless me. And He said to him, What is thy name ? And h.said, Jacob. And He said, Thy name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel; for thou hast obtained the mastery with Grod and with men, and hast prevailed. And 74 21. JACOB AND ESAU. Jacob asked Him, and said, Tell me, I pray Thee, Thy name. And He said, "Wherefore dost thou ask after My name ? And He blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (Face of God), for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Israel is indeed a great and significant name: Jacob, meaning the second, was changed into Israel or the first; the former may be understood as the deceiver, the latter implies the conqueror. Israel, sanctified and forgiven, but still the man of trials and sorrows, was to commence a new life. "The children of Israel" is the name which was given to the chosen people, and "Israelites" was the proudest ap- pellation borne by the warriors who conquered nations, when they walked in the fear of the Lord. As an external sign of the night's suffering, the thigh of Jacob was dis- placed, and he halted. At early dawn, Jacob who had passed over the Jabbok proceeded southward on his journey. How glorious was the scene that lay before him in the morning sun! In the distance he saw the heights of Lebanon, the blue waters of Gralilee, then the plains of Esdraelon, the woods of Carmel, the Mediterranean sea, and the whole range of Judah and Ephraim. It is still considered by travellers one of the finest views in the world. But a sight more heartstirring, more touching to Jacob than that glimpse of the land of Palestine, must have been the advance of Esau, as he came to meet him at the head of his four hundred men. Still trembling before the anger and power of his brother, he judiciously divided his household into groups first he placed the handmaids with their children, then Leah with her children, and last of all the beloved Rachel with her son Joseph thus trying to ex- pose those he loved most to the least danger. He himself took his position in front, and humbly prostrated himself 21. JACOB AND ESAU. 75 seven times to the ground before his brother. But Esau, his heart overflowing with affection at the sight of Jacob, forgetful of the past, seeing in him only the exiled brother, the companion of his youth, ran to meet him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. The two brothers wept for glad- ness. Seeing the groups of women and children standing awe-struck and trembling behind Jacob, Esau asked, "Who are those with thee?" Jacob answered, "The children whom God has graciously given to thy servant." Then the women and children came near, and they all prostrated themselves before Esau. True to his generous nature, Esau felt un- willing to accept the magnificent presents of his brother. He asked, "What meanest thou by all this procession which I met ?" To which Jacob answered, "These are to find grace in the eyes of my lord." But Esau said, "I have much, my brother; keep that which thou hast to thyself." Jacob, however, insisted, "No, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy eyes, then receive my present at my hand : for therefore have I seen thy face, as I have seen the face of God, and thou hast been gracious to me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing which is brought to thee: because God has been merciful to me, and because I have everything." Thus urged, Esau accepted the flocks and herds, and begged of his brother to let him accompany him in his journey through the land of Seir. But Jacob, perhaps with a glance of distrust at the four hundred armed men, and clinging to his old caution, replied, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds are young with me : and if the men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant, and I will lead on in my usual slow pace, according to the cattle which is before me, and according to the chil- dren, until I come to my lord to Seir." But Esau, un- willing that Jacob should pass unprotected through a 76 21. JACOB AND ESAU. dangerous country, urged again, "Let me, I pray thee, leave with thee some of the men who are with me." Jacob, however, was anxious to be freed from the guard of Edomites ; alone as he had journeyed from Mesopotamia, he wished to proceed through the land of Palestine. So the two brothers parted in peace and goodwill, Esau returning to Seir, and Jacob continuing his route in a south-western direction. Whether he ever paid the promised visit to Esau in the land of Idumea, is not related in the Bible. But the bro- thers' reconciliation was perfect, and we find them later meeting again in sincere friendship. Jacob, advancing through the narrow valley of the Jabbok, arrived at the river Jordan. Here he pitched his tents, and rested for a while, building for himself a house and erecting booths for his cattle. The place was sub- sequently named Succoth, from these booths. We do not know how long the wanderers stayed in the beautiful valley of the Jordan; but they arrived at last safely near the city of Shechem, where Abraham had dwelt and where he had built the first altar in the Holy Land. Jacob, the wanderer and the exile, seemed now to have found a resting place; "the Bedouin shepherd became the civilized and agricultural settler." Unwilling to mix with an idolat- rous people, he did not enter the city, but he fixed his tents outside the gates, and bought the piece of the field of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for a hundred shekels. This spot was hallowed by an altar raised to the Lord and called by Jacob El-elohe-Jisrael (The Omnipotent, God of Israel). 77 22. JACOB IN SHECHEM, BETHEL, AND HEBRON. [Genes. XXXIV. XXXV.] Jacob sojourned at Shechem about six or eight years, when a sin occasioned by his daughter Dinah, and accom- panied by violent and wrathful actions on the part of her brothers Simeon andLevi,put an end to the peace and happi- ness which the family had enjoyed in that abode. The voice of the Lord commanded Jacob to leave his newly bought field, and to depart again until he should come to Bethel. There, where he had seen the angels of Grod descending from heaven, he was to stay and to build an altar to the Lord. But he felt that he ought not to approach the holy spot where he had made his solemn vow , before all his followers had given up the idolatrous images and emblems which still tainted their worship. Therefore, he assembled his household and said , "Remove the strange gods that are among you, and clean yourselves, and change your gar- ments." "With prompt alacrity his command was obeyed; and he buried all the objects of superstition under an oak near Shechem : among them were the earrings worn by men and women not merely as ornaments but as amulets or charms against evil, and generally covered with allegorical figures or mysterious words; they belonged indeed to the "enchantments" strictly forbidden in a later age. Then the tents were slung once more upon the poles, the herdsmen drove their herds and flocks before them, and the wealthy patriarch with his wives and children departed from the vale of Shechem. They travelled in safety through the land, for they were under the Divine protection, and the nations durst not harm them. Jacob halted at Bethel, where he had once slept as a poor and homeless wanderer. Now he had returned a rich emir, the father of many chil- dren, blessed indeed by God. 78 32. JACOB IN BETHEL AND HEBRON. He built another altar calling the place El-beth-El or God of the house of God, because there the Lord and His angels had been revealed to him before. At Bethel, Deborah had died, the nurse of Rebekah, who had accompanied her mistress from Mesopotamia. She had been buried under the spreading branches of an oak, which was called the Oak of Weeping in commemoration of the event. Probably Ja- cob's caravan passed by the oak on their journey southward, and doubtless some herdsmen or other wanderers may have told them of the faithful and well -beloved servant resting beneath its shade. After the consecration of the altar at Bethel, the Lord appeared again to Jacob, and said to him, "I am God Al- mighty : be fruitful and multiply ; a nation and a multitude of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come forth of thy loins ; and the land which I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, to thee I shall give it, and to thy seed after thee I shall give the land." On the spot where the Lord had appeared to him, Jacob erected a pillar of stone, and he offered a libation upon it, anointed it with oil, and thus hallowed it for ever. He departed from Bethel, and journeyed on south- ward, hoping soon to arrive at Hebron, the abode of his youth. But Rachel was not to feee that old home consecrat- ed by the faith of Abraham and the piety of Isaac. Bethle- hem, where the caravan halted, standing high on the narrow ridge of long grey hills, was the birthplace of Benjamin and the grave of Rachel. The dying mother called the new-born child Benoni (son of my grief); but Jacob, bent down indeed by the loss of his beloved wife, yet glorying in his twelfth son, gave him the name Benjamin (son of happiness). Rachel was buried on the heights of Bethlehem, where the purple vine grows in most luxuriant beauty. The mourning Jacob 23. THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 79 raised a .pillar over her sepulchre. The fond love with which he had ever cherished her was perpetuated in his affection for the two sons she had left him; they were to him the dearest of his children. And now at last he arrived at Hebron, and stood once again in the presence of the aged Isaac. The Bible gives us no detail of this meeting, and Rebekah is not mentioned again. We are only told that Isaac died when he was a hundred and eighty years old, and that he was buried by his two sons Esau and Jacob. 23. THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. [Genes. XXXVII. XXXIX XL V.] In the domestic history of Jacob, which the sacred narrative relates with touching simplicity, the life and career of Joseph, the patriarch's eleventh son, occupy the most prominent place. When Joseph was a youth seventeen years old, he was a shepherd and tended his father's flocks together with his brothers, especially the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. He was the darling of Jacob's heart, who loved him better than all his other children, and with a weakness almost surprising in one so remarkable for prudence, he openly showed his preference. He showed it, among other things, by giving to his favourite son a long and costly robe. In eastern countries, the brilliant colours and ample folds of the gar- ment are a great distinction, and denote that their possess- or is conspicuous either by rank, wealth, or talent. This costly many - coloured robe became an eyesore to his bro- thers ; they looked upon him with jealousy and envy ; and feeling wronged by their father, they hated their innocent brother. But that hatred became fierce indeed, when Joseph related them his dreams. For in the East, dreams were, as 80 23. THE HISTORY OF JOSEPH. they are still, regarded as the mysterious voice announcing the future, expressive either of warning or of hope; and their meaning was most anxiously searched. Dreams play a great part in the sacred history; in the story of Joseph's life, they come invariably as the turning point of his fortunes, whether for evil or for good. His first dream he related thus to his brothers : "Behold we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold my sheaf rose, and indeed stood up- right; and behold your sheaves stood round about, and prostrated themselves before my sheaf." Joseph spoke in the innocence of his heart, though probably thinking that the dream might in time be accomplished. His brothers, full of gnawing envy and hatred, exclaimed, "Wilt thou indeed reign over us ? wilt thou indeed have dominion over us?" Again Joseph dreamt, and again he related his dream to his brothers. This time it was still more ambitious in its bearing 1 : "Beheld the sun and the moon and eleven stars prostrated themselves before me." This dream Joseph re- peated to his father as Avell as to his brothers. Jacob heard it with something like indignation mixed with sorrow: "What is this dream which thou hast dreamt?" exclaimed the patriarch ; "shall I and thy mother and thy brothers indeed come to prostrate ourselves before thee to the ground?" Yet the words sank deep into his mind; he, the father, re- membered them, but the brothers envied Joseph more and more. The elder sons of Jacob drove their flocks northward from Hebron until they came to Shechem. They had pro- bably spent some time in the beautiful valley, when Jacob, anxious to hear of them and their flocks, said to Joseph: "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brothers and well with their flocks , and bring me word again." So Joseph went forth obediently, unconscious or unmindful of the hatred of his brothers. Whilst wandering about in 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 81 the execution of his errand, he was met by a stranger, who directed him to Dothan, situated on the great caravan track from Gilead to Egypt, in the narrow mountain paths that lead from Judea to the middle and northern parts of Pa- lestine, and about twelve miles north of Samaria. It was probably less frequented than the vale of Shechem, but it was from time to time enlivened by the caravans passing southward to Egypt , or northward to the districts of Lebanon and of Syria. The brothers saw Joseph approach- ing from afar, and resolved that in this lonely mountain path he should end his life. "Behold," said one to another. *the dreamer comes: come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him; and we shall see what becomes of his dreams." Reuben, upon whom, as the eldest brother, the responsibility chiefly fell, and who was, more- over, animated by better and gentler feelings, recoiled from the sin which his brothers were about to commit, and he determined to save the unfortunate youth. Knowing well how unscrupulous his brothers were, he felt that it was useless to entreat for mercy; but he endeavoured to gain his object by an artifice. So he said, "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which is in the desert, but lay no hand upon him." Thus he hoped to save Joseph's life, and then to bring him back to his father. The brothers approved of Reuben's proposal, and seizing Joseph as soon as he approached, they stripped him of his long and costly robe, of the robe which had been the first cause of their envy, and cast him into an empty pit. As if glorying over this deed, they prepared a meal and sat down to eat. Reuben alone does not seem to have been present at the feast ; he had with drawn to some distance, probably watching for an opportunity when he might carry out his intention. AVhilst still at their repast, the brothers suddenly vol. I. 6 82 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. beheld winding along the narrow mountain pass a caravan 9!' Ishmaelites, who were journeying into Egypt. Their camels were laden with the spices for which Arabia is famous, and which were prized as luxuries by the Egyptians. Not only were these spices eaten as delicacies, and used as exquisite scents by the nobles, but they were also in great request for embalming the dead, as the fragrant mummies were often for generations kept in the houses of the relatives and arranged along the walls, before they were finally entombed. The quantity of condiments required by the Egyptians was therefore immense, and numerous were the caravans which from very early times carried them southward from Gilead. The Ishmaelites who passed Jacob's sons, imported three sorts of spices tragacanth, balsam, and ladanum. The first can only be conjectured to mean the gummi tragacan- thae, which is found in Arabia, Grilead, and Palestine; bal- sam and ladanum are well-known productions common to Arabia, Palestine, and Spain. As soon as Judah saw the traders approaching, an expedient for saving Joseph struck him, and he said to his brothers, ""What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ish- maelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is our brother, our flesh." His brothers listened to him and con- sented. So Joseph was drawn out of the pit and taken to the Ishmaelites, who offered twenty shekels of silver for the comely youth. Death and starvation had been before him, and now his lot was slavery, banishment into an idolatrous country, and perpetual separation from the father who idolized him. Yet he had not dreamt in vain. Surely the remembrance of his dreams must have comforted him in that dark hour. The Ishmaelites departed with the young He- brew. In the mean time Reuben, when he supposed that his brothers had left the neighbourhood, returned to the pit 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 83 t deliver Joseph. But he did not find him, and in an agony of despair he rent his garments, and hastened back to his brothers. "The child is not there," he cried, "and I/ whither shall I go!" Then the wicked and deceitful brothers killed a kid, and dipped Joseph's robe into the blood. With a malice which appears too fearful to dwell upon, they brought the robe to their aged father and said: "This have we found, recognise now, whether it be thy son's robe or not." Ja- cob did recognise it, and exclaimed in despair, "It is my son's robe, an evil beast has devoured him: surely Joseph is torn in pieces." He mourned long and in bitter grief and anguish, with sack-cloth upon his loins, and his clothes rent. In vain did his sons and daughters try to console him; he refused to be comforted and said, "Indeed I shall go down into the grave to my son mourning." Meanwhile the camels of the Ishmaelites were pursuing their way onward from Dothan to Shechem, and then south- ward to Jerusalem. Joseph passed as a slave through the land which was once to be the glory of his descendants. Over the bleak mountains of Judea the caravan swept, in a south-westerly direction to Gaza, and from there to the rich and fertile valley of the Nile. Then it proceeded through the narrow pass of Dshebel-el Tih, until at last it arrived at the great Egyptian town On, or Heliopolis, "the city of light," which was consecrated to the Sun, and was at that time probably the residence of the Egyptian kings or Pharaohs, that is "the children of the Sun." The Egyp- tians, as they were one of the most learned, so they were also among the most idolatrous and superstitious nations of the ancient world. Not only did they consider the sun as the symbol of the deity or as the deity itself, but in the very centre of the sacred temple at Memphis, shrouded from all eyes save those of the priests, reposed on its scarlet bed the sacred bullock Mnevis, the rival of Apis ; perched in its 6* 84 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. golden cage, sat the sacred hawk, the living representation of the deity; and twice a day incense was offered before the beasts, and once a month a solemn sacrifice. But besides being the seat of Egyptian idolatry, On was also the home of Egyptian scholarship; there were gath- ered the astronomers and astrologers, the great mathema- ticians, the men of science, far-famed in the ancient world. Joseph was to be surrounded by men whose descendants were the teachers of Pythagoras and Thales, of Solon and Plato. The erudition of the Egyptians was to improve the pure but uncultivated mind of the young stranger, whilst their superstition and luxury should be to him a per- petual warning. Joseph must have felt awe -struck and dazzled when the magnificent and colossal temple of On, with its immense obelisks and majestic sphinxes, rose suddenly before him. The shepherd boy who had breathed all his life the fresh air of Shechem and Hebron, was taken from his simple tent and his flocks, to be transplanted into the very centre of wealth and civilization. He was sold by the Ishmaelites to Potiphar (meaning "servant of the Sun") who was the chief officer of Pharaoh's guard: thus he was at once brought into contact with the highest Egyptian rank and splendour. But even among all these wise and learned men, Joseph was considered eminently gifted; the Lord was with him and caused him to be loved and respected by his master. Everything that he undertook succeeded, and he brought prosperity and happiness to Potiphar, who soon made him overseer of his entire house- hold. He was, moreover, "beautiful of form and beautiful of appearance." Now Potiphar's wife, a wicked woman, grew enamoured of the comely young Hebrew, and Joseph, indignant at her conduct, escaped at last from the house of his master and benefactor, in his hasty flight leaving his cloak behind him. Potiphar, returning to his house, was 23. HISTOBY OF JOSEPH. 85 by his infuriated wife, who holding the garment in her hand greeted him with a tale of calumny against his fa- vourite Joseph. Potiphar believed the words of his worth- less wife, and Joseph was cast into a prison attached to the house. In this place were detained persons who had committed some treasonable offence against the king or against any of the great officers of his household. The governor of the prison was a good and benevolent man, and he soon perceived Joseph's rare virtues, his honesty and zeal, his truthfulness and industry, his ability and intelligence. It was as if the Divine light shone through his countenance, and as if the voice of God spoke from his lips. Thus in the dreary dungeon, abandoned by all who belonged to his own tribe and his own faith, he was not only cheered by the consciousness of his innocence, but upheld by the esteem and confidence of the governor, "who committed to his hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he did it: the keeper of the prison did not look to anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper." Among the prisoners were two of the officers of the king's household, his chief butler and his chief baker. They were guarded and served by Joseph during all the time that they remained in custody. One night both of them dreamt dreams which seemed to them full of significance. Their minds, brooding over their misfortunes, saw in the dreams nothing but mysterious forebodings of evil ; and when Jo- seph came to them in the morning, he saw their sadness. He at once asked them the cause of it; and when they replied, ''We have dreamt a dream, an.d there is no one to interpret it;" Joseph exclaimed, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams, I pray you." And the chief butler, trusting in Joseph's wisdom and upright- 86 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. ness, complied with the request and said: "In my dreams, behold a vine was before me; and on the vine were three branches, and it was as if it budded, and its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters matured ripe grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." Joseph at once gave the interpretation as follows: "The three branches are three days ; within three days more Pharaoh will lift up thy head and restore thee to thy place, and thou wilt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hands in the former manner when thou wast his butler." And naturally watching every opportunity for his own rescue from the sad captivity, he added: "Only remember me when it will be well with thee, and do kindness, I pray thee, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here again have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon." The chief baker, encour- aged by the favourable interpretation Joseph had given to his colleague's dream, proceeded to relate his own: "I also was in my dream, and behold, I had three baskets of white bread on my head. And in the uppermost basket there was all kind of food for Pharaoh, the work of the baker; and the birds ate them out of my basket upon my head." - Joseph replied fearlessly: "This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days; within three days more Pha- raoh will lift up thy head from thee, and will hang thee upon a tree; and the birds will eat thy flesh from thee." Joseph's predictions were literally fulfilled; for "on the third day which was Pharaoh's birth-day, he made a feast to all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler to his butlership, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief 23. HISTOKY OF JOSEPH. 87 baker as Joseph had interpreted to them." - Restored to his high station, the chief butler forgot his wise fellow- prisoner. But it was not ordained that Joseph's life should pass wearily on in the Egyptian dungeon. Grod watched over him, and the time was now at hand when he should step from the prison to the distinction he deserved. Two years had passed away, and king Pharaoh himself dreamt a dream which filled him with wonder and awe. "He was standing by the river Nile. And behold there came up out of the river seven cows, fine in appearance and fat in flesh ; and they fed in the reed-grass. And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, bad in appearance and lean in flesh; and they stood by the other cows upon the bank of the river. And the cows bad in appearance and lean in flesh, consumed the seven cows fine in appear- ance and fat. And Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamt a second time : and behold, seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, strong and good. And behold, seven ears thin and blasted by the east -wind sprang up after them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven strong and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold it was a dream." Pharaoh's spirit was troubled, for although he did not know the interpretation of the dreams, he felt that they had a deep and important meaning. He may have vaguely imagined that they had some reference to the pro- duce of the land. For the Nile, the one great river of Egypt, is the almost exclusive source of fertility for the whole land. It was, therefore, an object of veneration and worship; it was the holy, the blessed, the beneficent river. Again, the cow was the symbol of Isis, the goddess of the earth and of fruitfulness. Then the very fact of a second dream following immediately upon the first, and resembling it so closely in form, was considered a sure proof of its reality 88 23. HISTORY OP JOSEPH. and speedy fulfilment. Yet Pharaoh could arrive at no distinct conclusion. His mind was perplexed. He sent to all the sooth-sayers and wise men of On. He told them his dreams, but not one of them could offer an interpretation. The learned Egyptians were at fault, men who were regarded as superior in knowledge to all others, and as inspired by their gods. The chief butler, seeing the king's trouble, now sud- denly bethought himself of the young Hebrew, and he said to Pharaoh: "I remember my sins this day: Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and gave me into custody in the house of the chief of the guard, both me and the chief baker. And we dreamt a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamt each according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was with us a Hebrew youth, a servant to the chief of the guard; and we told him and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man he interpreted according to his dream. And it happened as he interpreted to us, so it was; I was restored to my office, and he was hanged." Perhaps this youth might speak, and speak truly, when the wise and the learned of Egypt were dumb. Pharaoh at once sent for Joseph; he was instantly brought out of the dungeon, and appeared before the king in the garb of the Egyptians, with the beard, the great pride of the Hebrews, shaven from his chin. And Pharaoh said to Joseph: "I have dreamt a dream, and there is none who can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee that thou understandest a dream to interpret it." He then re- lated his dreams, upon which Joseph clearly and firmly observed: "The dream of Pharaoh is one: Grod has shov.n to Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And the seven thin and bad cows that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted by the east -wind will be seven years of famine. 23. HISTORY OF JOSEPH. 89 This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do, He has shewn to Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; and there will arise after them seven years of famine ; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt ; and the famine will consume the land ; and the plenty will not be known in the land on account of that famine afterwards; for it will be very heavy. And because the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice, indeed the thing is established by God, and God will hasten to bring it to pass." But Joseph was not satisfied with merely stating impending events and calamities, he at once indi- cated the means to obviate or to mitigate them, and he continued: "Now therefore let Pharoah look out for a man intelligent and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the fifth part in the land of Egypt in the seven years of 'plenty. And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh , for food in the cities, and keep it. And that food shall be for store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land do not perish through the famine." The king felt that the spirit of God rested upon the Hebrew youth, and idolater as he was, he could not help feeling reverence for that God. Delighted with the coun- sel of Joseph, he turned to his no less astonished servants,, and urged them frankly to confess that there was not one amongst them equal to the captive stranger in intelligence and wisdom. The parentage, the slavery, and the cause of Joseph's imprisonment were immaterial to the high-minded king ; he saw and fully appreciated his rare and remarkable abilities; and exercising his sovereign power, he raised him in a moment to the highest position in the state. "And 90 23. HI8TORT OF JOSEPH. Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has taught thee all this, there is none intelligent and wise like thyself; thou shalt be over my house, and all my people shall obey thy com- mand; only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Behold I have set thee overall the land of Egypt." Can we not see in all this true glimpses of Egyptian life, as we look back through the dim shadow of retreating ages? What is engraved for ever in the pages of the Bible, lives once again in the pictured records of Egypt now care- fully examined and reproduced. Joseph clad in fine linen, with the heavy gold chain, the proud ornament of the noble Egyptian, round his neck, with the king's own ring upon .his hand, was to be presented to the people as their ruler and their governor, second only to Pharaoh himself. The procession went forth with its horsemen and chariots, and lines of priests and men of science from the royal residence, traversing the sacred city of the Sun. The n 132 32. THE TEX EGYPTIAN PLAGUES. tion; man and beast who were exposed to its rage, died on the spot ; the herbs were scattered to the wind , the trees lay shivered on the ground. But the land of Groshen, free from the ravages of the storm, bloomed like a garden amidst the general devastation. Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and acknowledged his sins. "The Lord is righteous," he said, "and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord, for it is already too much, that there should be no more thunder- ing and hail; and I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer." Moses replied: "When I am gone out of the city, I shall spread out my hands to the Lord ; and the thunder will cease, neither will there be any more hail, that thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord's." And it happened as Moses had said; the storm ceased but Pharaoh's heart remained hardened. Scarcely less fearful than any of the preceding plagues was the eighth which at once followed. Pharaoh was fore- warned, for Aaron went to him to announce the will of Grod, and to bid him pause before he called down upon the coun- try swarms of locusts. It was no imaginary evil that the threat implied; every one was familiar with the terrible scourge of the dreaded locusts , whose arrival was feared more than that of a hostile army. There exists indeed no more fatal destroyer of all vegetable life. The locusts that infest Egypt, are children of the desert. They are active, eager, and fierce. They appear flying together in such vast numbers, and so compactly, that they seem like a cloud passing over the earth. "Where they descend upon the ground, they cover it like a wide black veil for many lea- gues. They eat voraciously, devouring everything that comes in their way, and leaving behind them a bare and desolate waste. It was this awful calamity that Aaron predicted to Pharaoh. The people felt keenly the impending horrors of 33. THE TEN EGYPTIAN PLAGtES. 133 the plague: was not their country ruined already and de- vastated ? had it not been swept by the terrific hail-storm, and should it now be exposed to the still more fatal fury of the locusts? For the first time, they implored the king- to grant the request of the Israelites. They hastened after Moses and Aaron, and brought them back to the monarch's throne, in order, if possible, to prevent the evil. Pharaoh .was for a moment disposed to yield: "Gro," said he, "serve the Lord your God; but who are they that will go?" And Moses repeated what the king of Egypt had so often heard before: "With our young and with our old will we go, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go, for we have a feast to the Lord." But Pharaoh's proud spirit revolted from giving his consent to this request, which he not unjustly felt was meant to hide deeper schemes on the part of the Hebrews ; if he permitted their departure, it should be under conditions which would oblige them to return ; and he exclaimed in anger and exasper- ation: "So may the Lord be with you as I shall let you go and your children: see, that you have evil plans before you. Not so ; go now, you men, and serve the Lord, for that have you desired." Thus Moses and Aaron were driven from the presence of Pharaoh. Then came the plague as had been predicted. When Moses stretched out his staff, an east-wind arose and brought the locusts from the regions of the Red Sea in vast clouds over the land. More numerous, more terrible than they had ever been seen before, they descended on the fields, on the trees, on the fruits, and rapidly, as if by enchantment, changed the whole country into an arid desert. Ruin and famine were the hideous spectres that followed them. Pha- raoh hastened to send for Moses, and confessing his sin, entreated forgiveness. Then Moses prayed to the Lord, and a strong west-wind arose, and blew the locusts into the 134 32. THK TEX EGYPTIAN PLAGUES. Red Sea. The land was freed; but Pharaoh hardened his heart once more, and would not let the children of Israel go. Then followed quickly the ninth plague, which, un- like its predecessors, neither caused physical distress to the people, nor brought still further ruin upon the desolate land. But it was one of those awful and mysterious dispen- sations calculated to impress the senses and the mind with fear and horror. The ninth plague was total and absolute darkness. During three days a thick and impenetrable veil hung over the land of Egypt , no one could move from his place but the Hebrews had light in their dwellings. Now it must be remembered that to the Egyptians the Sun was an object of worship. The city of On with its temples and priests was consecrated to the Sun; Pharaoh himself, as has been observed above, means son of the Sun. In a moment, that great deity was obscured by the God of Israel; Osiris strove in vain to dispel the darkness : he had lost his golden rays. Dismayed and alarmed, Pharaoh sent for Moses, bid- ding him depart instantly with all his people, and only leave their flocks and herds behind as a pledge. But no, this could not be agreed to; Moses emphatically declared: "Our cattle shall also go with us, not one hoof shall remain behind ; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God." - But Pharaoh hardened his heart as before, and would not let them go. He was enraged against that wise but humble servant of God who defied his own power, and he exclaimed : "Go away from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for on that day thou seest my face thou shalt die." And Moses replied: "Thou hast spoken right, I will see thy face again no more." We now approach the tenth plague which, as it was the last, was also the most terrible. It was the final struggle in that awful warfare -between God and man; it proved the complete overthrow of the Egyptian king. 32. THE TEN EGYPTIAN PLAGUES. 135 Moses had obtained a celebrity throughout the land of Egypt, which had probably never before been sur- passed, not even with regard to the great royal favourite Joseph. His wisdom excelled that of the priests and magi- cians: he foretold events that invariably came to pass; he performed the most astonishing miracles ; his staff brought disasters, which his prayer alone could stay; he appeared in the name of the great Grod of the Hebrews; and he stood boldly in the presence of the king, warning him of evil, firm- ly insisting upon his demands, resolutely refusing to make the smallest concession. Was it wonderful that the Egypt- ians looked upon him with awe? He gained their admira- tion still more because, with all the power granted to him by God, he was ever meek and modest, ever distrustful of his gifts, considering himself as the feeble instrument for carrying out a Divine mission. His great courage coup- led with supreme humility could not fail to impress the Egyptians. And for his sake, the Israelites found favour in their sight. Thus, when the Lord made known to him the nature of the last plague, and bid him tell the people to ask for silver and gold from their Egyptian neighbours, the masters readily gave to the enslaved strangers their trinkets, and ornaments, and costly vessels. Everything had been foretold by Grod to Moses, who now, in a last interview, communicated to Pharaoh the impending and ter- rible visitation in these words. "Thus says the Lord, about midnight shall I go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first- born of Pharaoh who sits upon the throne, to the firstborn of the handmaid who is behind the mill, and all the first- born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog sharpen his tongue, against man 136 33. PASSOVER; DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT. or beast; that you may know that the Lord distinguishes between the Egyptians and between Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down to me, and shall bow down themselves to me, saying, Go out, thou and all thy people that follow thee : and after that, I shall go out." Then Moses turned away in anger from the king who by his blind stubbornness brought unspeakable calamities upon his people. 33. INSTITUTION OF THE PASSOVER; DEPARTURE OP THE HEBREWS FROM EGYPT. [Bxod. XII.] The tenth plague was to be the signal of the exodus of the Hebrews and of their redemption. The death of the firstborn among the Egyptians was the new life of the He- brews, the midnight visit of the angel of destruction was their trumpet note announcing the dawn of freedom. So glorious, so important was the release from Egypt that the very month in which it took place, was henceforth to be considered the beginning of the year, the first of months. But before their departure, the people were once more assembled to listen to the Divine commands conveyed to them by Moses. Four days previous to the night of the exodus, the chief of each household was to select a male lamb or kid, one year old, without blemish; he was tp kill it towards the evening of the day appointed for the flight, and to put its blood, by means of a bunch of hyssop, on the two side-posts and on the lintels of the houses. The animal was to be roasted entire, and consumed completely in that night, together with cakes of unleavened bread and bitter herbs. With girded loins, with staffs in their hands, with sandals on their feet, should the Israelites take this hasty meal before their longed-for deliverance. As on account of the 33. PAS8OVEE; DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT. 137 suddenness of their escape, they would have no time to bake their bread, they were ordered to eat and to carry away with them unleavened cakes. At midnight the angel of the Lord would pass through the land, and slay the firstborn in every Egyptian house; but where he saw the blood on the door- posts, he would pass by without harming the Hebrews. Dis- tinct were the commands of Moses, complete in every detail; they instituted the first of the festivals, the Passover of the Lord. For that night was to be sacred in all future ages; it was to be an ordinance for all generations. As years rolled on, and each brought back the bright spring time, rich with memories of the past, the Israelites were to as- semble together, to recall by the paschal lamb, the unleaven- ed bread, the bitter herbs, and the seven days of thanks- giving and rejoicing, both their grievous bondage in Egypt and their wonderful departure from that inhospitable land. From their exodus, the political life of the Hebrews as a nation must be dated; until then they had only been a tribe or a number of families; they were now to be organised into a people, with a lawgiver unrivalled for wisdom in the history of the world, with warriors famous for wonderful feats of bravery, and above all with prophets destined to be the guides and teachers of unborn ages. The chosen people became now signally God's nation, elected to trans- mit His truth from age to age, and certain to conquer all other nations, as long as they remained faithful to His worship. To this character of the festival all individual ordin- ances were thoughtfully adapted. Hebrews alone were to partake of the paschal meal : for no stranger could properly share a repast designed to show the Hebrew families as organic parts of the Hebrew nation. The lamb was to be roasted whole, without a bone being broken : for it was to express the unity of the people of Israel, a unity most 138 33. PASSOVER: DEPARTURE FROM EGYPT. essential for the accomplishment of their great mission . in enabling them to defend their pure faith against the idola- tries of other nations. It was furthermore enjoined that the firstborn of man and beast should be sacred to God. This law entrusted the control and responsibility in matters of religion to the head of the household; on him devolved the special care of the family, and it was his duty to attend to the exact fulfilment of all sacred observances. Lastly, as a memorial of the exodus and of the new religious and political life of the Israelites, symbols were commanded to be worn upon the hand and on the forehead, pointing to deed and thought "so that the Law of the Lord may be in thy mouth, for with a strong hand has the Lord brought thee out of Egypt." These symbols, later called Tephillin or phylacteries, consisted of certain import- ant passages taken from the Law, written on parchment and enclosed in small wooden boxes; and unlike the charms and amulets of many eastern tribes and of most southern nations of the present day, they were merely remembrances of a wonderful redemption, signs of a solemn covenant with God, and monitors to a life of faith and virtue. When Moses had explained all these injunctions, the people, deeply impressed, silently bowed their heads and prostrated themselves, and then hastened to their houses to prepare the paschal lamb. At midnight, the angel of the Lord passed through the land, smiting with death the first- born of every Egyptian household. There was a loud and bitter wail in each house a loved one lay fatally stricken. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in that very night, and said to them: "Arise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord as you have said; and take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and bless me also." At last 34. PHABAOH'S PURSUIT. 139 then, the pride of the stubborn king was broken. Mean- while the Hebrews were preparing for their hasty depart- ure. "With beating hearts, they assembled in groups to eat the paschal lamb. They stood at the midnight meal, arrayed as they had been commanded. The women had taken from the ovens the unleavened cakes, which were eaten with the meat of the roasted lamb. The preparations were at last concluded; all was ready the tents were slung on poles ; the animals bore on their backs women and chil- dren, or were laden with the possessions of the Hebrews, with the common necessaries of life, with the gold and sil- ver treasures furnished by the Egyptians. At the word of command, the whole nation of the Hebrews poured forth in the cool still Eastern night. But not even amidst their trepidation and danger did they forget the pledge given by their ancestors to Joseph, and they carried his remains with them, to inter them later in the land of promise. They safely escaped out of the province of Groshen, where their race had dwelt for four hundred and thirty years; and led by Moses and Aaron, they wandered forth, a host of six hundred thousand armed men with their wives and children a free nation. 34. PHARAOH'S PURSUIT AND DESTRUCTION. [Exod. XIII. XIV.] It will be remembered that in the history of the patri- archs, the journey from Canaan to Egypt has repeatedly been mentioned. It was accomplished, in a comparatively short time, by Abraham and Joseph, then by Jacob's other sons, and finally by Jacob himself and his whole family. But then the travellers denied along the narrow mountain passes of Engadi, and keeping in sight of the waters of the Mediterranean, proceeded along the north coast of Egypt. 140 34. PHARAOH'S PURSUIT. Not so did Moses and the enormous host which followed his guidance. The land of promise was farther distant for them than it had been for Abraham, and no safe and straight caravan road was to lead them to the groves of Hebron and to the beautiful valley of the Jordan. They were, as yet, unable to stand against the powerful and warlike tribes, such as the Philistines, through whose territory they would have been obliged to pass. By forty long and weary years of wandering in the desert, they were to be trained, to become a brave and independent nation, and to deserve their distinction as the people of God. During that fearful night when terror seized all Egypt- ians, the Israelites marched, or rather fled from Raineses, their place of assembly, in a south-easterly direction, to Succoth, their first resting place. One day's march more southward brought them to Etham on the edge of the wil- derness; from here they had to turn back northward, in order to arrive nearer the northern extremity of the gulf of Suez, where the passage was practicable; and they en- camped "before Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea against Baal - Zephon," probably at the place of the later town Kolsoum, where subsequently Suez was built, sur- rounded in the north, west, and south by the desert, and in the East bordering on the Red Sea. This backward movement of the Hebrews appeared to the Egyptians like helpless perplexity, and suggested to them the idea "they are entangled in the land ; the wilderness has shut them in." But though the host was led by Moses, the Lord Him- self guided them in a pillar of smoke by day, in a pillar of fire by night. Meanwhile Pharaoh had recovered from the consterna- tion of the tenth plague, and great was his dismay at the speedy flight of the Israelites. There seemed but one course open to him to pursue the fugitives, and to force them 34. PHARAOH'S PURSUIT. 141 back, slaves for evermore. The will of a despot is law ; six hundred chosen war-chariots, all equipped with the fleet Egyptian horse, driven by skilful charioteers, and bearing the flower of the Egyptian army, were instantly assembled. Headed by the king himself, they hastened on and over- took the Israelites at Pi-hahiroth. When these beheld in the distance the chariots and the warriors of their enemies, their fear was boundless. They turned to Moses upbraiding him: "Because there were no graves in Egypt," they exclaim- ed, "hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou done this to us, to lead us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone that we may serve the Egypt- ians? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." They were ready to lay down their arms, and to take back their chains. But Moses, calm and firm in one of the most trying moments of his eventful life, said : "Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day: for as you have seen the Egyptians to-day , you shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall keep yourselves quiet." Then Moses led the Israelites onwards until they came to the very borders of the B,ed Sea. The pillar of the Lord now changed its position; for retreating from the front to the rear of the Hebrew hosts, it floated between the two armies ; over the Israelites it shed a bright brilliancy, while it spread a veil of darkness over the Egyptians. But the Israelites seemed now hopelessly hemmed in between over- whelming dangers the Egyptians were close behind them, and the waves of the Red Sea were breaking at their feet; - the steep mountain passes threatened to the right, the wilderness to the left. But glorious was their deliverance. Moses, commanded by the Lord, raised his staff, and stretch- 142 35. THE SONG OF MOSES. ed his hand over the sea; a strong east-wind rose and blew the whole night. By that storm, the waters of the Red Sea were divided, and gathered into a wall on either side, leav- ing a dry passage in the midst. The Israelites, awed by the miracle, marched at once along that dry path which ex- tended from shore to shore. They gained the opposite side in safety. The Egyptians continued their pursuit without hesitation in the same track. They were doomed to discom- fiture and destruction: the wheels of their chariots became clogged in the bed of the Sea, and glided off. They were unable to proceed ; and they felt that they were once more vainly struggling against the Lord. They turned to flee, but it was too late; for at the command of Grod, Moses stretched forth his staff, the waters resumed their usual course, and closed over the chariots and horses and warriors, over the whole host of Pharaoh; "there remained not so much as one of them." 35. THE SONG OF MOSES AND THE HEBREWS AT THE RED SEA. [Exod. XV. 121.] In the dim' light of the early dawn, the Israelites, gath- ered in trembling groups on the eastern borders of the Red Sea, witnessed the sudden and complete annihilation of their terrible foes : then they turned in happiness and gra- titude towards Moses, and they trusted and believed their great leader, the servant and messenger of the Lord. Their faith, so weak, so easily shaken, now grew stronger, and they began to fear the God of their ancestors. A transport of joy and of triumph filled the heart of Moses, and it burst forth in the following glorious hymn : "I will sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously exalted: the horse and its rider has He thrown into the sea. The 35. THE SONG OF MOSES. 143 Lord is iny praise and song, for He has become my salva- tion; He is my Grod, and I will glorify Him; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war: the Eternal is His name. Pharaoh's hosts and his chariots has He thrown into the sea: his choicest warriors are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, Lord, glori- fied in power, Thy right hand, Lord, dashes in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of Thy sublimity Thou over- throwest those who rise up against Thee: Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumes them as stubble. And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, the floods stood upright like a mound, and the depths congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue; overtake ; divide the spoil ; my lust be satisfied upon them ; I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them: Thou didst blow with Thy wind, the sea covered them ; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like Thee, Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, awful in praises, doing wonders ? Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand the earth swallowed them. Thou in Thy mercy leadest forth the people which Thou hast redeemed ; Thou guidest them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation. The nations will hear it, and will be afraid; terror will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling will seize them: all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away with fear. Fear and dread will fall upon them; by the greatness of Thy arm they will be dumb as stone; till they pass, Lord, till the people pass, which Thou hast acquired. Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thy inheritance, in the place, Lord, which Thou hast made for Thy abode, in the sanct- 144 36. MABCH TO MAKAH AND ELIM. uary, Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever." As the last words of the song died away, Miriam, in- spired with the same feelings of gladness and thanksgiving, seized her timbrel, and followed by a multitude of Hebrew maidens and women, went forth in procession dancing and chanting : "Sing ye to the Lord, for He is gloriously exalted; the horse and its rider has He thrown into the sea." 36. MAECH OF THE HEBREWS TO MAEAH AND ELIM; THE MANNA AND QUAILS. [Exod. XV. 22 -XVI. 35.] The Israelites, resuming their journey on the eastern borders of the Eed Sea, entered the dreary wilderness of Shur, an endless tract of dry sand spreading out before them. A few days' march northwards might have brought them to the rich and beautiful valleys of Judea; but Moses knew that he must lead his undisciplined hosts into the very heart of the desert, and thus avoid the contact with warlike tribes. Proceeding for three days in a south-east- erly direction through a pathless waste, the Israelites found no springs or wells; they were parched with thirst; at last, they arrived at a place, where they were gladdened by the sight of a deep spring; but when they put their lips to the water, they who had so long been accustomed to the delicious and far-famed water of the Nile, found it utterly unpalatable. It was bitter and brackish, and had caused the place to be called Marah, at present How- arah. Fevered with thirst, the unfortunate people murmured against Moses, exclaiming, "What shall we drink!" Moses prayed to the Lord, and in answer to his supplications, the Lord showed him a tree, and bid him cast some of its wood 36. MARCH TO MABAH AND ELIM. 145 into the water. By virtue of this tree, the bitterness was changed into sweetness, and the Israelites were saved from the agony of their thirst. Moses seized the opportunity of this miracle to enjoin again upon the Israelites, that they should faithfully remember the statutes and ordinances of the Lord, who so manifestly watched over them: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and do that which is right in His eyes, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will bring none of those diseases upon thee which I have brought upon the Egyptians, for I am the Lord that heals thee." From Marah or Howarah, the Israelites journeyed to Elim in the Wadi Gharendel, two and a half miles south from Marah; there they found twelve wells of water, and at their borders the inviting shade of palm trees. Here they encamped by the water. Proceeding from Wadi Gharendel a short distance along the sea-shore, and then turning in a south-eastern direction through the Wadi Taybe and Wadi Feiran, the Israelites arrived, after a three days' journey, one month after they had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt, in the beautiful valley of Wadi esh- Sheikh, where the tamarisk trees are so abundant that, in some parts, they form dense forests. That valley is a part of the district of Sin. But the people had exhausted their provisions, and looking helplessly around, they felt that they could not escape star- vation. Then, in the bitterness of their hearts, they murmur- ed against Moses, asking, of what avail was their freedom, if they were doomed to perish in the desert ? They longed to return to Egypt. ""Would to God," they exclaimed, "we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we ate bread to satis- faction ; we remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt freely ; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, Vol. I. 1 146 36. THE MANNA AND QUAILS. and the garlick; but you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." The Lord heard that pitiful cry of despair, and resolving to send His favoured people relief, He said to Moses: "Behold, I shall rain bread from heaven for you ; and the people shall go out and gather every day what is sufficient for the day, that I may try them whether they will walk in My law or not. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day, if they will prepare that which they bring in, it shall be double of that which they gather daily." Moses and Aaron now assured the Hebrews, that they would be protected not only from starvation but from want. Early on the following morning, when the people came forth from their tents, they saw, as the dew vanished, ''something small, peeled, as small as hoar frost on the earth." They looked at it in eager astonishment and exclaimed "What is that !" (man-hu). And Moses said to them, "This is the bread which the Lord has given to you for food." Now, this manna was, according to the Scriptural accounts, white like cori- ander seed or like bdellium; it tasted like cake with honey or like olive -cake; it could be ground in mills, beaten in mortars, or baked in pans, and prepared for cakes. From all these statements it is evident that two sorts of manna are alluded to, different in origin, and in many respects distinct from each other the manna of the air, and the mauna of the trees and shrubs. The former is essentially the sweet juice forced out by the heat from many trees and plants, rising in the air, descending with the dew, and melting in the morning sun ; the latter is the harder, thicker, resinous mass, which oozes out from certain trees, especially the tamarisk, either spontaneously or by the puncture of a certain small, unwinged insect (coccus manniparus). Such manna-yielding trees and shrubs are especially abundant in Arabia Petraea and in the neighbourhood of mount Sinai. 36. THE MAXXA AND QUAILS. 147 Yet the .Biblical manna had its own miraculous properties, as is obvious from the following points: u l. The manna of the Israelites falls uninterruptedly through forty years at all seasons, whilst in reality it is only found during two or three mouths in the year, and in some years not at all. 2. It descends in such quantities that the whole people of Israel is supplied Avith it, whereas according to authentic reports, even in the most abundant years, the whole penin- sula of Sinai yields scarcely 600 to 700 pounds, and in or- dinary years not more than the third part of this quantity. 3. It serves as the usual, nutritious, and satisfying food, whilst it is in fact only a medical, relaxing substance, and would, if taken for any length of time, lead to the dissolu- tion of the body, although it may be applied to sweeten the meals; nor do the Arabians use it now as an article of food. 4. It falls on the sixth day in double quantities, and on the seventh not at all. 5. It breeds worms, if it is preserved to the following day, whilst that kept from the sixth to the seventh day remains sweet and wholesome. 6. It is to the Israelites perfectly unknown, and causes their astonishment, and an omer full of it is preserved, that future generations might see the miraculous bread of their ancestors; and in the same sense it is called a food which their fathers had never known." * Hoses commanded the people, that each man should gather of the manna just as much as was required for the number of persons composing his household. However, though forbidden to gather of the food on the Sabbath, many went yet out on that day, but they found no manna. Moses rebuked their disobedience severely; and then at last they were induced to keep complete rest on the seventh day. * Kalisch, Commentary on Exodus, ch. XVI. 148 37. VICTORY OVER THE AMALEKITES. [ Exod. XVII. ] Now the Israelites proceeded again upon their difficult march, and taking, as before, a southerly direction, they arrived at Dophkah, then at Alush, and lastly at Rephidim, which is situated near the group of the Horeb mountains. Here they were visited once more by that fearful trial, want of water; again they felt wearied out by thirst, and all the horrors of impending death made them rise against Moses in anger; but he answered meekly: "Why do you quarrel with me? Wherefore do you try the Lord?" They continued to assail him with more vehement threats: "Where- fore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" Then Moses cried to the Lord: "What shall I do to this people? There is but little wanting and they will stone me." The Lord bid Moses take his staff in his hand, and lead the elders of the people to a rock among the mountains of Horeb, where He Himself would be present. Moses did as he was commanded, and as he touched the rock with the staff, streams of water rushed forth. Thus the people were once more saved by a miracle ; but was their faith in the Lord's mercy thereby strengthen- ed? Moses called the place Massah and Meribah, "because of the quarreling of the children of Israel, and because they tried the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not ?" We now come to a new and distinct phase in the his- tory of the Israelites. They had been freed from slavery: the time had arrived for the men of Israel, to prove them- selves warriors. At Rephidim they were attacked by an army of the warlike Amalekites, a nation descending from theldumaeans, and claiming Esau as their ancestor. This bold desert race lived among the mountains of Arabia Petraea, 37. VICTORY OVER THE AMALEKITES. 149 and chiefly between Philistia, Egypt, Edom, and the deserts of Mount Sinai. Their assault was directed against the rear of the Hebrew army when it was exhausted and weary. Moses at once appointed Joshua, the son of Nun, a fearless and devoted young hero, general of the Hebrew hosts, and bid him fight with Amalek. The following morning Moses, Aaron, and Hur, ascended one of the hills, and from thence gazed down upon the plain where the two armies were to meet. Moses held his miraculous staff in his hand, and as the Israelites advanced to encounter the foe, he raised it in the air. Possibly that venerable figure standing on the heights with uplifted hands inspired the hearts of the soldiers with hope and courage; for they fought and prevailed. But when the hands of Moses dropped with fatigue, the Israelites re- treated and the Amalekites were victorious. All through the long day the fierce combat lasted, until Moses, faint and worn, seated himself upon a stone, while Aaron and Hur supported his hands. As the sun set in the heavens, the victory of the Israelites was decided; they had won their first great battle; they who had but lately been an enslaved nation, had defeated an ancient warrior-race. That extraordinary achievement was by Moses inscribed in a book as a me- morial for future ages; for the very remembrance of the Amalekites was to be blotted out from under heaven. And wishing to perpetuate the memory of the scene, Moses built an altar, and called it "the Lord is my banner", for he said, "Because the hand of Amalek was against the throne of God ; therefore the Lord will have war with Amalek from gene- ration to generation." 150 38. J E T H E 0. [Exod. XVIII.] It will be remembered that Jethro, the priest of Midian, had remained in Arabia, when Moses departed into Egypt on his great mission. His daughter Zipporah with her two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, had returned to the old Arabian home after accompanying the prophet on the first stages of his journey. The story of the wonderful deliverance of the Hebrews and of their journey through the wilderness to the peaks ofHoreb, had naturally spread through all surrounding countries, and had thus become known to Jethro, who saw with gratitude and gladness, that his son-in-law Moses was the favoured servant of the Most High. He felt a desire to behold again this chosen messenger of the Lord, and to bring to him, now that the greatest dangers had been surmounted, his wife and children. He soon advanced to the region of Mount Sinai. When Moses was told that his father-in-law had ar- rived from Midian, he arose and went out from his ten% and welcomed the aged priest with reverence and affection. What a glorious and wondrous tale did Jethro hear from the lips of Moses! More fully and more accurately than he could have learnt by vague reports, he was told of the Lord's mercy and loving - kindness to His enslaved people, of the terrors of the Egyptian plagues, of the miraculous passage through the Red Sea, of the utter destruction of Pharaoh's hosts, and finally of the ever - recurring wonders in the desert, which were strengthening the minds of Israelites in courage and faith, and without which they must long since have perished in their trackless wanderings. Jethro listened to all this with delight and rejoicing; he believed in the God of the Hebrews, and testified his belief by a ho- locaust and a thank-offering. When Aaron and the elders of the people witnessed this act of faith, they assembled 38. JETHKO. 151 around Jethro, shared his sacrificial meal, and thereby ex- pressed their spiritual relationship with the Midianite chief. On the morrow, Moses prepared as usual to judge the people. For it must he recollected that he, their leader and deliverer, was also their ruler, their law-giver, and their judge. All disputes and contentions were decided by him; all commands and all precepts of the Lord were conveyed to the Israelites through his lips. From early dawn till sun- set, the people gathered around him. Jethro beholding the scene, saw with true discernment that no one man could undertake so arduous and so exhausting a task. So, when the people had once more returned to their tents, the wise priest of Midian said to Moses: "The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone. Hearken now to my voice ; I will give thee counsel and Grod may be with thee." And judicious and good was the advice given by Jethro. Moses should choose from among the whole nation men of trust and faith, and should make them chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. To these officers should be confided the duty of judging the people. Every small matter they should settle entirely ac- cording to their own judgment, while they were to bring every greater* and more difficult dispute to Moses. Thus the main weight of the burden, almost crushing for the strength even of Moses, would in a great measure be taken from him. Moses followed the counsel of Jethro, who then departed well satisfied, and returned to his own land. 152 39. THE REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI. [Exod. XXIX. XX.] The Israelites, leaving Eepliidim, entered the desert of Sinai, and encamped in the plains which surround the mountain of that name. We now approach the crowning point of the history of the Israelites in the desert. In the valley of Horeb they were to be raised from a mere horde of wandering shepherds to a nation ruled over by the Almighty Grod of Heaven and Earth, to a nation chosen among all others to receive the law of God. Let us imagine this vast host spreading round the foot of the rugged mountain, awaiting in trembling awe the first accents of the voice of the Lord. That voice was heard at last addressing these solemn words to Moses: "Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Is- rael: You have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all nations, for all the earth is Mine, and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak to the children of Israel." Moses faithfully delivered his great charge; and the people, awed and deep- ly moved, answered as if with one voice, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." Then they were commanded by Moses, on Grod's behest, to purify and hallow themselves, and to be ready to receive the Divine revelation on the third day. They carried out these injunctions with alacrity and with piety. Round the mountain on which a myste- rious dread seemed to hang, boundaries were placed, which the people were forbidden to pass on penalty of death. And now followed a scene so grand and majestic, so wonderful 39. REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI. 153 and unfathomable, that it can only be told in the words of the Bible. "And it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a heavy cloud upon the mountain, and the voice of the trumpet exceedingly strong, so that all who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp towards God, and they placed themselves at the nether part of the mountain. And Mount Sinai was entirely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire, and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a fur- nace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded louder and louder very much, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, Go down, warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to see, and many of them perish. And let the priests also, who come near the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said to the Lord, The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for Thou hast warned us, saying, Set bounds about the mountain, and sanctify it. And the Lord said to him, Go, descend and come up again, thou and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up to the Lord, lest He break forth upon them. So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them." And then the Lord proclaimed the Ten Commandments as follows: "I.I am the Lord, thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods besides Me. - 2. Thou shalt not make to thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor be induced to serve them: 154 39. REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI. for I the Lord thy God am a zealous God, visiting the ini- quity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation, to those who hate Me; and showing mer- cy to thousands, to those who love Me, and keep My com- mandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God for falsehood ; for the Lord will not hold him guilt- less who takes His name for falsehood. 4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work, neither thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-ser- vant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy beast, nor thy stranger who is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 5. Honour thy father and thy mo- ther, that thy clays may be long in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee. 6. Thou shalt not murder. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. - - 8. Thou shalt not steal. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his man - servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's." These Commandments, a conspicuous landmark in the dim ages of the past, have preserved their force undiminished until our time. They comprise indeed in their brief com- pass man's chief duties towards God and towards his fellow- creatures. They are calculated to make men pious, reveren- tial, humble, obedient, able to restrain their passions, their desires, their very thoughts. They were revealed to the Hebrews, but they are binding upon all nations of the earth. They can be obeyed and acted upon in every country, by every race. They are- written above the Ark of the He- 39. KEVELATION OX MOUNT SINAI. 155 brew Temple, engraved on the altar of the Christian church, and taught by the Eastern sage. They may be divided into two groups ; the one relates to our duties towards God, the other to those towards our fellow - creatures ; the former comprises the four first, the latter the five last commandments, while the fifth refers to our parents, who occupy a position between God and our fellow-men, and in some respects partake of the character of both. The first commandment enjoins the belief in the exist- ence of God, the Creator, the gracious Bestower of all things. The Israelites had been rescued from their cruel bondage l>y Grod. and by Him alone: could they doubt the power of Him to whom they owed their happiness and their freedom? Could they imagine any other Being equal to Him in great- ness or wisdom or mercy? They were, therefore, not only to believe in His existence, but also in His unity. The second commandment is meant as a support and safeguard of the first: God is not to be represented by any image or outward form whatever. This prohibition was in- dispensable for the Hebrews, who still required the severest training for a pure and spiritual faith , and were encom- passed by nations of idolaters, who might easily induce them to portray God in images of wood or stone, of gold or silver, in the shape of man, beast, or monster, and to bow down before such an idol. And what was the punishment for the sin of idolatry ? Long years of suffering, extending to the third and fourth generation, tainting the lives of un- born children. The unity and incorporeality of God having thus been declared, His sanctity was enforced in the third command- ment. The name of the Lord, so great and awful in import, was not to be profaned by attesting a false oath. Perjury, thus criminally aggravated, would call down on the offender 156 39. REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI. the most fearful retribution. An oath sworn by the holy name of the Lord, can be justified only by the most perfect sincerity of him who swears it. The injunctions bearing upon Grod and His worship reach their culminating point in the fourth commandment the observance of the Sabbath as a sacred day of rest. It is hardly possible to exaggerate the importance of this pre- cept. The creation of the world in six days and the one day of rest that followed it, were to be types of man's busy six days of labour, relieved by the day consecrated to God. The Sabbath should bring perfect rest to man and beast. Human thoughts, ever turned to worldly things, should on that day soar upwards, and forgetting gain and barter and toil, dwell in holy contemplation on the mercies of Grod, give utterance to praise and thanksgiving, or learn to search for a nobler and higher welfare than is possible during the din and turmoil of daily life. The Sabbath, sanctified and hallowed, became the first of holy days. It was meant con- stantly to remind the Hebrews of their relation to Grod ; it was designed as an aid for establishing His sovereignty among them. Therefore, so far from being spent in apathy or indifference, it was to be an ever-recurring feast for heart and mind and soul, a feast gladly welcomed by individuals, households, and the nation, including "the stranger within the gates." Man owes to his parents a reverence second only to that which is due to God, and hence the place which the fifth commandment occupies in the decalogue. For parents exer- cise in some measure a Divine right over their children, they are to them the earthly types of their unseen heavenly father. Filial piety is a supreme religious and Divine duty ; and its faithful observance is certain to be a blessing to the children. In eastern countries, the outward forms of respect towards parents or elders are peculiarly marked and expressive; the 39. REVELATION ON MOUNT SINAI. 157 father has undisputed authority over his family, his wish is law, his word has a holy power. But the fifth command- ment is no less scrupulously observed in other climes; and those men and women who have won most honour and fame, have as a rule most vividly remembered and most gratefully acknowledged the care and devotion of a zealous father or of a tender mother. The sixth commandment, "thou shalt not kill," already enjoined in the time of Cain , and more distinctly still in the age of Noah, was repeated in the decalogue on account of its paramount importance. Man was created in the image of God ; his life is a breath from the Divine spirit. The destruction of a man is, therefore, an attack against the majesty of Grod Himself. The Lord who gave the life can alone take it away. Murder is rebellion against all human and Divine laws. And as the life of our fellow-men is to be sacred to us, so likewise should be his property; and so in a higher de- gree, his wife, his dearest and most sacred possession, the companion of his life, the joy of his heart, the mother of his children; and so also, his honour and good name, which might be assailed by the poisonous weapon of the slanderer and the tale-bearer. Therefore, the commandment, "thou shalt not kill," is followed by the prohibitions, "thou shalt not commit adultery," "thou shalt not steal," and "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." But not in deed and word only, but even in thought man is commanded to abstain from encroaching upon his neighbour's property. His heart and mind are to be no less clean than his hands and lips. He has been told, "thou shalt not covet;" he is to keep away the cankering worms of envy and jealousy, because they are certain to destroy his repose, his happiness, and his virtue. Unless thought, 158 40. THE BOOK OP THE COVENANT. the root of our words and of our deeds, be pure and healthy, we cannot hope to render our life holy and pro- fitable. And thus the last of the Ten Commandments may well be considered as the kernel, the very essence of the Law, warm with the breath of Divine truth and love, pure and sublime as the faith it was designed to strengthen and to support. 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. [Exod. XXI XXIV.] The Israelites who had grown into a nation, recognised God as their king, and not only accepted the laws which He bestowed upon them through His servant Moses, but solemnly pledged themselves to observe and respect them : they concluded, as it were, a Covenant with Grod. It will be well briefly to consider these laws, both in groups and classes, and then individually in their mutual bearing. They comprise I. Ordinances respecting the right of persons, of free men and slaves, in all their relations; II. Provisions in reference to the right of property, and III. Moral laws which, however, are intimately con- nected with the civil organisation of the state. I. The statutes which treat of the right of persons, and which among other objects, aim at the protection of the slave from the caprice or cruelty of his master, belong to the most important of the whole code. The Hebrews, for centuries bondmen in Egypt, had at last been released to become citizens of a free commonwealth ; therefore the first 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 159 laws they received related to slavery. The legislator saw indeed fit to allowed or tolerate it among the Israelites, but it was slavery of a very different kind from that now under- stood by that term, the very sound of which fills us with just and strong aversion. A people who were to live by husbandry and agriculture, required labourers or hirelings to till and work the fields, to cultivate and tend the vine- yards, and to gather in the fruits. As a rule, such labour- ers belonged to foreign nations. They were either prisoners of war, or were purchased in times of peace. Their children, if born in the houses of their masters, became the property of the latter. These strange slaves were protected by mild and generous laws. If fugitives from another country, they were shielded from persecution ; they were treated with signal kindness and forbearance ; they shared the blessed rest of the Sabbath-day; they were freely admitted to the festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and by undergoing certain rites, even to the paschal lamb. But it might happen that Hebrews also fell into slavery, espe- cially if poverty compelled them to sell themselves. But in such cases, their dependence was not to be permanent; it was by the law restricted to six years. In the seventh year, the servants had not only the right, but the duty to return to freedom. They were, in reality, hirelings or labourers for a certain limited time, during which they were even allowed to work for their own benefit and thus acquire means of re- deeming themselves before the lapse of the six years. Of course, the Hebrew slave participated in all the religious privileges of his master: he ate of the paschal lamb at the Passover meal; he worshipped the Lord at the Feast of Weeks ; and he joined in the hymns of praise which resound- ed on the Feast of Tabernacles. He knew that, after hia six years of servitude, he would go out free for nothing not poor and empty-handed, but with flocks and herds, and 160 40. THE BOOK OP THE COVENANT. corn and wine. His master was to dismiss him with a part of the blessings he had helped to store up for him, in re- membrance of the first and great release from the Egyptian house of bondage. If the slave had come into the master's house a single man, he should always go out alone; if married, his wife was to leave with him; but if he had taken a wife in his master's house and had children, he should go out alone, while his family were to remain with the master, until they were redeemed. However, it some- times happened, that the slave was so much attached to his master, or to the wife he had given him, that he preferred remaining with him after his six years of servitude. Now those who thus disdained liberty, man's birthright and glory, were treated with public ignominy ; they were brought before the judge, and in token of lasting and degrading sla- very, their ear was bored with an awl at the door or its posts, and they were thus branded as serfs for life. The provisions with respect to maid-servants were, on the whole, identical with those regarding men-servants. If a maid-ser- vant became the wife of her master or her master's son, she remained for ever in his house, enjoying all the privileges of a wife, her children being in the same position as those of a free Hebrew woman. But should she not receive her just rights, she was free to go out at once without waiting for the seventh year. While slavery, as is manifest from all these enactments, was practised in a merciful and humane manner among the Hebrews, it was hard and barbarous amongst other nations ; therefore, a Hebrew sold to a stranger was a soul cut off from a privileged community, thrown from enlightenment to idolatry, and lowered from a life of dig- nity to one of disgrace. Hence kidnapping for the purpose of selling into slavery was threatened with death; the se- Terity of this law was calculated to prevent the tempting and lucrative slave-trade which could easily be carried on 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 161 in Palestine, situated in the centre of the Eastern commerce and bounded by the Mediterranean. No less judicious are the laws of murder. "He that smites a man so that he dies, he shall surely be put to death." Just and prompt retaliation was to fall on the murderer's head. This was the inexorable rule whenever the murder had been perpetrated intentionally and deli- berately, or with "malice prepense" ; the criminal was to be taken even from the altar to die. But blood might be shed unintentionally and unawares, that is, manslaughter or ho- micide merely might be committed. Now, a general Eastern custom imposes upon the nearest relative of a murdered person the duty of avenging the murder, and he is therefore called a the avenger of blood" (c~ "TN-;). In order to prevent unjust bloodshed in cases of manslaughter, the Hebrew law provided cities of refuge to which the undesigning homicide might escape. After the first settlement of the Israelites in Canaan, three such cities were appointed; and as their territory increased, the number was doubled Grolan, Ra- moth, and Bezer in the east of the Jordan, and Kadesh, Shechem, and Hebron in the west ; they were so chosen that one of them might be within easy reach, in whatever part of the land the homicide had taken place. The fugitive was received at the gates by the elders and judges, who heard his case and decided whether he was a wilful murderer or an unwilling and unfortunate man-slayer. If his crime was established, he was at once given over to the avenging Groel ; if the case was doubtful, he was sent back to the town where the deed had been committed to be there tried before the competent tribunals; but if his innocence was unmistake- able, he was received into the shelter and safety of the city of refuge. Here he remained until the death of the High- priest, when he was allowed to return to his native town without fear of the (roel. The advent of a new High-priest Vol. I. 11 162 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. was aptly chosen as a time of release; for in a theocratical state it marked a decisive epoch in the life of the nation ; and the new spiritual chief fitly restored to their old privi- leges those who had been deprived of them without guilt on their part. The institution of the cities of refuge as or- dained in the Pentateuch, was extremely beneficial in shield- ing the innocent, in preventing unnecessary bloodshed, and in restraining the fierce ardour of the avenging relatives, which often blindly exterminated whole families and tribes. The law of Moses, so stringent in cases of murder, was equally careful in protecting the citizens from assault or bodily injury. If a person struck, in a quarrel, a free Isra- elite or a stranger, and thereby threw him temporarily on a sickbed, without inflicting upon him any serious injury, he had to pay him a double fine, for the loss of time, and for the expenses of the cure. "If a man smote his man- or his maidservant with a rod and he died under his hand, it was surely to be avenged." Thus the right of the slave was established, and his immediate death, even if not intended by his master, was visited by adequate pu- nishment; though if he survived the ill-treatment for a day or two, his master was not held responsible. Not only man's life, but his person generally was protected by the enactment of strict and literal retribution. The violent and unprincipled man must have trembled and stayed his hand at the words: "Thou uhalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." In most cases, however, this physical retaliation was changed into a fine or penalty paid to the sufferer, and agreed upon by the two persons concerned; and the law was, as a rule, en- forced only when the violence had been inflicted intention- ally and maliciously. If the master chastised his slave so as to deprive him of the use of any member, be this even a 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT 163 tooth, he was compelled to release him immediately with- out ransom. Man's life might be endangered not only by the hand of man. but by an infuriated beast, and the law wisely and humanely interposed to prevent this misfortune as much as feasible. If for instance, "an ox gores a man or a woman, that they die, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit. But if the ox were wont to push in time past, and it has been testified to his owner, and he has not kept him in, so that he killed a man or a woman : the ox shall be stoned, and his owner shall be put to death." Yet as death occasioned by such accident could not be punished as severe- ly as an intentional and deceitful murder, redemption by money was permitted, on a just and liberal valuation made by the judges. If a slave were thus killed by an ox, his master was indemnified for the loss by thirty shekels, the average price of a slave, while the animal was of course killed. EC. From the right of persons so strenuously and rigid- ly guarded by the code of Moses, we turn to the second class of laws, those which concern the right of property. Provisions of this nature were most needful, nay in- dispensable in a young community, which but gradually and slowly changed from nomadic to agricultural pursuits, and whose wealth consisted not so much in gold and silver as in the more uncertain and cumbrous possession of flocks and herds. Among such a people it was particularly ne- cessary to enforce the sacredness of property. Therefore, the first law recorded in that respect relates to the pro- tection of animals. A cistern or pit left without covering, whether this be a stone or boards and planks, is extremely dangerous to the security of beasts. Therefore it was enacted : 11* 164 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. "If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein ; the owner of the pit shall pay for it, and give money to their owner, and the dead beast shall be his." Again, if one man's ox killed another's, then the live ox was sold, and the money divided between the two proprietors : but if the owner had before been warned of the violent disposition of his ox, and had not guarded and watched him, then he had to pay the full money for the damage his animal had occasioned. Next follow the laws bearing on the eighth command- ment, "Thou shalt not steal." If we picture to ourselves a patriarch whose tent covered but a small space of ground, but whose possessions stretched out boundlessly around him, thousands of animals camels, oxen, asses, sheep, and goats grazing in the pastures and on the plains without guard or protection, we can readily understand, ;how dan- gerous theft would have been, had it not been repressed by a severe law. Therefore, it was enforced that "if a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it, or sells it, he shall restore five oxen for one ox and four sheep for one sheep." If a thief broke into a house at night, when no help could be procured, and if he was killed by the master, it was not regarded as murder, but as legitimate self-defence. But if the thief broke in during the broad daylight, the master was not permitted to take his life, as he was then free to call in the aid of the authorities against the lawless burglar. The thief was compelled to restore the theft doubly, if it was found untouched in his hands; if he was unable to do so, he was sold into servitude to a Hebrew master, till he was able to pay the fine. But if he had, be- fore detection, applied the theft, wholly or partially, to his own uses for instance, if he had killed or sold stolen cattle the punishment was more rigorous; he was obliged to 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 165 pay five oxen for one ox, and four sheep for one, the justice and expediency of which enactments are self-evident. If a man allowed his cattle to graze in the fields or vineyards of another, and so injured his harvest of wheat and fruit, the offender was required to pay for the loss he had occasioned from "the best of the field and the best of his vineyard." In the East, it is the custom at the end of the summer months, before the crop is sown for the ensuing year, to burn the thorns and weeds left in the fields. But owing to the dryness of the soil, a conflagration spreading over contiguous fields and meadows, may and often does ensue. For the damage thus caused, full restitution was to b made by him whose neglect occasioned it. All property committed to the safe-keeping of others, was to be regarded as"sacred, and he who consented t6 take the charge, was answerable for loss or injury. However, "in this respect the distinction was established and adhered to, that if inanimate objects were, by cunning or violence, wrested from the depositary, he was not bound to make restitution to the proprietor; but if animals, as oxen, asses, or sheep, were entrusted to his care, he was responsible for theft, but not for such accidents as the death of an animal, or its abduction by robbers or laceration by a wild beast. But if it is found that he had in any way intended to act fraudulently to the proprietor, he was compelled to restore to him the twofold value of the deposit. All these disputes were decided by the competent judge, by means pf adjuration." in. If all the laws concerning the rights of person and of property bear the stamp of wisdom and judicious- ness, those relating to the moral intercourse between man and man, to which we now proceed, breathe the purest 166 40. THE BOOK OF THB COVENANT. spirit of humanity, and may well be termed sublime. Full of moderation and of forethought, they are an admirable study for the legislators of all ages, and a model for all nations. They are characterized by that feeling of love and tender charity which everywhere pervades the Mosaic code; they breathe the true and noble benevolence which the Hebrew was taught to practise towards the poor, the helpless, and the stranger. Reverence to old age was repeatedly enjoined : "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God : I am the Lord !" Parents, judges, kings, and priests were considered as God's representatives on earth. The crime of parricide, too enormous to be realized, and therefore not even mentioned in some ancient legislations, was to be punished by instant death ; nay more, it was enacted, "He who curses his father or his mother shall also die." Charity and mercy, or love of justice and truth, sug- gested laws like these: "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God : I am the Lord." "You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment ; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour." "You shall do no unrighteousness in mete -yard, in weight, or in measure." "Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin shall you have." "Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small : but thou shalt have a just and perfect weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have, that thy day may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God gives thee." 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 167 "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among the people, neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord." Descending deeper to the very source of human actions, the lawgiver commanded: "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt in anywise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neigh- bour as thyself." Reverence due to God and the inviolable sanctity of His name, though proclaimed before in the third command- ment , were again enforced with the utmost rigour : "He that blasphemes the name of the Lord , he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as well the stranger as he that is born in the laud, when he blasphemes the name of the Lord, shall be put to death." But Moses passed beyond the limits of civil and penal laws, to touch on duties- which lie entirely in the sphere of feeling and humanity. The stranger, the widow, and the fatherless were sacred before the Lord: "If thou afflict them in any way, and if they cry to Me, I will surely hear their cry, and My wrath shall be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall be widows, and your children orphans." The helpless, the poor, the destitute stood under God's special protection: every Hebrew wag called upon to afford them help and to show them kindli- ness. A stranger had the Israelite been in the land of Egypt ; he had felt the bitterness of bondage; he could, therefore, sympathise with the stranger in his own land. The duty of hospitality, so readily observed in the East, was by the Israelites raised into a sacred obligation. Their tent was 163 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. open to the wanderer; a feast was prepared to welcome him ; and his host would usually accompany him on his way for some distance when he rose to depart. The laws for the poor, which of course included the widow and the or- phan, were most precise. In mentioning the poor, we must not imagine to ourselves a considerable portion of the po- pulation reduced to beggary and squalid poverty, such as we see alas ! now in every country of the world. Among the small Hebrew community, the landed property was almost equally divided, and there were none actually very wealthy and none ought properly to have been in want. But yet, from various reasons, there were instances when an Israelite fell hopelessly from the happy and enviable condition of independence, and this occurred so constantly that the words of Moses were not misapplied: "The needy shall not cease from amidst the land." In such cases, the benevolence of his brethren was instantly put to a test. There could be no fearful and enduring suffering where the laws of humanity were so forcibly and intelligibly enjoined. For Moses ordained that 1. The spontaneous produce of the fields, the orchards, and the vineyards, in every seventh year, when they were not cultivated, belonged to the poor as well as to the proprietors. 2. In every harvest, the borders of the fields were to be preserved and left to the poor and the stranger : accord- ing to tradition these borders must at least be the sixtieth part of the field ; and the law applied to all sorts of corn and legumes, the vine and olive, the nut- and date-trees. No poor man could be refused, and none was to be favoured in this privilege. 3. The proprietor was not allowed to glean the vine- yard after the gathering, nor take up the grapes which fell off; all this belonged likewise to the poor and the stranger. 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 169 4. "When thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it ; it shall be for the stranger, the father- less, and the widow: that the Lord thy Grod may bless thee and all the works of thy hands." 5. "When thou beatest thy olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow." 6. "At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thy increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: and the Levite, because he has no part nor inheritance with thee, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within thy gates, shall come and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hand which thou doest." When a man borrowed money in times of need, the wealthier creditor was not permitted to demand interest for the loan , lest the poor man be still more hopelessly entangled in want and led into ruin. And if a garment were given as a pledge for the money, it was to be returned be- fore sunset, for, says the merciful lawgiver, "that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to pass that when he cries to Me, I will hear him, for I am compassionate." The ninth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour," was developed with parti- cular care. No unfounded report was countenanced ; perjury was forbidden as a heinous crime. In cases of hidden or insufficiently proved offences, which could, for this reason, not be made amenable to the law, the honest witness was to raise his voice fearlessly for the assertion of truth. Ju- dicial impartiality was in all cases to be rigidly maintained : 170 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. even the poor were not to be sheltered or favoured by a false and misplaced compassion. In some instances, the very laws of property were con- verted into precepts of morality. The property of man was to be sacred in the eyes of his neighbour, and no private enmity was to interfere with the rigid observance of this principle. Thus, in the words of the Bible: "If thou meet thy enemy's ox or his ass erring about, thou shalt surely bring it back to him." "If thou seest the ass of him that hates thee, lying under its burden, forbear to leave it to it : thou shalt leave it only with him." We now arrive at one of the most characteristic and important parts of the Mosaic legislation that which re- fers to the Sabbath year and the year of jubilee. The Sabbath itself, specially enjoined in the fourth command- ment, was repeated and enlarged upon in the later laws of Sinai; it was, besides, made the foundation of the peculiar and important civil arrangement that every seventh year was to be instituted as the "Sabbath year" or "year of re- lease." The Israelites were essentially an agricultural people ; all their wealth was in the soil which they tilled, and in the flocks and herds that grazed on their pastures. For six years, the land was theirs for sowing and planting, for reaping and gathering in; but in the seventh year, which, as it were, was the Lord's and not the husbandman's, the fields, the vineyards, and the olive groves were to rest; the produce which they brought forth spontaneously, belonged for common use to the proprietors, the servants, the poor r the stranger, and the beasts. No debts were exacted in the seventh year except from strangers, and all pledges were to be redeemed. In fact, it was the year of goodwill, of kindness, of charity, when men recognized that the earth with all its wealth was the Lord's, and that they were only sojourners and strangers upon.it. Like the Sabbath, 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 171 it tended, to purify the mind from selfishness and worldli- ness, to instil into the heart a feeling of love and bene- volence and to ennoble the faith in God by practical virtue. The beautiful ideas implied in these institutions were still further carried out, in a manner that entered even more deeply into the national life of the people. As the years rolled on, and when the Sabbath year had been repeated seven times, that is to say after every forty nine years, the "year of jubilee" was to be held. The fiftieth year, devoted to rejoicing, and ushered in by the solemn blast of the trumpet, proclaimed universal liberty. All persons were restored to their original condition in ..which they were placed by the Divine Law and by the first distribution of the land. Every slave was freed, every pledge restored, every debt cancelled. Every hired servant and poor bond- man might return to his own family and to the possessions of his fathers. In that year also the land was the Lord's, and men might neither sow nor reap. The Mosaic legislation constantly brought the Israel- ites and the land they inhabited into direct relation with their Creator; and this principle appears nowhere more strikingly than in the Hebrew festivals. Most of them celebrated special or historical events, and were designed to recall the love and mercies of a bounti- ful God. But they were besides connected with the chief epochs of the agricultural year. They were solemnized in the spring-time, summer, and autumn, at the beginning and end of the corn - harvest, and at the conclusion of the ingathering of fruit. On each of these festivals the Israel- ites were called upon to attend at the Temple of Jerusalem. There the fruits of the earth were laid before the altar, and the pious and grateful husbandman poured forth his song of thanksgiving and of praise to the Almighty who had blessed the labour of his hands. But the voice of the past 172 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. was heard again in the voice of the present, and to the gratitude for the ever recurring mercies of God was added the tale of the redemption from Egyptian bondage and other trials. The first of these festivals was the feast of Passover, solemnized for seven days from the fifteenth day in the month of Nisan, the first month in the year, when the land of Palestine is bright with the ripening corn. It was to be kept for seven days in commemoration of the release from Egypt. The Israelites were, during that period, to eat un- leavened bread only, as their forefathers had been compelled to do when they accomplished their hasty flight. It was the anniversary of their nation's birth, of the last faint clank of their chains , of their first note of freedom. And in order to impress the importance of this festival, it was decreed that, if any member of the chosen nation were de- barred, whether on account of a journey or sickness or mourning, from celebrating it at the appointed time, he was to keep it on the fifteenth day of the following or second month, and this was termed "the second Passover. r It marked the commencement of the summer crops. Ripened by the hot eastern sun, the corn, in the month of April, is ready to be gathered in; therefore the first sheaf of ripe barley was presented by the priest on the second day of Passover as a firstfruit- offering. The paschal lamb and other ceremonials connected with the festival have been mentioned before (p. 137). Seven full weeks after the feast of Passover, the second great festival was celebrated, the feast of Pentecost, which was in truth the festival of the harvest. It fell in the loveliest season of the year, when, from the shores of the Mediterranean to the heights of Judea and northward to the fertile plains of Samaria and Galilee, the land of Palestine smiles fair in summer beauty. A deep -blue and cloudless 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 173 sky arches over the purple vineyards and the dark olive groves; the husbandman, who had gathered in his harvest of wheat , repaired to the Temple of God to praise and glorify Him for His bounty. It was a great and solemn rejoicing, shared by the entire nation, the servant, the stranger, the bondman; it was the season for feasting, for joyful assemblies, for public games and dances. Tradition, without depriving this holiday of its beauti- ful and intimate connection with nature, adds to it a spir- itual significance, and considers it as a commemoration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai; and at present, when offerings at the Temple are impossible, and the Jews are scattered through all climes, the latter meaning is al- most exclusively associated with the days of Pentecost. The feast of Tabernacles was appointed for seven days from the fifteenth day of the seventh month, later called Tishri. It marked the end of the autumn, when the rainy season which corresponds with our winter, was about to commence. It was the harvest of the vine and the olive, the ingathering of the fruit so needful and delicious. It was indeed a fitting moment for another, perhaps the great- est, festival of gratitude to the Lord. But like the two other chief festivals, it had a twofold meaning; besides its agricultural character, it was intended to keep alive the memory of the Divine protection so mercifully bestowed upon the Israelites during their forty years' wanderings in the desert. And in order to bring that remembrance con- stantly and vividly before the people, they were commanded during the seven days of the festival to live in Tabernacles, as their fathers had done in the wilderness. They were to build for themselves booths, and to adorn them with branches of the palm-tree, twigs of the myrtle, willows of the brook, and the fragrant citron, thus filling their tem- porary habitations with the types of the varied productions 174 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. of the soil. There, in the still eastern night, they might catch, through the slight, leaf -covered roof, a glimpse of the starlit sky ; and there, surrounded by the obvious proofs of God's bounty, they were reminded of that unchanging goodness which had guided their fathers through the desert, and had given to them that beautiful land upon which His eye watches "from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." Besides these three festivals, two others of a purely spiritual character were instituted. As those just described were eminently feasts of rejoicing, so were the others fes- tivals of serious contemplation and of self -affliction. On the first day of the seventh month, "a day of memorial" or "a day of blowing the trumpet" was commanded to be kept. Its character is not described in the Bible beyond being designated as a day on which no work was to be done, and solemn sacrifices were to be offered to Grod. But Jewish tradition, working out every allusion of Scripture, con- siders it as the commencement of the religious year, and moreover, as the beginning of a season of penitence, which culminates in the "Day of Atonement" solemnized on the tenth of the same month. On this, the most sacred day of the year, a complete fast is to be kept from even till even: body and soul are alike to be afflicted for the sins and transgressions of the past ; forgiveness is to be prayed for in all humbleness; the soul is to be restored to purity, and the heart to repose and peace. In this sense the Day of Atonement is still observed by the Jewish people, who justly regard it as the most spiritual, the sublimest of their ' festivals. At the three great agricultural festivals, every Israelite was commanded to worship in the common Temple of Je- rusalem, and to present his offering to the Lord. Thus three times in the year, caravans and multitudes of Isra- 40. THE BOOK OF THE COVENANT. 175 elites from every part of the land, might be seen journeying towards Jerusalem. Many, if not called away by urgent duties, would remain in the holy city during the weeks that intervened between Passover and Pentecost. As the precincts of Jerusalem could not contain this mighty host of pilgrims, tents were pitched all round the town, forming one great camp, and there a scene of indescribable animation and eager interest presented itself. The flocks and herds grazed round the tents, and the camels that had come laden with provisions, dotted the adjoining fields and plains. The code of laws concluded with an earnest exhorta- tion to the children of Israel, to listen to and obey the voice of God's servant Moses : "Behold, I send a messenger before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, obey his voice, provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions ; for My name is in him." When Moses proclaimed the words of the Lord to the people, they all promised obedience with one voice. This covenant between Grod and Israel was ratified in a peculiar manner. "Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and built an 'altar under the moun- tain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, and they offered burnt -offerings and sacrificed thank-offer- ings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the Book of the Covenant, and read before the ear of the people: and they said, All that the Lord has said shall we do and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you on the condition of all these words." After the sacrifice, Moses and Aaron, accompanied by 176 41. THE TABERNACLE. Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, went up to Mount Sinai, where the glory of the Lord ap- peared to them. "And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet like a work of pellucid sapphire, and like heaven itself in its clearness." But Moses alone ascended to the top of the mountain which was enveloped by a thick cloud. On the seventh day, God called Moses, who then passed within the cloud and remained there, with- drawn from the sight of the people, for forty days and forty nights. 41. THE TABEKNACLE. [Exod. XXV XXVII. XXX.] When the chief moral and civil laws had been given to the Israelites, and been accepted by them with cheerful readiness, it was important that the observance of their faith should be secured and strengthened by outward symbols and a regular form of worship. It was above all deemed desirable to establish some visible sign of God's presence among the people. The idea that the spirit of the'Almighty dwelt among them, and led them in their wanderings, was soul-stirring and encouraging; it intensified religious belief; it cheered the desponding, and roused the indolent. To keep this thought before their minds with the utmost vi- vidness, a permanent dwelling-place for the glory of the Lord or a "Tabernacle" was to be constructed. Hallowed by the sanction of God, it was to be like a banner around which they should rally when menaced by outward enemies ; it was to be an unfailing safeguard against their own fatal weakness, when tempted to lean towards idolatry. During the forty days and nights which Moses spent on Mount Sinai, he was instructed by the Lord in all the details of the Tabernacle and its service ; and when he 41. THE TABERNACLE. 177 returned to the Israelites, he proceeded at once to carry out the precepts he had received. Let us picture to ourselves the holy edifice as it stood when completed. The Tabernacle consisted of three distinct parts the Holy of Holies, the Sanctuary or Holy, and the Court. The two former were the Tabernacle in the stricter sense. This was thirty cubits long, ten cubits broad, and ten cubits high, and formed therefore an oblong square, the longer sides being those extending from east to west. It was made of boards of acacia wood plated with gold, each of which Avas ten cubits long and one cubit and a half broad. The boards, in order to be fixed in the ground, were each pro- vided at the end with two tenons, which fitted in sockets of silver. But only the northern, southern, and western sides were in this manner framed of wood. At the eastern side was the entrance, which was covered with a curtain of blue, red, and crimson, and twined byssus. This curtain, which formed a square of ten cubits, was supported by five pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold, fixed by means of golden hooks and five sockets of brass. The fifth side or the ceiling consisted of a costly covering composed of car- pets or curtains of twined byssus, and blue, red, and crim- son, with figures of the Cherubim interwoven ; over it was a covering of goats', hair made of eleven curtains ; and over this a third covering of rams' skins died red, and a fourth of badgers' skins, both of which were not only spread over the ceiling, but hung down at the sides without as a pro- tection against the injurious influences of the weather. The structure just described was divided into two parts of a different degree of sanctity by a splendid curtain adorned .with the images of the Cherubim, and suspended immediately under the loops and hooks of the first covering, so that the western part was ten, and the eastern twenty voi.i. 12 178 41. THE TABERNACLE. cubits long. The former was the Holy of Holies, the latter the Sanctuary or the Holy. This curtain also hung, like that of the whole Tabernacle, on pillars of gilt acacia wood, but they were only four in number, fixed by means of hooks of gold and four sockets of silver. Golden nails were here likewise applied to fasten the curtain to the pillars. Around the Tabernacle was a Court, one hundred cu- bits long, fifty cubits broad, and formed by pillars and curtains five cubits high: the pillars were of wood not plated with metal, twenty on each of the longer sides, ten on the shorter ones; the curtains were of fine twined linen. The entrance into the Court was from the east, "so that when the sun arose, it might send its first rays upon it." Exactly in the middle was a door, twenty cubits wide, overhung with a curtain of the same materials and workmanship as that before the Sanctuary. The Court had no covering above, but was exposed to the air; and from without it was, like the Tabernacle, fastened in the ground by pins and tent-ropes. Within the Coui't stood two holy implements. 1. The Altar of Burnt" Offering. It was formed of hollow boards of acacia wood covered with brass, and filled with earth. It was three cubits high, and five long and broad. At the four corners were four horns of the same wood over- laid with brass. It had a border, and under it a grate or network of brass, probably in order to receive whatever might fall from the altar, especially wood and ashes. To the altar belonged various vessels of brass, as pots and basins, forks and fire-shovels. 2. The Laver, in which the priests washed their hands and feet before they commenced their sacred duties. It stood between the brazen altar and the curtain of the Sanctuary. It was made of brass, chiefly "of the looking glasses of the women who served at the door of the Tabernacle." 41. THE TABEBNACIiE. 179 The chief implements of the Holy or Sanctuary were three in number -the Shew-bread Table, the Candlestick, and the Altar of Incense. 1. The Table was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold one cubit and a half high, two cubits long, and one broad. The top was encircled at the border with a golden wreath or crown. Four golden rings were fastened in the four corners of the feet, probably immediately under the border or enclosure; and two staves of acacia wood over- laid with gold, were put into the rings for the transport of the Table in the journeys of the Hebrews. Twelve unleavened cakes, in two equal rows, were placed upon this Table as a permanent cereal offering for the twelve tribes of Israel. On each row pure frankincense was burnt, as a symbol that the shew-bread was offered to God and sacred to Him. Every sabbath they were taken from the Table and eaten by the priests, but at once replaced by 'new ones. The vessels belonging to the Table were all of gold the dishes for the cakes, the bowls for the frankincense, the cans and cups for the wine used at the libations which were most probably connected with the burning of the incense. 2. Opposite the Table, and occupying the southern or southwestern part of the Sanctuary stood the Candlestick. It was made of pure gold, and consisted of seven arms ; for it rested on a base from which rose a shaft that divided itself into three branches on each side. On each of the arms burnt a lamp filled with pure olive oil, six from even- ing till morning, but one from evening to evening. The arms themselves were ornamented with calyxes of almond flowers, pomegranates, and blossoms of the lily or some other flower. To the candelabrum belonged as necessary utensils golden snuffers and fire-shovels. 3. Between the Shew-bread Table and the Candlestick, 12* 180 41. THE TABEBNACLE. and before the curtain that separated the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies, stood the Altar of Incense. It was square, made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, ornamented round the top with a golden wreath, and furnished with horns, on which the High-priest put the blood of atonement. On this altar no sacrifice of any kind was offered, but the priest burnt every morning and every evening a peculiar frankin- cense most carefully prepared. When the High - priest passed from the Sanctuary, through the costly curtain, into the sacred and mysterious Holy of Holies, he found there the Ark or the Ark of the Covenant or of the Testimony. It consisted of three distinct parts. 1. The Ark itself, having the form of an oblong chest, was made of acacia wood plated with fine gold from within and from without. Round it was a border encircling it like a crown. It stood on four feet, each of which was provided with a ring; and through these rings were passed the two gilded staves of acacia wood, by which the Ark was carried. Into it were placed the two tablets of the Law, and nothing more ; but before it an urn filled with manna, and the bloom- ing staff of Aaron (see infra). 2. On the Ark was the Mercy-Seat, formed of pure gold and thus made distinct from the Ark. It was one of the most important parts of the Tabernacle, and the place where the blood of atonement was sprinkled on the most solemn occasions of the year. 3. On the Mercy -seat and forming one whole with it, were two golden figures of the Cherubim, with their wings expanded, and their faces turned to each other and looking down upon the Mercy -seat. All that we can infer with respect to their shape is, that they were probably not very large, winged, and of the human form. They were intended to serve as symbols for the Presence of Grod which filled 42. GARMENTS OF THK PRIESTS. 181 the Holy of Holies ; and the High-priest, as he entered the sanctified spot with awe and reverence, glanced from the type of the one infinite heavenly Being to the Ark wherein lay the words of the Lord as He had revealed them to His prophet Moses. The glory of God was alone to illumine the Holy of Holies ; neither the rays of the sun, nor the light of lamps was allowed to penetrate into the mysterious dwelling- place of the Lord. 42. THE GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS. [Exod. XXXVIII. XXXIX.] After God had described to Moses the holy edifice and all its parts, He gave him His directions concerning the priests who were to perform the sacred offices in that Sanctuary. Israel had been chosen as a holy people from among all other nations ; now the Levites were chosen from among the other tribes as specially consecrated; they con- stituted more particularly "the kingdom of priests." But among the Levites, the family of Aaron was singled out to do God's service; Aaron himself was appointed the first High -priest, the spiritual king, the man who interceded between God and His people. Now, the very garments were to denote the sacredness and reveal the spiritual mission of the priests. They were symbolical, and therefore minutely prescribed. The vestments of the common priests consisted of the tesselated tunic, the drawers, the girdle, and the turban. 1. The Tunic was a long close robe without folds, of white linen, with sleeves, covering the whole body down to the feet. It was woven in an entire piece, and formed one whole, with an aperture for the neck. It is described as tesselaled, because the forms of squares were interwoven 182 42. GARMENTS OF THK PRIESTS. m it. The white colour was a symbol of purity, the fine linen pointed to sanctity, the interwoven squares were un- derstood as an emblem of completeness. 2. Over this tunic was tied the Girdle, made of fine linen with blue, red, and crimson, and embroidered with figures like the curtain of the Court and the Sanctuary. It was very long and broad, and was tied several times round the waist, while the end hung loosely down to the ancles; but whenever the priest was engaged in active ministrations, he threw the end over his left shoulder, in order not to be impeded in his work. Although the girdle formed an indispensable part of the oriental dress, it is more especially the symbol of readiness, of office, and of appoint- ment to fixed duties; and it had this meaning in the priest- ly attire. 3. The drawers are thus described by Josephus : "They are a girdle composed of fine twined linen ; the feet are in- serted into them in the manner of breeches; but above half of them is cut off, and they end at the thighs, and are there tied fast." 4. The head of the common priest was covered by the Turban; it was made of thick folds of linen, doubled round many times and firmly sown together; and it was fastened to the head by means of ribbons to prevent its falling off. This turban, which was never to be removed, was to remind the priest that the head, the seat of reflection and wisdom, was especially consecrated, that he should hallow his thoughts, and direct all his ideas to purity and truth. The High-priests shared these garments with the com- mon priests; but they had, besides, distinguishing vestments and ornaments which proclaimed their office to be one of higher importance and holiness. 1. The High-priest wore on his mitre a plate of gold, sometimes called a crown, reaching probably only from one 42. GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS. 183 temple to the other, and fastened to the turban by a thin ribbon. On this glittering ornament the significant words "Holiness to the Lord" (ni!T^ EHp) were inscribed. They declared that the wearer was entirely devoted to the ser- vice of God, and that his mission was to elevate and sancti- fy the chosen people. The plate was, like the diadem, the emblem of royalty, for the High -priest was the anointed chief of the kingdom of priests, the spiritual representative of the Israelites, the visible connecting link between God and His people. 2. But the most characteristic garment of the High- priest was the Ephod, which he wore above the tunic. It- was made of the finest texture, "the work of the skilful weaver," not only of blue and red, crimson and fine twined linen, but also of gold threads, which were again to symbolise the sovereignty of the High-priest as spiritual king ; it was without sleeves, and consisted of two parts called "shoulder- pieces," one of which covered the back, the other the breast and the upper part of the body. Where they were united on the shoulders, two onyx-stones set in gold were fixed. On these onyx -stones ^the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were to be engraved , six on each stone, according to their age; and the High-priest was to wear these stones as 'stones of memorial' for the children of Israel when he stood before God. The significance of this arrangement is self- evident. The High -priest represented Israel before God; the stones were, therefore, for the people, who saw them and their names engraved on them, a memorial that the High-priest officiated in their name; that he interceded in their favour; that he* strove to expiate their sins and to reconcile them with their Creator, from whom they had swerved by their transgressions. The stones with the names on them were, therefore, for every individual an earnest admonition to render himself, by repentance and atonement, 184 42. GARMENTS OF THE PRIESTS. worthy of that reconciliation; for the prayers and the sacri- fices of the High-priest are efficacious only in so far as the people itself shows a craving after the restoration of that blissful harmony."* The ephod had a band or girdle, woven of the same costly texture, and forming with it one entire piece. 3. Above the ephod and attached to it by two chains twisted of gold thread, and resting chiefly upon the heart, was the Breast -plate of Decision. This remarkable portion of the pontifical vestments was woven of the same fine texture and the same costly materials as the ephod, with which it was meant to stand in close connection. On the breast -plate sparkled twelve precious stones in four equal rows ; on each stone the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel was engraven. "Nothing represents both the origin and destiny of man in a more striking and more beautiful manner than precious stones carefully worked out. Like the jewel, man is a child of the earth; but as this earthly frame encloses the breath of God and an eternal soul, it is a precious treasure in the eyes of God; He values man as bearing His image and His indelible impress. But it is the aim of man to train himself from a creature of the earth into a denizen of heaven, to transform the gloom and heaviness inherent in matter into the aerial brightness which is the essence of the spirits ; and the smiling splend- our of the precious stones, which are, like him, taken from the same dark womb of the common mother, symbolize to him that internal regeneration, that ascending from earth to heaven, from impurity to purity, from worldliness to sanctity, which is the innermost tendency of the Mosaic dispensation. But, further, the jewels are, among all an- cient nations, regarded as the foci of light, as the eyes of the earth; they are the emblems of the stars, which they * See Kalisch, on Exod. XXVIII. 42. GARMENTS OF THE PJRIESTS. 185 rival in splendour; their brilliancy recalls the brightness of heaven; and if the names of the tribes were engraven on twelve stones, the hosts of Israel were reminded to strive after the light and the purity of the heavenly hosts." (Ibid.) The twelve jewels, as far as it is at present possible to ascertain the meaning of the Hebrew terms, were as follows : 1. Carnelian, topaz, and smaragd. 2. Carbuncle, sapphire, and emerald. 3. Ligure, agate, and amethyst. 4. Chrysolite, onyx, and jasper. These stones were, at the same time, used for a very peculiar purpose. By their means, the High-priest was, in critical and difficult emergencies, enabled to discover and reveal the will of Grod; hence the breast -plate was de- signated "the breast -plate of decision;" and the twelve stones are described by the remarkable terms Urim and Thummim, or Light and Truth. As, therefore, the Urim and Thummim are identical with the twelve gems, they must bear some reference to the symbolical meaning of the latter; and this is, as has been observed above, purification from the state of sin and worldliness. "The brilliancy of the precious stone is a type of the shining splendour of the purified soul and of the celestial orbs. Now the Urim and Thummim are nothing else than this 'per- fect light or brilliancy;' they represent the absolute banish- ment of terrestrial selfishness, the highest possible degree of self-denial. Therefore, Aaron had to wear them on the heart, the source of all desires, of all mundane propensities, on the heart which is 'deceitful above all things and wick- ed, which no man knows and which God alone searches.' If the heart of the High-priest was purified, if he pursued no other interests than the welfare of his people, then only was he worthy and capable of becoming the medium through 186 42. GAKMENTS OF THE PEIESTS. which Israel received advice and guidance in times of trouble and uncertainty. And hence the much -disputed question, in what manner the answers of the TJrim and Thummim were given, is easily to be decided. The High - priest was, by the sight of the gems, powerfully impressed with the grandeur of his mission; his mind gave itself up entirely to the duties of his office; all earthly thoughts vanished before him; he was raised to a prophetic vision, and in this state of sanctity God deigned to reveal to him His will and the destinies of His people ; and both the High-priest and the people were convinced of the truth of such inspira- tions. But there is this difference between the High-priest and the prophet, that the former has to try to rise up to God by moral exertion, whilst God descends to the latter spontaneously; the one is a servant, the other a messenger; and therefore the office of the High-priest is continuous, while prophets are only inspired in extraordinary times and for special purposes." (Ibid.) 4. To complete the magnificent attire of the High- priest, he wore between the ephod and the tunic the Robe, which was longer than the ephod and shorter than the tunic. It was of fine blue wool, without sleeves, woven of one piece with an aperture for the neck, round Avhich a strong border was worked for protection from tearing. The blue colour of the garment was a significant symbol of that heavenly virtue, which was to be the constant aim of the High - priest. Yet in order that his principal vest- ment might not be wanting in those colours which chiefly characterise the Tabernacle and the priestly attire, it ended in a broad hem of pomegranates of blue, red, and crimson. Between these pomegranates small golden bells were inserted. The bells were not merely meant to be an additional ornament, but they served a more important purpose. Their sound, produced when Aaron walked into 43. THE GOLDEN CALF. 187 the Sanctuary to perform the prescribed service, or when he returned after its completion, was to call the attention of the worshipping Israelites in the Court to the sacredness of his office, and to impress their minds with deep re- verence ; for without the pious devotion of the people, the intervention of the High - priest before God was of little avail. Thus magnificently were the High-priest and the priests attired; yet were they to approach the Sanctuary with uncovered feet, that they might constantly be remind- ed of modesty and humility. 43. THE GOLDEN CALF. [Exod. XXXII.] The Israelites had watched Moses from their tents as he disappeared amidst the flames $,nd the smoke of Mount Sinai; they awaited his return 'with anxiety; but when day after day, week after week passed by, and they were still left without their chief and guide, they despaired of his re-appearance, and came to Aaron and said: "Rise, make us a god who shall go before us ; for as to this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Aaron, weak and well aware of the stubbornness and violence of the people, acceded to their demand. He bid the men and women bring their golden ornaments, which he melted and formed into the shape of a calf, most probably a likeness of the Egyptian Apis. Then the people exclaimed in wild rejoicing: "These are thy gods, o Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt;" and Aaron built an altar before the image and announced: "To-morrow is a feast to the Lord." The morrow came, and the reckless people brought their peace-offerings and their burnt-offerings, and sacrificed 188 43. THE GOLDEN CALF. to the idol. Then followed the usual public feasting with dancing and games. The Lord, as He communed with His servant Moses on the heights of Sinai, heard the impious sounds rising from the tents, and His wrath was great. He commanded Moses to descend, and to declare that He would utterly anni- hilate the rebellious people. But Moses prayed to the Lord humbly and fervently: "Lord, why is Thy anger kindled against Thy people, which Thou hast brought from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Where- fore should the Egyptians speak and say, To their mis- fortune He brought them out to slay them in the mountains, and to destroy them from the face of the earth? Turn from the rage of Thy anger, and recall the evil against Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants, to whom Thou hast sworn by Thy own self, and to whom Thou hast said, I will piultiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land of which I have spoken will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever." And the Lord heard the prayer of His pious servant. Moses then began to go down bearing in his hands the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments had been written by the finger of God. Joshua, his devoted follower, awaited him at the foot of the mountain. The sounds of merriment were rising loud in the air, and Joshua, the warrior, exclaimed, "There is a noise of war in the camp." But Moses answered, "It is not the voice of those who cry victory, nor the voice of those who cry defeat; the voice of those who sing do I hear.* And as he advanced, he came in full view of the camp. He saw the golden calf raised on high with the offerings burning before it, whilst around it danced and sang the infatuated multitude. The faithful servant of God was filled with horror at the impiety of the people; in his indignation and anger, he dashed the stone 43. THE GOLDEN CALF. 189 tablets out of his hands, and they were broken at the foot of the mountain. Then he advanced into the midst of the revellers, seized the calf, burned it in fire, and ground it into powder which he scattered in water; and of this water he made the Israelites drink to their own ignominy. He them turned upbraidingly to Aaron, demanding, "What has this people done to thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon it?" Aaron felt his miserable weakness, and re- plied in a confused manner, repeating the request of the children of Israel and his own guilty assent : "they gave me their gold; then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. ff Moses now went to the gate of the camp, and proclaimed in a loud voice: "He who is for the Lord may come to me;" whereupon the men of the tribe of Levi assembled round him as his faithful followers. Most terrible was their mission on that day; they were to wreak the Lord's vengeance on their sinful brethren. They were addressed by Moses: "Thus says the Lord Grod of Is- rael, Put every man his sword at his side, pass on, and re- turn from gate to gate in the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbour." - - The sons of Levi obeyed this fearful man- date, and three thousand Israelites fell on that day : "for Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord, yea, every man with his son, and with his brother, and bring upon yourselves a blessing to-day." Then Moses prayed again to God, and said: "Oh this people has sinned a great sin, and they have made to themselves a god of gold. And now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin ; but if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written. And the Lord said to Moses, Whosoever has sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book: therefore, now go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to thee. Behold, My messenger shall go before thee: and in the day 190 44. KENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. when I visit, I shall visit their sin upon them." The Israelites were to continue their journey to the land of promise, but the presence of the Lord would not be in the midst of them; for, said God, "Thou art a stiff-necked people, lest I consume thee on the way." When the Hebrews heard these words, they were afflicted with grief, laid off their ornaments, and delivered themselves up to mourning. But .Moses was commanded to pitch his tent outside the camp, and called it the "Tent of Meeting;" for here God met His servant Moses and communed with him. When the prophet went into the tent, all the people rose and looked until he was lost from their sight in a pillar of cloud, from which God "spoke to him face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." And as the pillar of cloud hovered above the door, the people, full of awe and reverence, bowed themselves down and worshipped. When Moses returned to the camp, he prayed to Gfod with fervour and zeal until he received the promise that God's glorious presence would lead the people onwards. 44. KENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. [Exod. XXXIII. XXXIV.] Then Moses full of faith and trust exclaimed: "0 show me Thy glory." He longed to see the whole mysterious great- ness of God, who had hitherto only appeared to him in a cloud of smoke. But "no man might see the Lord and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon the rock; and it shall come to pass, while My glory passes by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with My hand while I pass by. And then I will take away My hand, and thou shalt see My back , but My face 'cannot be seen." 4*. RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. 191 For the second time Moses, on the command of God, ascended to the heights of Sinai, alone and unseen by all, bearing in his hand two tables of stone which he had hewn instead of those he had broken. As he stood on the summit of the mountain, the Lord descended in a cloud, and once again He repeated His promises to Moses; nay He revealed to him His very nature and being. Passing before His ser- vant, He said: "The Eternal, the Eternal, a God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means always leave unpunished, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, to the third and to the fourth generation." He then renewed, through Moses, His covenant with the Israelites, briefly re-iterating the principal pledges and commands previously given and revealing the pith of the new creed: "Behold, I make a covenant : before all thj- people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a terrible thing which I will do with thee. Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Cana- anite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither tbou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. But you shall destroy their altars, break their images, and annihilate their Ashtartes. For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, Zealous is His name, He is a Zealous God, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land; for when they go astray after their gods, and sacrifice to their gods, they might invite thee, and thou mightest eat of their sacrifice, and take of their daughters to thy sons, and 192 44. RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. when thy daughters go astray after their gods , they might make thy sons go astray after their gods. Thou shalt make to thyself no molten gods. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib thou earnest out of Egypt. All that opens the womb is Mine, and all thy male cattle which is born, the firstling of ox or of sheep. But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb; and if thou dost not re- deem it, then shalt thou break its neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before Me empty. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in the time of ploughing and of reaping thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingath- ering at the year's circuit. Thrice in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I shall expel the nations before thee, and enlarge thy boun- daries : nor shall any man desire thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven ; nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left to the morning. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk." Moses stayed forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai , during which time "he neither ate bread nor drank water"; and the Lord wrote again the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone. And now Moses descended the rocky sides of the moun- tain, and this time he was awaited by Aaron and the Isra- elites with reverential awe. As he came from the presence of the Lord, his face shone with a heavenly light. The people could not look upon him; they were afraid of the 45. ERECTION OF THE TABERNACLE. 193 wonderful radiance that played round him. But he called Aaron, and the elders of the congregation, and the whole people, and communicated to them all the words of the Lord which he had heard on Mount Sinai. And when he had finish- ed speaking, he covered the glory of his face with a veil, a symbol of deep and earnest reflection, which should not be disturbed by outward objects; but when he communed with the Lord or with the people, he lifted the veil from his face. 45. ERECTION OF THE TABERNACLE. [Exod. XXXV XXXVIII. XL.] When Moses proclaimed to the Israelites how they should build a Tabernacle for the Lord, they were full of gladness and of alacrity to construct the sacred edifice as a fit and permanent dwelling-place for the glory of God. All, both men and women, brought their share, their free- will gift, according to their ability. All offered cheerfully their wealth and their labour, their skill and their ingenuity, to promote the holy undertaking. The camp soon presented a most lively appearance. But in order to avoid confusion or dispute, one master-mind was to have the entire super- vision of the work. Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah was selected for that purpose. He was endowed with the spirit of wisdom and of understanding. He was a man experienced in all workman- ship, able to invent designs in gold and silver or brass, to carve in wood, and to cut and set precious stones. With him was associated Aholiab of the tribe of Dan, who was a skilful weaver, and who, under the directions of Bezaleel, wove and embroidered the curtains, the hangings, and the priestly vestments. vol. i. 1 3 194 45. EBBCTION OF THE TABERNACLE. The work was carried on with zeal and eagerness. The women came laden with* ornaments, with their necklaces, rings, and bracelets of gold, while the men gave the skins, the fine wool, and the various other materials, such as brass and acacia wood. All who were able worked busily, and brought their textures of fine linen, spun goats' hair, and cloths of blue and crimson. Then the chiefs of Israel came forward with their treasures, their onyx - stones and their sparkling jewels, for the ephod and breast-plate of the High- priest. Nor were wanting the oil for the lamps, and the spices for the ointment and the incense. All these gifts were contributed in such large supplies that at last the workmen could find no use for them, and Moses was com- pelled to restrain the ardour of the people by proclaiming throughout the camp, that both men and women were to cease bringing their offerings. At last all was finished; and "Moses looked upon the work, and, behold, they had done it as the Lord had com- manded; and Moses blessed them." On the first day of the first month, nearly a year after the departure from Egypt, the Tabernacle of the Lord was erected by Moses, and all the sacred implements were put in their due places in the Holy of Holies, the Sanctuary, and the Court. The tablets of the Law were deposited in the Ark, the shew-bread was placed on the golden Table, the Candlestick lighted with the holy oil, and incense burnt on the golden Altar; while the Laver in the Court was filled with water, "that Moses and Aaron and his sons might wash their hands and their feet when they went into the Taber- nacle, and when they approached the Altar." Then Moses was enjoined to anoint and thereby to consecrate the holy edifice with all its vessels, and to clothe and anoint Aaron and his sons for their appointed ministrations. Yet before these commands were carried out, some other laws were 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 195 proclaimed that were indispensable for the proper perform- ance of the task. So then the Tabernacle, brilliant with colour, spark- ling with gold and silver, and enclosing the word of God in its innermost Sanctuary, rose before the enchanted gaze of the Israelites. But this was not all; the Tabernacle was visibly to be marked as the seat of the glory of the Lord. The people saw a cloud^ cover the Tent, and the heavenly radiance filled the habitation so completely that even Mo- ses was unable to enter. "And when the cloud arose from the Tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys ; but if the cloud did not arise, then they did not journey till the day that it arose. For the cloud of the Lord was upon the Tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys." 46. THE HEBREW SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. [Levit. I Til. XXII, 1333; Num. V, 5 10. XV. XXVIII. XXIX; Deut. XII, 1118, 26,27. XXVI, 111.] The place of worship had been duly appointed by God, the priests had been chosen, their garments prescribe^ then- consecration ordained. The Israelites were now not only a free, but destined to be a holy people, the people of God. The purity of their faith was to be their mark of distinction among the nations of the earth. All others worshipped a multitude of idols ; the Israelites were to do homage to the One God. All others bowed down before representations of created things, or before vain productions of their own imagination; the Hebrews prostrated their hearts before the glory of the Lord, whom they pictured by no figure or image. Their faith was indeed totally different from that 13* 196 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. of the nations around them : does the same hold true with respect to their worship? Far from it: their faith was Di- vine, hut the form of their worship was necessarily human: and adapted as it was to the requirements of an imperfectly educated people, it inevitably consisted of ceremonies and varied rituals. Worship is generally expressive of one of three feelings of thanksgiving, supplication, and contrition. We either praise the Lord for the benefits He has bestowed upon us; or we implore His help ; or we confess our failings and sins. These religious impulses were naturally the same in the Hebrew and the heathen worshipper, however different their creeds may have been. The priest of the Lord and the priest of Dagon solicited blessings through their sacrifices, although the one addressed his prayers to the Eternal and Merciful King, whilst the other bowed down before an im- potent idol. The earliest stage of worship was that of sacri- fices and offerings. These are found among nearly every nation of antiquity, and seem, therefore, to be prompted by a common human feeling. Yet with respect to them a clear progress is discernible. In the remotest times and among the least cultivated nations, sacrifices were offered from motives of awe and fear.- The worshippers wished to propitiate their gods, and to avert their wrath. Gradually a feeling of gratitude per- vaded their hearts ; successful men were proud of their flocks and herds, of their vineyards and olive-groves, and they con- veyed their thanks to the deities by appropriate sacrifices. Still later, when beauty, ease, and comfort found their way into man's life, he was induced, by a sentiment of joy, to share with the gods the best parts of his property ; sacrifi- cial repasts were held, in which the worshipper appeared as a friend of his god. Thus there were successively fear- offerings, thank-offerings, 'and joy-offerings. 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 197 Moreover, vows were a most important form of religi- ous service. A person about to engage in some difficult or dangerous enterprise, pledged himself, in case of success or deliverance, to a self-imposed sacrifice, that is, he offered a vow. This feeling, honourable in itself, became, however, too often a fearful evil by a narrow-minded application. A vow was deemed irrevocable, even if it was fatal and crimi- nal in its effects, even if it demanded the life of a beloved and innocent child. But in the lapse of ages, as religious education ad- vanced, it was felt that man ought not only to demand benefits, or express his gratitude when he had received them, but that, before he approached the altar with his gifts and supplications, he ought to expiate the guilty deeds which weighed upon his conscience. Thus his sacrifices be- came sin-offerings and purifications. And then profound minds became aware that the innate frailty of man will ever make him liable to transgression, and that sin-offerings were required not merely for special offences, but for human life in general with its temptations and moral trials. Thus, humility - sacrifices were introduced, the last and highest stage of offering, the one nearest allied to the sacrifice of the heart and spirit to prayer. But to prayer as a prin- cipal mode of worship, the ancient Hebrews were not per- mitted to advance. Supplications are indeed to be found in the Scriptures; but the prayers of Hannah, of David, of Solomon, and others, though beautiful and breathing piety and fervour, were only regarded as additions to sacrificial offerings ; and though they were often the spontaneous out- pourings of gratitude, despair, and entreaty, they were not an invariable or indispensable part of worship. The sacri- fices were the material expression of prayer, and the differ- ent kinds of offering explained sufficiently what prayer they denoted. 198 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. We shall now consider the sacrifices of the Hebrews as ordained in the Pentateuch. For this purpose, we shall have recourse to a work from which we have obtained as- sistance before. * The sacrifices consisted either of animal or of vegetable offerings. As a rule, the burnt-, the expiatory, and the pu- rification-offerings were animal sacrifices, while the thank- offerings could be either animal or vegetable. The sacrifices of animals were generally accompanied by a cereal offering, and by a libation of wine or a drink-offering. The following table comprises the chief offerings of the Hebrews: I. Burnt -offering exclusively an animal sacrifice. 31. .Toy-offering either animal or vegetable. 1. Praise -offering. 2. Thank-offering. 3. Paschal-offering. 4. Offering of firstborn animals. 5. Offering of firstfrifits. a. Offering of the first new ears of corn. b. Offering of the first new bread. c. Offering of the firstfruits of other vegetable productions. HI. Expiatory Offering. 1. Sin-offering mainly animal. 2. Trespass-offering animal. 3. Offering of jealousy vegetable. IV. Purification-offering mainly animal. 1. After childbirth. 2. After recovery from leprosy. 3. After recovery from illness. * Kalisch, Commentary on Leviticus, Part I. 46. SACBIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 199 V. Drink- offering. VI. Shew-bread. VII. Incense-offering. The victims were naturally limited to "clean animals". Therefore of quadrupeds, the cloven -footed ruminants were permitted: "But among these again the Law singled out the species which formed the ordinary food of the Israelites, were most valuable to agriculturists, and therefore really involved & sacrifice, an act of devoted self-denial; especially as the same animals, being bred, reared, and domesticated by the worshipper, bore a close connection with his pursuits and his ordinary life, and were creatures which he 'had toiled for and made grow.' Hence the quadrupeds ordained for sacrifices were not beasts like the hart, the roebuck, or the fallow deer, though these were considered clean and lawful for food, but mainly cattle, whether from the herd or from the flock; of the former class the bullock and ox, the corv and calf; of the latter class the sheep and the goat? (Ibid. Levit. pp. 78, 79.) Of fowls, turtle-doves alone and young pigeons were to be offered, because they were abundantly reared and kept in Palestine, and formed the principal animal food of the poor, though they were also found wild in mountains and ravines throughout the country. Fishes were not at all ac- cepted as sacrifices, evidently because they multiply freely in the water, without the care and control of man. "The significance of all these restrictions is manifest: the Law demanded for sacrifices not merely the tamest ani- mals, and such which were most readily at hand, but those which, at the same time, reminded the worshippers of their daily labour, of their dependence on Him who had allowed ,it to prosper, and of their deep obligations to His unceasing beneficence. Although the stag and the deer, when kept 200 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. and bred, were unquestionably the property of individuals, they could, as a species, not be claimed by legal owners, and might well be regarded, even if not presented on the altar, as belonging to Grod, the Lord of nature: 'I will take no bullock, says God, out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds ; for every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon thou- sands of hills.' Not all productions of the land, nor all the ar- ticles of food, were demanded, but those only which man had made his own by honest exertion and watchful care. The ob- lations were indeed to represent the property and sustenance, but also the active life and energy of the people. They were a partial restitution of the blessings which Grod had mercifully vouchsafed to the offerer; they impressed the seal of religion upon his gain; they hallowed his life for the maintenance of which that gain was destined." (Ibid. p. 81.) Similar principles decided the selection of the vegetable productions which were to be taken for the bloodless offer- ings, viz. flour or in some cases roasted grains rubbed out of the early ears of corn wine, and oil, which three produc- tions are often mentioned as the principal means of susten- ance, and the staple of Canaan's wealth. Salt was to be added on nearly all occasions. "Not the free and common gifts or the spontaneous vegetation of nature, however esteemed and precious, were to be dedicated to the Deity, not figs, pomegranates, dates, or almonds, though forming characteristic products of Palestine, but those objects only which the offerer had made his individual property by ex- ertion and anxious attention, and which he had obtained by the sweat of his brow: gratitude, humility, self-ab- negation, and the reality of a hard-working life were to be mirrored in every offering." (Ibid. p. 85.) Bloodless oblation. Vegetable offerings were presented at least as early as animal sacrifices, especially by poorer persons. But in the course of time, the notion evidently 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 201 gained ground that sacrifices, like ordinary repasts, ought to consist not only of meat, but also of vegetables or cereals and of wine. Hence it was ordained that all usual burnt- and thank-offerings should be accompanied by vegetable and drink-offerings. However, a cereal oblation was fre- quently presented alone as an independent sacrifice, for in- stance, by the nation every sabbath, when the twelve cakes of shew-bread were placed on the golden Table in the Holy;; on the second day of Passover, when the first sheaf of ripe barley was offered ; and on Pentecost, when the first loaves baked of the new wheat were laid on the altar; it was pre- sented by the very poor as a sin-offering for certain offences instead of an animal sacrifice; and in nearly all these cases the oblation was to consist of not less than one tenth of an ephah, or an omer of flour, which quantity was supposed to be required for the daily food of one person. Drink-offering. The Law, regulating an old practice or custom, prescribed that every animal holocaust or thank- offering, whether public or private, if consisting of a quad- ruped, should be accompanied not only by a cereal gift, but also by a libation of wine, which perhaps formed part of indepedent cereal oblations also. "The mode of libation is not described in the Law, but it appears that at least a part of the wine was out of golden vessels poured into the flames, and thus came upon the brazen altar, like the meat and the fat, the flour and the cakes, the oil and the incense, as 'food to the Lord' or 'an offering made by fire, a sweet odour to the Lord/ while the rest was probably, like the blood, poured out at the sides of the brazen altar. In this manner all the wine was disposed of, and the priests who were forbidden to drink any strong beverage when they entered the holy precincts, received no part of it." (Ibid. p. 230.) 202 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. Burnt -offer ing. Holocausts belong to the most im- portant forms of offering ; for they involve most perfectly the idea of sacrifice, and express the absolute submission to the power of the Deity. They were the foundation and the principal characteristic of the public worship of the He- brews. "Killed at the central Sanctuary, they were designed by the Law to keep alive the feeling of humble dependence on Jehovah, and were used as a chief acknowledgment of His theocratic rule. They marked the habitual tone of the religious life of the nation, for which reason the fire was to be permanently maintained on the brazen altar, both by day and night." They were presented in the name of the people, throughout the year, every morning and every evening, on every sabbath and day of the new -moon, on the three great agricultural festivals, when the people assem- bled to appear before the Lord, on the Day of Memorial celebrated on the first day of the seventh month, and on the Day of Atonement. They were also prescribed for people recovering from various kinds of illness, and for the Nazarite when he had been defiled by contact with a corpse. They were a part of the ceremonials of consecration when the Tabernacle or Temple was dedicated; when Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests; when the Levites were appointed as their ministers: on such occasions they were to denote the supremacy of God, to whom all men were subjected and to whom the priests owed their power as delegates and instruments. But apart from the compul- sory offering of holocausts ordained by the Law, they had a supreme importance as voluntary sacrifices. They were left in a great measure to the option of the pious, when on any particular occasion of joy, sorrow, or deliverance from peril and illness, they were anxious to testify their rever- ential submission, or their trust in God's power and mercy. In these cases, they frequently partook of the character of 46. SACBIFICES AND OFFEBINGS. 203 expiatory offerings, conveying a general expression of human weakness and sinfulness. Thus when the whole congre- gation unwittingly sinned or transgressed a Divine com- mandment, they were ordered to offer for their expiation both a bullock as a burnt -offering and a goat as a sin- offering. Indeed, holocausts were considered as an atone- ment when offered in a proper spirit. - - The holocaust has therefore not unjustly been called the best and high- est, the choicest and most exquisite kind of sacrifice; it was always to consist of an unblemished male animal, whether bullock, ram, or goat, because the male animals were considered the superior species ; and although the Law permitted or prescribed also holocausts of pigeons and turtle-doves of either sex, so as to render them accessible to poorer persons, the larger quadrupeds were selected in preference, and often slain in vast numbers. Thus we are told that Solomon, when his succession was secured, offered 1,000 animals; when he was anointed, 1,000 bullocks, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs; and when he consecrated the Temple, 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. But we hear of burnt-offerings long before the days of king Solomon. They appear indeed in the very earliest re- cords of the Bible! Abel, the shepherd, sacrificed the first- lings of his flocks; Noah presented a burnt - offering after leaving the Ark; Abraham offered the ram he had seen in a thicket when his son Isaac was restored to him. Thus from the first patriarchs of old, the Hebrews testified, by means of holocausts, their self-denial, submission, and reli- gious awe. Thank-offerings were intended as an acknowledgment of some temporal boon, and were naturally associated with feelings of a joyful and domestic character. God, the Master and Judge, was merged in Grod, the Benefactor and Rescuer. 204 48. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. The victims, whether of the herd or the flock, were not re- quired to he males; female animals were equally acceptable. The bloodless oblation added to the thank-offering, consist- ed, in some cases, not only of unleavened cakes and wafers, but also of leavened bread, to remind the Israelite of his ordin- ary life and subsistence. Not the whole animal was burnt, but some special parts only were delivered up to the Deity as "an offering made by fire, a sweet odour to the Lord." Two portions, the breast and the right shoulder, were reserved for the priests, who ate them with their wives, their children, and their servants, within the precincts of the Sanctuary, while the rest was consumed in convivial feasts, in any part of the sacred town, by the offerer him- self, Avith his family and household, with the Levite, the poor, and the stranger, his invited guests. All the fat, together with the members and organs to which it is chiefly attached, as the kidneys and the fat tail of certain kinds of sheep, was burnt to God on the altar; and the cereal oblation which belonged to the thank-offering, was richly prepared with oil; for not only were the cakes and wafers mingled and anointed, but the flour itself of which they were made, was sometimes saturated with it: therefore fatness, typical of abundance and prosperity, of joy and gra- titude, appears to have been the leading characteristic of thank-offerings. Expiatory Sacrifices. These offerings grew, as has been observed, from a feeling of human weakness a feeling which the Scriptures express in a thousand varied forms; a feeling which no trials, no miracles, no success, and no failure could change; which made itself heard in all ages, from the wanderings in the desert to the days of the exile. But, as a rule, the expiatory offerings were only permitted in cases of inadvertent or unintentional transgression; they were not 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 205 accepted .for deeds of wanton impiety or reckless violence. "The knowledge that 'the cogitation of man's heart is evil from his youth', was to afford no pretext for leniency to premeditated inalire, but was, on the contrary, to stimulate to vigilance and self-control. Divine forgiveness should be granted to the imperfection, but not to the perversion of human nature. The precepts of the Law, being the eman- ation of Divine wisdom, bore the stamp of holiness; they could not, without offence to their all -wise Author, be violated under any circumstances, or in any manner what- ever; they required, therefore, atonement even if trans- gressed unconsciously : their absolute sanctity marked every trespass as a deplorable guilt to be expiated by a sacrifice of self-humiliation." (Ibid. p. 253.) Hence the sin-offering, if an animal, was neither accom- panied by a cereal offering, nor by a libation of wine ; if a cereal offering, it was presented without oil and frank- incense: in the former case, it was to lose the character of social and domestic enjoyment, since it was no "food of the Lord;" and in the latter, it was not to recall the ideas of cheerfulness and festivity, of abundance and ornament; wherefore it was not designated "a sweet odour to the Lord." The flesh of those sin-offerings the blood of which did not come into the Holy, was indeed eaten by the male Aaron- ites, but the repast was serious and severe, devoid of genial conviviality, and forming a part of the ritual of expiation. Therefore the sin - offerings were naturally* placed in the class of "most holy" sacrifices. If any of their blood had fallen upon a garment, the latter was to be washed in the holy place, in the Court of the Sanctuary. Their flesh could be touched by holy persons or priests only ; it was burnt entirely whenever the blood had been sprinkled on the vail and put upon the horns of the altar of incense in the Holy; it was eaten, with the exception of the fat and the fat parts, 206 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. by the male Aaronites in the holy place, whenever the blood had been put upon the horns, and poured out at the bottom of the altar of burnt-offering in the Court. The Law was so anxious to secure the expiation of sin under all circumstances, that it permitted poor persons to present as a sin-offering a cereal oblation, simply consisting of the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour, of which the priest took off a handful as a memorial, and burnt it on the brazen altar, while the rest belonged to the priest, and then "the poor man's sin was atoned for and he was forgiven." The Pentateuch mentions two kinds of expiatory sacrifi- ces the Sin-offerings and the Trespass-offerings. The former were presented, in the name of the whole people, on all the great festivals and days of solemn consecration, on Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, on the Day of Memorial or the first day of the seventh month, and on the Day of Atonement. They also accompanied the inau- guration of any great public functionary, as the consecration of Aaron and his sons, and seven days later, the commence- ment of their new duties ; they preceded the initiation of the Levites and the dedication of a new Sanctuary. Moreover, they were connected with deliverance from serious perils, diseases, and impurities, every illness being considered the consequence of some transgression, or the result of man's general imperfection. The animals killed for trespass -offerings were males in all cases; mostfcommonly a ram seems to have been chosen, probably because sheep and especially rams were the pri- mitive medium of currency, chiefly for paying fines, and were, therefore, peculiarly appropriate, since trespass-offer- ings were originally presented as penalties for fraud. The mode of sacrificing was, for all cases, minutely laid down by the Law, and varied according to the different occasions. 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 207 "As we survey the expiatory offerings of the Hebrews, which for purity stand unrivalled in the ancient world, we are bound to admit that they were pre-eminently calculated to keep alive among the nation those feelings on which all religious life depends, and from which it flows as its natural source, the feelings of human sinfulness, and the conviction of Divine holiness, by the standard of which that sin- fulness is to be measured; they fostered, therefore, at once humility and an ideal yearning; and they effectually coun- teracted that sense of self-righteousness natural indeed to the pride of man, but utterly destructive of all nobler vir- tues. They were well suited to secure in the directest and completest manner that singleness of life and heart, which is the true end of all sacrifices. Every Israelite was to feel his transgression personally and individually; hence the sin-offerings were carefully and designedly varied according to the sinner's rank and position, both with regard to the choice of the victim and the mode of the ceremonial; where- as the holocausts, symbolising as they did merely a general admission of the common frailty inherent in human nature, were uniform for all persons. But the religious legislation was not to be brought into collision with the civil and political enactments; it was, on the contrary, meant to support and strengthen them; so far from endangering the safety of the state by an ill-advised leniency, it helped to eradicate the natural pro- pensity to crime and lawlessness; its operation was there- fore limited to involuntary trespasses, while the secular authorities were left free to deal with pre-meditated offences; it even abstained from interfering in some important cases of unintentional misdeeds, such as homicide, for which it prescribed no sacrifice, but admitted a worldly punishment : satisfied to act as a silent instrument for the reformation of the hearts, it indeed effectually contracted the application, 208 46. SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. but did not injudiciously weaken the authority of the cri- minal code. Hence, though bearing the character of vicari- ousness, the sin-offerings were far from encouraging an ex- ternal worship by lifeless ceremonies; in themselves the spontaneous offspring of religious repentance, and thus naturally helping to nourish the same beneficent feeling, they were the strongest guarantee for a life of honesty and active virtue." (Ibid. p. 281.) 47. THE PEIESTS AND LEVITES. [Exod. XXIX; Levit. VIII X. XXI. XXII; Num. III. IV. VIII. etc.] Before we proceed with our narrative, it is necessary to give a short account of the priesthood, which forms so important a part in the economy of the Hebrew institu- tions. Although the priests seldom evinced the sublime and pure devotion of the Hebrew prophets ; although they were at times justly censured for venality, indolence, and faithlessness: they were the appointed guardians of the Law, and the elected intercessors between the chosen people and their God. In the patriarchal ages, the father of each family was the priest of his own household. He built the altar, he burnt the incense, he offered the sacrifices. Thus there was a temple of God in each rude tent. This arrangement was strengthened by the prevailing notion that the firstborn sons belonged specially to God, and were therefore natur- ally devoted to His service. But when, after the deliver- ance of the Hebrews from Egypt, a political commonwealth was to be organised, it was found a practical impossibility that just the chiefs of the families upon whom so many duties and responsibilities devolved, should give themselves up entirely to the priestly function. It was, therefore, or- dained that in the place of the firstborn of each family, a 47. THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. 209 member of oue chosen tribe should perform the offices of priesthood. The tribe of Levi was, in early times, conspicuous for fierce and indomitable courage; it long preserved many of its characteristics of daring and violence; and it was from this hardy warrior tribe, that the Hebrew priests were taken. The Levites were invested with prominent lustre and glory by the name of Moses ; and they had, on several impor- tant occasions, exhibited a praise-worthy zeal and devotion in the cause of religion. Yet the priesthood was not con- ferred upon Moses, but upon his elder brother Aaron and his lineal descendants; with remarkable consistency, all the remaining branches of the tribe that is, the families of Grershon and Merari, of Izhar and Uzziel, and of Moses himself were set apart as the ministers of the priests, or the Levites in the stricter sense, and had to perform the more menial duties in connection with the service of the Sanctuary. The priests were required to be without personal ble- mish of any kind. They were probably only permitted to officiate during the best years of their strength, and thus they represented the flower and manhood of the people. Next to righteousness of life and faultlessness of form, external purity was considered the chief emblem of godli- ness. Therefore, the priest had to keep aloof from every thing that might make him unclean. He was not allowed to approach dead bodies except those of his nearest blood- relations of his father and mother, of his son and daughter, his brother and unmarried sister; and if he officiated at the altar in a state of impurity, he had to fear the punishment of excision. However, piety and holiness were the first and chief requirements of the priest; for he was called upon to glorify Vol. i. 14 210 47. THE PKIESTS AND LEVITES. God by his conduct and actions, and not by his teachings alone. A priest's daughter who had been guilty of any moral offence, was given over to the flames. Wine or any strong beverage, calculated to disturb perfect clearness of thought, was strictly forbidden during the time of minis- trations. In affliction or bereavement, the priest was not to abandon himself to a vehement display of grief, but to maintain, as much as possible, a serene composure. As it was deemed necessary to relieve the priests from material cares and anxieties, they were amply provided for by the Law, and received from the produce and the sacri- fices of the Hebrews very considerable portions. Thirteen towns within the provinces of Judah, Simeon, and Benja- min, were assigned to them as their abodes. They were free from military service and all taxes. Thus they could devote themselves undisturbed to their important duties. These duties were manifold. They embraced the ser- vice in the Court, the Holy, and the Holy of Holies. The priests had to perform all the significant rites connected with offerings, especially to sprinkle the blood and burn the flesh, to heave and wave the dedicated portions of victims, and to burn the memorial in cereal oblations. They had to keep up the perpetual fire on the brazen altar in the Court, and there to offer the regular daily holocausts. They had to burn the incense on the golden altar in the Holy, to dress the lamps of the Candlestick, and to remove every sabbath from the Shew-bread table the twelve unleavened cakes, and to replace them by new ones. During the wan- derings of the Hebrews, they had to guard the Tabernacle and its utensils, to wrap them up when the journeys were resumed, and to deliver them to the Levites for transport. Whenever individuals or the whole nation had publicly to perform religious rites, the priests were the mediators or agents ; for instance, in the ceremonies preceding the release 47. THE PKIESTS AND LEVITES. 211 of the Nazarite; at the ordeal prescribed for suspected wi- ves; at the expiation of an untraced murder; and at the examination and cleansing of leprous persons, houses, and garments. They were probably the physicians of the nation over which they exercised a kind of sanitary supervision. They regulated the calendar, and watched over the legal accuracy of weights and measures. They had, at certain times, in peace and war, to blow the silver trumpets. They accompanied military expeditions, sometimes with the Ark of the Covenant. Before the commencement of battle, they had to encourage the soldiers with the following address: "Hear, o Israel, approach this day to battle against your enemies; let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble nor be terrified on account of them ; for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, to fight with you against your enemies to save you." As they were specially elected and invested with the Divine spirit, it was their particular mission to study the Law, to teach and to diffuse it, and "to instruct the chil- dren of Israel in all the statutes which the Lord had spoken to them through Moses." They had to read every seven years on the Feast of Tabernacles the principal laws of the Pentateuch to the assembled people, "that they may listen and learn, and fear the Lord, and observe to do all the words of the Law." It was their privilege to bless the people in the name of God, to consult the Ark of the Covenant or the Urim and Thummim in emergencies of danger or impor- tance, and to act as supreme judges in difficult cases; for "by their word shall every controversy and every violence be tried." From the nature of all these functions it is apparent that the priests required, on the one -hand, a chief who could represent the whole order and act as the mediator between God and the entire people ; and, on the other hand, 14* 212 47. THE PEIESTS AKD LEVITES. ministers or assistants who might relieve them from the menial and low duties connected with the service of the Sanctuary. They received a chief in the High -priest, and assistants in the Levites. The High -priest, invested both with greater holiness and higher responsibilities, was the embodiment of the theocratic community itself. He was consecrated by a more copious anointment than the common priests, and was, therefore, simply called "the anointed priest" or even distin- guished by the name "the holy of the Lord." There could of course only be one High-priest at a time. The sin of the High- priest caused or involved the sin of the nation. The dignity was confined to Aaron and his descendants through Eleazar, the eldest of his surviving sons, and was certainly not ex- tended to any other branch of his tribe. The High -priest was permitted to marry none but a Hebrew virgin. He held his office for life; his death marked an epoch in the exis- tence of the nation ; and when it happened, the involuntary homicide who had escaped into a city of refuge, was per- mitted to return to his home. It was his prerogative espe- cially, to consult the Urim and Thummim, which he wore on his breast. He exercised supreme supervision over the entire public worship. He sacrificed the sin - offering for himself and the people. On the Day of Atonement, he ex- piated the sins of community by most solemn and imposing rites. He occupied a high position, if he did not preside, in the supreme tribunals. He was not allowed to approach the dead bodies even of his father and his mother. He was rigorously to abstain from all external signs of mourning. He was to keep himself in perfect and constant purity ; for "he should not go out of the Sanctuary, nor profane the Sanctuary of his God, for the crown of the anointing oil of God is upon him." His garments were, even in a higher sense than those of the common priests, to be made for 47. THE PEIESTS AND LEVITES. 213 u glory and distinction." They were marked both by greater splendour and higher significance, as has been pointed out above (p. 1 82). But on the Day of Atonement, when he entered into the Holy of Holies, he had to lay off those magnificent vestments, and modestly to appear in garments of plain white linen. The Levites, or the ministers of the priests, comprised all the members of the tribe, except the branch of Aaron. Their connection with the public service was not spiritual but menial and mechanical. They were not properly elect- ed by Grod, but merely set apart for certain subordinate duties. They were, in fact, considered as mere substitutes for the Israelites. They were not allowed to come near the holy implements of the Sanctuary ; if they did so, they were to expect death from the hand of God, together with the neglectful priests who permitted the desecration. They were, like the Israelites, restricted to the Court. They were invested with no peculiar significance or holiness. Physical perfection was not required as a necessary con- dition. All were admitted, and served from the twenty-first or thirtieth to the fiftieth year of their lives. They were initiated in their office by the simplest rites. They were neither clothed nor anointed, but merely cleansed by puri- fying water. They had no distinguishing garments, and did not differ, in this respect, from the common Israelites. They had u to keep the charge of the Sanctuary," that is, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting. Therefore, during the wan- derings of the Israelites, they had to carry the Tabernacle and its vessels, which, however not they, but the priests alone, were permitted to wrap up under penalty of certain death. During the encampments, they were stationed round the holy structure. They assisted in the offering of sacri- fices, especially in receiving the blood of the victims in the appointed vessels, and presenting it to the priests for 214 47. THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES. sprinkling. They had to prepare the holy ointment, the shew-bread, and the other unleavened cakes and cereal ob- lations. When the Temple was built, their functions were naturally enlarged: they were the keepers of the entrances, courts, and chambers, and, in later times, together with the priests, the guardians of the treasury of the Temple; they had the charge of the stores of flour and oil, wine, frank- incense, and spices; they attended the morning- and evening- services,where they performed vocal and instrumental music. They were probably chosen for judges of the inferior courts, and for teachers of the people. When the Levites had thus risen in authority, they were deemed too holy for many of the menial duties, and they received, on their part, servants called Nethinim, who were charged to assist them in the same way, as they had been appointed to assist the priests; the Nethinim were probably captives of war, and were held in great con- tempt. The Levites were, in the Pentateuch, liberally provided for. They had, indeed, no landed property, but they received, in return for their services at the Sanctuary, the tenth part of all the produce of the soil and of the annual increase of the cattle; of the former, however, they had to give the tenth part to the priests. Though exempt from military service and all taxes, they yet probably received a share of the booty of war. They had abodes assigned to them in thirty-five cities on both sides of the Jordan, within the territories of all tribes, except those of Judah, Benjamin, and Simeon, in which the priests had their dwellings; and to each town, fields were attached sufficient for pasturage. 215 48. VARIOUS LEYITICAL LAWS. 1 . Dietary Laws (Levit. XI. etc.). Purity and holiness were to be the chief characteristics of the Hebrew people; they were to be manifested in their faith and worship, in their moral conduct and daily life. Bearing this in mind, we shall be able duly to estimate the value of the dietary laws, which, though perhaps partly sanitary in their origin, were invested with a religious sanctity, and connected with the great principle, "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." Man was allowed to feed on the flesh of ani- mals, but he was restricted in his choice. Among quadru- peds, the legislator considered as clean and wholesome cloven - footed ruminants, among birds those which do not prey on dead bodies, and among fishes those which have fins and scales: these alone he permitted, whereas he rigidly interdicted all other creatures, as the camel, the pig, and the hare, the eagle, the vulture and the hawk, and especially "creeping things", which were declared to be an abomination, and to cause uncleanness if touched when dead. Moreover, he prohibited the people from eating all animals that had not been properly killed, because tlley might be unwhole- some, and all that were torn by wild beasts, because they were stifled in their own blood; and blood was interdicted by the most awful penalties, because "the blood is the soul" of the animal, which it was regarded iniquitous not to re- spect; therefore even the blood of animals that had been killed in the chase, was to be poured on the ground and covered with earth. The fat also was forbidden because it was, like the blood, considered as the seat of the life and strength of the animal ; and it is likely that for a similar reason the custom arose among the Hebrews of abstaining from the principal (or sciatic) nerve, representing the power of motion, though that custom was derived from a remark- 216 48. VARIOUS LEVITICAL LAWS. able incident in the life of the patriarch Jacob (see p. 74). The command, "Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk", was probably prompted by motives of humanity, and had, besides, the object of preventing certain superstitious rites practised by heathens. 2. The Laws of Purification (Lev. Xm XV. etc.) were enforced with great severity and precision. Foremost among them are the rules to be observed with respect to that ter- rible Eastern scourge, leprosy. As soon as the first symp- toms of illness were noticed, the sufferer was removed from the community, and placed under the supervision of the priest: if the symptoms developed themselves into the dread disease, he was kept in seclusion; and whenever he went forth into the abodes of men, he had to appear with his clothes rent, his head bared, and his chin covered, and to utter the doleful warning : "Unclean, unclean !" If the plague left him, he was cleansed by various and significant purifications meant to symbolise his renewed holiness in thought and in deed, and restoring him again to all his rights as a member of the chosen community. A terrible plague akin to leprosy is, in the East, not unusual in houses, when the stones of the walls are covered witttgreen or red streaks. As soon as the priest received information of such symptoms, he went to examine the house, and at once ordered everything to be cleared out of it; after seven days he returned, and if the marks had made progress during that time, the stones so affected were, by his direction, taken away and cast into an unclean place without the city, the interior of the house was thoroughly scraped, and the dust likewise removed beyond the precincts of the city, after which the stones and the dust were replaced by new stones and mortar. But the signs of pestilence might still linger in the walls and appear again and spread. In such cases, the whole house was pronounced thoroughly unclean, and was pulled down; all the stones 48. VABIOrS LEVITICAL LAWS. 217 were cast out of the city, and everyone who had been in the house during the time of its unwholesome condition, was unclean, and was bound to undergo the usual purifications. 3. The Nazarites (Numb. VL). Among the Hebrews, there were found, at all times, men and women who, im- pressed with a feeling of religious fervour, wished to devote themselves for a certain period to the special service of God. These Nazarites, as they were called, led a life of abstinence and isolation. They shunned wine and any other strong drink. They allowed their hair to grow freely. Bound by ordinances resembling the severest rules enjoined upon the priesthood, they were forbidden to touch or approach any dead body, were it even that of father or mother, of brother or sister, "because the consecration of his Grod is upon the Nazarite's head; all the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord." An accidental and unavoidable defile- ment was expiated by impressive ceremonies. When the time of the self-imposed seclusion had passed, the Nazarite had to present, with peculiar rites, a burnt-, a sin-, and a thank- offering, together with various bloodless oblations and drink- offerings ; and cutting his hair at the door of the Sanctuary, he burnt it by the fire of his thank-offering after which he was released from his vow and his restrictions. 4. Miscellaneous laws. The ordinances of purity, so mi- nutely and so strongly enforced, are clearly illustrated by the details given concerning the laws of marriage. The human form was considered sacred ; no mutilation was permitted; and in the wild outpouring of grief, the mourner was forbidden to lacerate his flesh a custom widely prevailing among Eastern nations (Lev. XIX, 27. 28). The religious precepts of the Mosaic code are of endless variety, indeed as varied as life itself with its many duties and temptations; but they seem all to be summed up in two commandments, which have become as it were the very key- 218 48. VAKIOTTS LEVITICAL LAWS. stone and mainspring of the Jewish faith: "Hear o Israel, the Lord thy God is One God;" and "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might" (Deut. VI. 5). These words were to be the constant guide and monitor of the Hebrew ; he was stead- fastly to believe in the unity of God, and he was to devote all his thoughts, his feelings, and his works to Him, his merciful Father. Not merely was he to serve Him in re- verence and fear, but with that true and fervent love, on which alone faith can be firmly built. To remind the Israelite of the allegiance he owes to his God, he was commanded to wear a symbol of it on his arm and forehead (phylacteries), to indicate that he should be pious in deed and thought; he was to make blue fringes on the borders of his outer garment (tsitsith), to impress upon him heavenly purity and elevation of mind; and he was to inscribe a memorial of it upon the doorpost of his house (mezuzah), to remind him that his life should be zea- lously devoted to God (Exod.XHI, 9; Num. XV, 38; Deut. XI, 20). Above all, it was prescribed that children should be diligently instructed by their parents in the precious truths that had been revealed for the guidance of mankind in all ages. The precepts of the Law are followed by a grand and sublime picture enforcing the oft repeated lesson that obe- dience and faith shall be truly blessed, that sin and dis- obedience shall receive terrible punishment. To render the injunctions more impressive, the Israelites were commanded, after the conquest of the promised land, solemnly to pro- nounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal, and thus as it were to confirm their own reward and their own punishment (Lev. XXVI; Deut. XXVIH). 219 49. DEATH OF NADAB AND ABIHTJ. [Levit. X.] It will be remembered that we interrupted our narra- tive, in order to insert a sketch of the moral, religious, and social legislation of the Hebrews : we now resume it to follow the events recorded in the Pentateuch. It has been related how Aaron was installed in the priestly office to which his descendants were to be heirs for ever. But although they were thus suddenly elevated to a post of great distinction, they were not declared holy and sinless ; they were by their lives to prove their worthiness of ministering in the Tabernacle of the Lord. But Aaron's two eldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, showed too soon that their minds were not prepared for the high privileges con- ferred upon them : they were wanting in reverence and faith- ful obedience. At an irregular time, they brought "strange fire", that is, fire not taken from the brazen altar in the Court of the Tabernacle, and burnt incense to the Lord. The offence was followed by instantaneous retribution; fire descended from heaven, and killed the two self-willed men. On this occasion the peculiar sanctity of the Hebrew priest- hood was strikingly revealed. Aaron was naturally over- whelmed with grief by the awful disaster; but Moses ap- proached him with the words: "This is it that the Lord spoke, saying, I will be sanctified through those that are near Me, and before all the people I will be glorified." Aaron felt the truth and significance of the rebuke, and he was silent. But Moses pursued his object still further; for he said to his bereaved brother Aaron and his two surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your heads be dis- hevelled, nor rend your clothes lest you die, and lest God be wroth upon all the congregation ; and you shall not go out from the doors of the Tabernacle, lest you die; for the 220 50. WANDERINGS IN THE DESERT. anointing oil of the Lord is upon you ;" the ministers of God were to subdue their human and natural sympathies?, in order to live for His service alone, in perfect umvorldliness and holiness. 50. WANDERINGS IN THE DESEET. [Num. I sqq.] The Israelites had been journeying for a year in the wilderness, when Moses was commanded by the Lord to num- ber them. Each man who had arrived at the age of twenty, and who was therefore able to serve as a soldier, was to be included in the census, with the exception, however, of the tribe of Levi, which was exempt from military and civil burdens. The Israelites numbered 603,550 men capable of bearing arms ; among them the tribe of Judah was promi- nent in strength, counting above 74,000 men. The whole host, including men, women, and children, must therefore have consisted of about two millions and a half souls. When the people encamped, whether for a shorter or a longer time, the tribes were uniformly arranged in the same prescribed order. In the centre stood the Tabernacle, guarded and protected by the Levites and priests, who sur- rounded it. On its eastern side encamped Judah, and with him Issachar and Zebulon; to the west Ephraim, together with Benjamin and Manasseh; to the north Dan, with Asher and Naphtali; and to the south Reuben, with Gad and Simeon. Above the Tabernacle hung a cloud of smoke by day, and a cloud of fire by night. When the Israelites were to move onward, the cloud went before them; and when they were to pitch their tents, the cloud rested. As the Ark was lifted up to precede the advancing army, Moses exclaimed: "Rise up, o Lord, and let Thy enemies be scattered, and let 61. SUFFERINGS IN THE DESEET. 221 them that hate Thee flee before Thee;" and when the Ark rested, he said: "Restore, o Lord, the myriads of the hosts of Israel." In order to arouse the attention of the vast multitude, whether upon the march or during the encampment, Moses was commanded to use two silver trumpets; their loud and significant blast would be a summons for the people and "a memorial" before God; it was to be a signal for the whole community or the chiefs to assemble before the Tabernacle, or to prepare for departure from the encampment; it led the warriors to battle, and proclaimed the holy festivals, the days of gladness and thanksgiving, of solemnity and humiliation. In the second month of the second year, the cloud rose above the Tabernacle and summoned the Israelites to leave their resting place at Sinai, and to resume their march. They proceeded in a north - easterly direction. The Taber- nacle, carefully protected, was carried and watched by the Levites; the Ark of the Covenant was borne in front of the congregation; and the vast host of men, women, and children toiled on, their tents slung on poles, their camels heavily laden, their flocks and herds driven before them. After a three days' journey they arrived in the wilderness of Paran, where the cloud of the Lord rested. 51. SUFFERINGS IN THE DESERT. [Numb. XI.] Discontent and impatience arose among the people. Forgetting their promise of trust and obedience, they mur- mured bitterly against Moses. God in His anger sent fire upon them from heaven, causing terror and destruction. Hence the place was called Taberah, that is, Conflagration. The Hebrews had now subsisted upon manna so long that it became distasteful to them; they began to yearn for flesh 222 51. SUFFEBINGS IN THE DESERT. and other food to which they had before been accustomed: "We remember the fish," they said inurmuringly, "which we ate in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: but now our soul is languishing; there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes." Moses heard this outcry with sorrow and displeasure; he felt that the burden of guiding and controlling so vast and so mutinous a host was more than he could bear; how could he satisfy their wild clamour for flesh? He cried to Grod and entreated His help. The Lord listened to his prayer. He commanded him to select seventy of the elders, upon whom He would bestow a part of that Divine spirit which distinguished Moses himself; and He promised that the people should have the flesh they were coveting, but it should come to them as a bitter pun- ishment: "You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, but even a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils, and it is loath- some to you: because you have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why did we come forth out of Egypt?" Here an episode happened which exhibits the character of Moses in all its purity and greatness. The seventy men selected and endowed with the Divine spirit uttered pro- phecies: "But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad : and the spirit rested upon them (they were of those who were written down, but they had not gone out into the Tabernacle), and they prophesied in the camp. And there ran a young man and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp. And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses from his youth, answered and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said to him, Dost thou strive for my sake ? would God that all the Lord's. 52. DISCONTENT OF AARON AND MIRIAM. 223 people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!" As the Israelites had been declared to be a people of priests, so Moses desired to make them a people of prophets, and to let them share his own spiritual privileges. Now a strong wind rose and blew flocks of quails into the camp. They came in such multitudes that they covered the ground two cubits high for a space of a day's journey round the camp. The people gathered eagerly, and ate to their full satisfaction. While they were still enjoying that longed-for food, they were smitten by a fearful plague which caused death and desolation in the camp; hence the place received the name Kivroth-hattaavah, that is, Graves of Gree- diness. 52. DISCONTENT OF AAEON AND MIKIAM. [Numb. XII.] After this terrible punishment, the Israelites journeyed ou again in a north-easterly direction, and rested shortly afterwards in Hazeroth. Besides Zipporah, the daughter of the wise old Midianite priest Jethro, Moses had married an Ethiopian woman. This roused discontent in the minds of Aaron and Miriam. They began to think themselves at least equal to Moses, and exclaimed: "Has the Lord spoken only by Moses? has He not also spoken by us?" When the Lord heard this presumptuous speech, He called Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to appear before Him at the Tabernacle. A pillar of cloud descended upon the Tabernacle, and the voice of the Lord said "Hear My words : if there be a pro- phet among you, I the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision, and speak to him in a dream: My servant Moses is not so, to whom I have entrusted all My house; with him I speak mouth to mouth, and let him see, and not in 224 53. SCOUTS SENT TO CANAAN. dark images, and he beholds the similitude of the Lord: wherefore then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" As the pillar of the cloud departed from their presence, Miriam was smitten with leprosy. And Aaron said to Moses, "Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned." Then Moses prayed, arid beseeched the Lord to heal her and to pardon her sin. God granted his prayer, but commanded Miriam to be kept in confine- ment without the camp for seven days, after which time she was to be purified and received again into the congre- gation. 53. SCOUTS SENT TO CANAAN. [Numb. XIII.] Then the Israelites left Hazeroth, and encamped at Kadesh, in a more northern part of the wilderness of Pa- ran. There the Lord commanded Moses to send twelve dis- tinguished men, one from each tribe, to search the land of Canaan, and to report all they would see and hear about "the people that dwell therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what the cities are that they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds; and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not." They were also told to bring back samples of the fruit of the country. So the twelve men, Caleb and Joshua being among the number, set out north- wards through the wilderness of Paran; then turning to the west, they proceeded into the southern part of Pales- tine, and came into the neighbourhood of Hebron, that an- cient city where Abraham had sojourned in ages gone by, and where now dwelt the children of Anak, men of gigantic 53. SCOUTS SENT TO CANAAN. 225 stature and terrible appearance. In the valley of Eshcol they found themselves amidst all the most exquisite fruits of the country pomegranates, figs, and grapes. The vine grev,- here to such an extraordinary size, that one bunch of grapes had to be carried on poles by two men. After an absence of forty days, the twelve scouts returned to the camp at Kadesh with magnificent specimens of Canaan's produce. We can imagine the excitement which the event caused among the whole congregation. How eagerly they must have questioned the men on the land they were to possess! how great must have been their delight at the beautiful fruit! how impatient their desire to enter and to enjoy so favoured a land ! But the account they heard was not altogether cheering. A beautiful country, truly, said the spies, and a land that iiows with milk and honey, but a country with strong cities inhabited by formidable men, among whom was the fierce race of giants, the terrible sons of Anak. Not a province but what was occupied by warlike tribes, the Amalekites in the north, the Hittites, the Jebu- sites, and the Amorites in the mountain passes, and the Canaanites in the plains and on the banks of the Jordan. 54. MUKMUKING OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR PUNISHMENT. [Numb. XIV.] The people's hearts sank within them ; they felt unable to encounter such powerful foes ; but Caleb, wishing to in- spire them with hope and fortitude, exclaimed: "Let us go up and possess it at once, we are well able to overcome them." Alas ! his cowardly companions would not hear of encour- agement; they began to exaggerate the danger: "The land through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in vol. i. 1 5 226 54. PUNISHMENT OF THE PEOPLE. it are men of great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, who come of the giants : and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." The Israelites, overpowered with anguish and dis- may, wept and murmured bitterly, asking, wherefore they had left Egypt to die in the wilderness, or to be killed by the sword of invincible foes? They upbraided Moses and Aaron, and proposed in their blind folly to choose a captain who might lead them back into Egypt. It was a severe trial for Moses despite his meek and gentle spirit. Joshua and Caleb felt the urgency of the occasion. With all outward signs of mourning and grief, with their garments rent, they appeared before the people, and said firmly: "The land which we searched is an exceed- ingly good land: if the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land; for they are bread for us, their de- fence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not: only do not rebel." The infuriated multitude rushed upon the men who, in the strength of their faith, had spoken so boldly, and prepared to stone them to death. At that dangerous mo- ment, the glory of the Lord appeared before the Israelites, and His voice declared to Moses, that as a punishment for their disbelief and revolt, the people should be smitten with pestilence and die, and from Moses alone should de- scend a great and mighty nation, bearing God's name and spreading His truth. But Moses entreated God to forgive them: "And now, I beseech Thee, let the power of my God be great, according as Thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children into, the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Thy mercy, and 54. PUNISHMENT OF THE PEOPLE. 227 i ' as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said: I pardon according to thy word. But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. Because all those men who have seen My glory, and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice; surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it; but My servant Caleb, be- cause he has another spirit within him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went, and his seed shall possess it. r During forty years the He- brews were to lead a wandering life in the desert, one year for each day spent by the spies in their journey of exploration; to their children was reserved the conquest of the land which they themselves dreaded so much, and where should be the home of their prophets, the cradle of their warriors, the throne of their kings : of all their vast hosts, Joshua and Caleb alone, the brave-hearted and loyal followers of Moses, were to be permitted to enter the land of Promise. The people repented of their sinful want of faith, and mourned in deep affliction ; they were eager and almost im- petuous in proving their valour, and demanded to be led on to the conquest of Canaan. But Moses said, "Wherefore now do you transgress the commandment of the Lord? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the Lord is not among you : that you be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword. r But they were unable to moderate their ardour. As they rushed madly forward, they were overpowered by the fierce and hostile tribes, scattered, and pursued southward to the old Canaanite town Hormah. 15* 228 55. REBELLION OF KORAH AND HIS FOLLOWERS. [Xumb. XVI.] Faith in God, and submission to His servant Moses, were lessons which the Israelites seemed unable to learn. This was again strikingly proved by the rebellion of Ko- rah and his associates, which followed almost immediately after the events just narrated, and was attended with terri- ble punishments. Korah was of the race of Levi; he was indeed also descended from Kohath, like Moses and Aaron, but not through Amram, but through his younger brother Izhar; and it was to the elder line of Amram to Aaron and his descendants that the right of priesthood had been ex- clusively assigned. Now Korah was an aspiring and am- bitious man. He would not acknowledge the superior gifts of Moses and Aaron. Belonging to the tribe of Levi, he believed himself entitled to the highest sacerdotal privile- ges. He succeeded in gaining the co - operation of some other men, as Dathan and Abiram , who , being mem- bers of the eldest tribe, considered themselves wronged by their exclusion from the sacred offices, to which they believed they had a natural claim. They were joined by a number of discontented Israelites, men of wealth and influence, who bore unwillingly the civil authority of Moses, which enforced order and obedience from all alike. Filled with a bitter spirit of jealousy, they ex- claimed: "You take too much upon you; for all the con- gregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then do you lift yourselves up above the congregation of the Lord?" When Moses heard their complaints, he fell down upon his face, conscious of his own humbleness. Then, as if inspired by Divine counsel, he said to Korah and all those who had joined him : "Indeed 55. REBELLION OF KORAH. 229 to-morrow the Lord will show who are His," and who is holy, and will bring him near to Himself: him whom He has chosen will He bring near to Himself." Then he com- manded them to take censers, to fill them with fire, and to offer incense in them on the next day, when God would make manifest His will. And then, turning more particu- larly to Koran, he addressed him thus: "Hear me, you sons of Levi, does it seem a small thing to you, that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to Himself to do the service of the Taber- nacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? And He has brought thee near to Him- self and all thy brethren, the sons of Levi, with thee : and must you seek the priesthood also ?" Lastly he summoned Dathan and Abiram before him; but they refused to appear, sending the insolent answer: "Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that flows with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thy- self altogether a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that flows with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men ? we will not come up." Moses, deeply grieved and mortified, poured out his prayer before God: "Respect not Thou their offering; I have not taken one ass from them , nor have I hurt one of them." - - On the following morning, Korah and his mutinous companions assembled before the Tabernacle, each bearing in his hand a censer filled with incense. They were joined by Moses and Aaron. The glory of the Lord shone before the congregation, and He said to the two brothers : "Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a mo- ment." But they fell down upon their faces and exclaimed: "0 God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?" 230 55. REBELLION OP KORAH. God listened to this fervent appeal, and He bid them com- mand the children of Israel to stand aloof from the tents of Korah and of Dathan and Abiram, lest "they be consumed by all the sins" of "these wicked men." Then Moses pro- claimed in a loud voice: "Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of my own mind: if these men die the com- mon death of all men, or if they be punished with the pun- ishment of all men, thefc the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord makes a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth, and swallows them up, with all that appertain to them, and if they go down alive into the pit; then shall you under- stand that these men have provoked the Lord." And the Biblical narrative continues: "And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men, that appertained to Korah, and all their goods; they and all that appertained to them went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them : and they perished from among the congregation. . . . And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense." The people, seized with consternation and horror, sought to flee among the din of clamouring voices; for they were afraid, that the earth would devour them all. Then the censers of the rebellious sinners were, by the command of God, collected together, and, being beaten flat, employed for a covering of the altar; they were thus preserved as eternal witnesses of the crime and its terrible punishment; or, as the sacred historian observes, "to be a memorial to the children of Israel, that no stranger who is not of the seed of Aaron, shall come near to offer incense before the Lord, lest he be as Korah and as his company." But on the morrow the people's indignation burst forth anew, they complained that Moses and Aaron had killed their brethren, and once more 56. THE BLOOMING KOD. 231 they rose up in revolt. The Lord punished them with a terrible plague, smiting more than fourteen thousand of the Israelites. Aaron, by the request of Moses, entreated the pardon of God, and purified the people by an incense- offering; and then the plague was stayed. 56. THE BLOOMING ROD OF AARON. [Numb. XVII.] The authority of Aaron as High-priest and as the spi- ritual mediator between God and Israel, was to be openly manifested and confirmed by a striking sign, in order that his supremacy might for ever be secured and recognised. Each tribe was commanded to bring one rod inscribed with its name ; that of the tribe of Levi was to bear the name of Aaron. The rods were given to Moses, who took them into the Tabernacle: now the tril>e whose rod would blossom and bud, was to be considered as specially elected and fa- voured by God. And the Bible narrates : "It came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the Tabernacle, and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds And the Lord said to Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the Testimony to be kept for a token against the rebels ; that thou mayest silence their murmurings be- fore Me, lest they die." 57. WATER FROM THE ROCK. [ Numb. XX. ] It will be remembered that during the events just relat- ed the Israelites were encamped at Kadesh, a city lying in a mountain defile which leads in a direct line into Canaan. This is one of the dreariest and most sterile approaches to the Holy Land, at the extreme south of Judea, from which it is shut off by towering crags and rocky heights. 232 58. WANDERINGS CONTINUED. Now in this wild and desolate country, the Israelites suffered grievously from want of water. As usual, they appealed to Moses and Aaron, upbraiding them severely: "Why have you brought us into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there? This is an evil place, no place of seed or of figs, or of vines or of pomegranates, nor is there water to drink." Moses prayed to God, and received comfort; yet his faith wavered; like Aaron, he doubted the word or the power of the Lord. Yet he was prepared to do His bidding. He called the whole congregation together, and leading them to one of the numerous rocks round Ka- desh, he exclaimed sternly: "Hear now, you rebels; must we obtain water for you out of this rock ?" Then he lifted his staff, and smote the stone; and, behold, before the eyes of the amazed and delighted multitude, the water gushed forth in abundance, streaming down in a copious supply sufficient for man and beast. Moses and Aaron stood lost in shame and confusion ; and the Lord said to them : "Be- cause you did not believe Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.'' The place of this miraculous deed was called Meribah, or Strife, because "there the children of Israel strove with the Lord, and He was sanctified in them." At Kadesh, Miriam died, the eldest of Jochebed's three children, the first Hebrew prophetess ; and there, at the en- trance to the Land of Promise, she was buried. 58. WANDERINGS CONTINUED. [Numb. XX sqq.] In order to advance from Kadesh straight into Canaan, the Hebrews had to pass through the territory of the Edomites. Moses sent messengers to their king, asking for permission 53. WAXDEKIXGS CONTINUED. 23.'{ to travel through his land. Although the request was courteously and even imploringly framed, and although Moses pledged himself, that his hosts should strictly keep on the high or royal road, neither turning to the right nor to the left, touching neither fields nor vineyards, and fully paying for what they ate and drank: the king of Edom declined the proposal most fiercely : and in order to resist any attempt on the part of the Hebrews to enter by force, he at once set out against them with a numerous army. Moses deemed it prudent to avoid a conflict with so powerful an enemy, and led his people back south-eastward, till he encamped at Hor, a peak in the range of mount Seir, south of the fa- mous Petra. That rugged station of the wandering Israelites became to them of peculiar interest by a melancholy event, the death of Aaron. The summons came to the servant of God, when he was 123 years old, and it was obeyed without a murmur. In the sight of all that congregation which had so often attacked him with complaints and murmurs and threats, and which, by constant revolts, had again and again tried his meek spirit, Aaron, accompanied by his brother Moses and his son Eleazar, ascended the mountain. Arriv- ing on the top, Moses stripped the first High -priest of his splendid garments, and invested with them Eleazar, his successor in the holy office. What a view met his dying eyes ! How strange must have been his emotions when he gazed around him! "He looked over the valley of Arabah, countersected by the hundred watercourses, and beyond over the white mountains of the wilderness, they had so long traversed, and at the northern edge of it there must have been visible the heights through which the Israelites had vainly attempted to force their way to the Promised Land. This was the western view. Close around him on the east were the rugged mountains of Edom, and far along the horizon the wide downs of Mount Seir, through which 234 58. WANDERINGS CONTINUED. the passage had been denied by the wild tribe of Esau who hunted over their long slopes". (Stanley.) The news of Aaron's death spread grief and wailing in the Hebrew camp. "When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel." With these few and simple words the Bible takes leave of the man who next to Moses had played the most important part in the events that preceded and followed the exodus from Egypt. He had been the mouth-piece of Moses, the eloquent speaker. He had been chosen as the spiritual intercessor between God and the people ; he was appointed the chief of the nation of priests, and had been endowed with the spirit of God. Yet though truthful and dignified, his character lacked the manly firm- ness so essential in troubled times and among a fickle people. Though endeavouring to follow in the footsteps of his bro- ther, he yielded, in critical moments, to the threats or en- treaties of the infatuated multitude. He fades in grandeur beside the imposing figure of Moses. When the days of mourning were over, the Israelites left their encampment and resumed their wanderings. Their object was now naturally to avoid the territory of the Edom- ites who had shown so hostile a disposition, and t*o penetrate into the Promised Land from the eastern side of the Jordan. What long and circuitous marches lay before them! But they had no choice, and therefore they first journeyed south- eastward, back in the direction of the Red Sea. No longer in view of the hills of Judah, but oppressed by the dismal and dreary sight of the wilderness, they had no hope or bright anticipation to cheer them on. Their courage and patience failed them. They murmured bitterly against Mo- ses: "Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water." As a punishment, the Lord sent fiery serpents, 58. WANDERINGS CONTINUED. 235 from whose sting many of the people died. Then they re- pented, and implored Moses to entreat for pardon: he interceded, and his prayers were accepted by God. He was commanded to make a serpent of brass, and to place it upon a pole; any man bitten by a fiery serpent should look up to the brazen figure, as a symbol of his reliance on the Divine power and assistance; then he would be hea- led. And so the continuance of the calamity was averted. Once more the Hebrew hosts went forth; they travelled southward till they reached Eziongeber on the shores of the Red Sea; then turning northward, but steadily keeping on the eastern side of Mount Seir, they passed along the border of the Arabian desert, halting at stations few of which have left a trace to prove their identity Zalmonah and Punon, Oboth and Ije-abarim, Dibon-Grad and Almon- Diblathaim; they passed the plains of Moab, crossed the river Arnon, proceeded through the territory of the Am- monites, resting at Beer (Well), where the famous song was sung: ^Spring up, o well, sing to it: The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver with their staves ;" they halted at Mattanah, Nahaliel and Ramoth, at the mountain range of Abarim, at the ridge of the Pisgah, and encamped at one of its loftiest peaks, the Nebo, whence a fine and commanding prospect opened westward over the Jordan, reaching to the beautiful plains of Jericho and beyond them. The camp spread "along the Jordan from Beth-jesiinoth to Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab." 236 50. CONQUESTS IN THE EAST OF THE JOED AN. [ Numb. XXI. ] When the Israelites had crossed the river Arnon. they found themselves in the very midst of the populous and powerful east-jordanic tribes, whose land they knew they would have to wrest from them inch by inch. These nations prepared for attack and defence, and trusting in their idols Baal and Ashtarte, Chemosh and Moloch, mocked the God, and despised the invading hosts, of the Hebrews. The first hostile people they had to encounter were the Amorites, whose valiant king 'Sihon resided in Heshbon. Sihon had before distinguished himself by remarkable feats of bravery and daring; he had conquered all the land north of the Arnon, had driven back the Hoabites southward beyond this river, and had firmly established his empire. "When, therefore, the Hebrews sent messengers to him, praying to be allowed to pass through his dominions, under the same conditions they had proposed to the Edomites, he haughtily and contemptuously refused the request, as the king of Edom had done before, and like him he marched out against them with a large army. At Jahaz, on the borders of the desert, A sanguinary battle was fought, in which Sihon was utterly routed. The Hebrews took possession of the whole country between the Arnon and the more northern river Jabbok, leaving, however, untouched the territory of the Ammonites whose abodes lay also between those two rivers. These deeds were celebrated in heroic songs, and lived long in the mouth of the Hebrews ; a fragment of such a lay has fortunately been preserved to us: "Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared: for there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon ; it has consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to tb.ee Moab! 60r BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. 237 thou art undone, o people of Chemosh! he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. "We have shot at them; Heshbon has perUhed even to Dibon, and we have laid them waste even to Nophah, which reaches to Jledeba." Other conquests in the same districts were now easily accomplished; but Og, the powerful king of the fertile land of Bashan, offered an obstinate resistance. Og was indeed a formidable foe. He ruled over a large country with many fortified cities stretching northward to the foot of the Heruion, and eastward to the regions of the Euphrates. He descended from the giant race of the Rephaim, and was of huge stature. He at once marched out to meet the He- brews at Edrei, one of his principal towns. But Grod said to Moses: ''Fear him not; for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his country, into thy hand, and thou shalt do to them as thou didst to Sihon , king of the Amorites." The Hebrews, thus encouraged, advanced boldly, and were vic- torious; "and they smote Og, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none of them left alive, and they took possession of his land." It is a tale of bloodshed on which we do not care to dwell; carnage and extermination marked each advancing step of theiconquering Hebrews: thus only could the promises given to them and to their ancestors be fulfilled. 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. [Numb. XXII XXIV. ] The Israelites now pitched their camp once more in the south-eastern plains of the Jordan. Balak, the king of Moab, had seen the defeat of two of his most powerful neighbours, and he trembled , at the approach of the apparently invin- 238 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. cible invaders. Might he not be the next to feel their im- petuous attack? He tried to effect an alliance with the ad- joining Midianites, whose apprehension it was not difficult to rouse: "Now will this host," he said to them, "devour all that are around us, as the ox devours the grass of the field." He bethought himself, besides, of another device. At that time, a heathen prophet, Balaam, the son of Beor, who lived in Pethur, a town on the Euphrates, was famous for his wisdom and his inspired speeches prompted by Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews. To him Balak sent distinguished men from Moab and Midian with presents, and with this message : "Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt, they cover the face of the earth, and they encamp over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall prevail that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land ; for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." The men arrived and delivered their message. Balaam begged them to stay over night in his house, and to hear his answer on the morrow. During that night, the Lord appeared to Balaam in a vision, and said : "Thou shalt not go with these messengers; thou shalt not cure the people, for they are "blessed." On the following morning, therefore, he declared to his guests, that he would not go with them. On their return home, Balak, in no way discouraged, sent out to Balaam other and even more eminent men with his former request. But the heathen seer replied: "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." Yet he invited the strangers to remain with him till the following day. In the night, the Lord appeared to him again in a vi- sion, and this time He bade him go with the messengers, but 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. 239 speak no words but those which He would command him. So then on the morning the prophet saddled his ass, and declared himself ready to accompany the men to Moab. Now followed an event so remarkable and marvellous that we can only insert it in the very words of Scripture: "And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord placed himself in the way to oppose him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand ; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field ; and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. But the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of"the vine- yards, a wall being on the one side, and a wall on the other side. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herseli against the wall, and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no room to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with the staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said to the ass, Because thou hast mocked me : I wish there were a sword in my hand, for then would I kill thee. And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not thy ass upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so to thee? And he said. No. Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed his head, and fell down upon his face. And the angel of the Lord said to him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thy ass these three times ? Behold, I went out 240 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. to oppose thee, because thy way is pernicious before me; and the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times : unless she had turned from me, surely I should then have slain thee, and sayed her alive. And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned ; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: and now, if it displease thee, I will return home. And the angel of the Lord ^aid to Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak to thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak." When the king heard of Balaam's arrival, he went out to meet him at the northern boundary of his dominions, and received him with the words: "Did I not earnestly send to thee, wherefore didst thou not come to me? am I not able to promote thee to honour?" To which Balaam replied, that he had now indeed come to the king, but Avas unable to speak anything but what God would put into his mind. On the morrow, Balak took the prophet up to the heights sacred to Baal, and there they built seven altars, upon each of which they sacrificed an ox and a ram. Then Balaam went alone to a solitary place, hoping to receive the word of the Lord. AVhen he returned to the king, he had beheld the vision, and he felt inspired. He stood near his burnt- offering before Balak and the princes of Moab, and, urged by an irresistible impulse, he broke forth in these sublime utterances: "Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse whom Glod has not cursed? or how shall I defy whom the Lord has not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people that dwells alone, and does not reckon itself among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. 241 fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let ihy last end be like his !" Balak was struck with dismay at this speech, and ex- claimed , "What hast thou done to me ? I took thee to curse my enemies, and, behold, thou hast indeed blessed them." Balaam repeated, that the words were not his own but the Lord's. Then Balak insisted that he should accompany him to the heights of Pisgah, whence he could see a portion of the Hebrew encampment, and urged him now at least to call down evil upon the ruthless invaders. Again the sacrifices were offered up, and Balaam received in lonely communion the bidding of the Lord. When he returned, he was eagerly surrounded by the king and the people, and he spoke: "Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken to me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent ; has He said, and shall He not do it? or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? Behold, I have received commandments to bless, and He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He does not behold in- iquity in Jacob, nor does He see perverseness in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the trumpet - blowing of his king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt, as with the swiftness of the buffalo. Surely, no enchantment prevails against Jacob, nor divination against Israel : in the right time it is revealed to Jacob and to Israel, what God does. Behold, the people rises up like a great lion, and lifts itself up as a young lion : it does not lie down, until it has consumed the prey, and has drunk the blood of the slain." As Balaam ended, Balak exclaimed in dread, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all." But Balaam answered humbly, "All that the Lord speaks that must I do." The king resolved to make another trial; he took the seer up to the heights of Peor, which solemnly rise over the Voi.i. 16 242 60. BALAAM'S PROPHECIES. endless desert, and there caused seven altars to be built, and the sacrifices to be offered as before. Balaam, now satis- fied that God wished him to bless and not to curse Israel, no more sought the solitude for a Divine inspiration ; but when he looked down, and beheld the brilliant hangings of the Tabernacle, and round it, in vast circles, the spreading tents of the Israelites, he burst forth into enthusiastic praise : "The speech of Balaam, the son of Beor, and the speech of the man whose eyes are open, the speech of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who is prostrated, but has his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, o Jacob, and thy tabernacles, o Israel! As val- leys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of aloes which the Lord has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He pours the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he has the swiftness of the buffalo : he consumes the nations, his enemies, and crushes their bones, and pierces them through with his arrows. He couches, he lies down as a lion and as a lioness, who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesses thee, and cursed is he that curses thee." Balak's anger was now kindled almost to rage; he upbraided the prophet, and ordered him in disgrace from his presence; but Balaam had more terrible things to reveal; he bid the king stay, to hear what the strange invading nation would do to him and to the neighbouring tribes. And he took up his parable, and said: "Speech of Balaam, the son of Beor, and speech of the man whose eyes are open, speech of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who is prostrated, but has his eyes open: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but 61. NEW CENSUS. 243 not nigh there shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of the tumult. And Edom shall be a possession for his enemies, and Israel shall act valiantly. And he that comes out of Jacob shall rule and shall destroy those that escape from the cities." Then, after adding a few words about the Amalekites, the Kenites, and the Phoenicians, Balaam departed to return to his home, and the king followed, oppressed by gloomy forebodings. The Hebrews now resumed their military expeditions, and next turned against the Midianites. Twelve thousand chosen men attacked the hostile army headed by five kings of Midian, and accompanied by Balaam. They routed the army, killed the five kings and the prophet, burnt the towns, made the women and children captives, and seized a vast amount of spoil, which they brought into the Hebrew camp near the Jordan, for equal distribution among the warriors, the congregation, and the priests. 61. NEW CENSUS AND ALLOTMENT OF THE EAST-JORDANIC LAND. [Xumb. XXV. XXVI. XXXII.] A census of the men above 20 years was instituted in the plains of Moab, and gave ilae number of 601,730. "But among these there was not a man of those whom Moses and Aaron the priest numbered, when they numbered the chil- dren of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left a man of -them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun." Large districts in the east of the Jordan consisted chiefly of pasture lands most valuable for shepherd tribes. 16* 244 62. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF MOSES. When the Israelites had conquered from Sihon and Og exten- sive tracts of such land, together with walled cities and deep wells, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and a great portion of the Manassites, who were particularly rich in cattle, de- sired to settle there permanently. They made their request to Moses and to the High-priest Eleazar. But Moses replied severely : "Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here?" Then he bid them remember how the cowardice of the scouts that had been sent from Kadesh to Eshkol, had called down the Lord's anger, who declared that the whole generation should perish in the wilderness without entering the Promised Land. The men, however, had no intention to desert their brethren; after building sheepfolds for their cattle, and houses for their children, they wished to go with the Hebrew army over the Jordan, and to assist in the con- quest of the land ; and not before that conquest was com- pleted, would they return to their eastern possessions. Moses expressed himself satisfied with this declaration and pledge, and 'assigned to Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh, the beautiful provinces which they claimed. 62. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF MOSES. [Deuteron. I sqq. ] The nation of wanderers lay encamped in the districts of Moab, with the rugged mountain fastnesses rising around them, with the distant prospect of plains and fields where herds of cattle were grazing, near the oaks of Bashan and the fenced cities which now belonged to them and their children. The prophet stood at the door of the Tabernacle, en- compassed by the glory of God. The people, all gathered about their tents, were awaiting his word. They were rest- ing from their victory over the Midianites, and prepared 62. DEATH OF MOSES. 245 to cross the Jordan for the occupation of Canaan. They had swept the enemies from their path, and had now no fear of the mighty children of Anak. In the desert, a new genera- tion of sturdy warriors had sprung up, who had never felt the bondage, and had never seen the wealth and luxury, of Egypt. But Moses, no more than his brother Aaron, was permitted to enter the Promised Land; he was to die on its very borders. He had once doubted the word of the Lord at the rock of Meribah, and in spite of his habitual faith and obedience, he was to suffer a bitter punishment. He neither murmured nor repined; he had fulfilled his appointed task, he left the rest to the Lord. He was 120 years old, bul; his eye was not dim, his strength had not abated. He was still a general ready to lead forth his people to battle, and a judge administering justice to all. Filled with the spirit of Grod, he assembled the children of Israel in their encamp- ment at the foot of Mount Pisgah, and in solemn and touch- ing words recalled to them the incidents of their miraculous deliverance, from their flight out of Egypt down to the recent warfare with the powerful desert tribes. Intending the ad- dress as his farewell to the people on the very eve of their triumph, he interwove with it a repetition of the Ten Com- mandments and of many of the important laws, together with impressive appeals to faith and piety. He bid the people remember that it was through the Lord alone that they had been delivered out of Egypt ; He had chosen them to hand down the revealed truth from generation to generation, and to diffuse it throughout the earth. They were to possess Canaan not on account of their own righteousness, for they had ever been sinful and disobedient, but by the grace and mercy of God. But they must preserve their faith pure and undefiled, abhorring and keeping aloof from every form and manner of idolatry. All images found in the land of Canaan were to be destroyed, all groves and temples dedicated to 246 62. DEATH OF MOSES. false gods to be hewn down, all idolatrous nations shunned and exterminated. Should any one of the children of Israel turn to idolatry, no pity was to be shown to him ; he should be stoned to death by the congregation; for Moses knew too well the weakness and levity of the people. Then followed a powerful exhortation to obedience. It seemed as if the great prophet had divined the days of peril and tribulation which the Israelites later called down upon themselves ; as if it was given to him to see into the distant future fraught with sorrow and suffering. In forcible and soul-stirring words he tried to impress his hearers with the great principles of the new creed proclaimed by him: "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him." But if they should forsake their God, if they should follow in the evil ways of other nations, then dire punishment would assured- ly follow: "The Lord shall scatter you among the nations, you shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you." Yet even in this gloom and mis- ery, they should not be without hope: "If from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." From the mountain heights, Moses looked towards the Promised Land, which was so soon to be in the hands of the Israelites : can we listen unmoved to his minute description of it? "The Lord thy God brings thee into a goodly land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates, a land of oil, olive, and honey, a land wherein thou shalt eat without scarce- ness; thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. For the land whither thou goest, is not as the land of Egypt from whence you came out, where thou didst sow thy seed and water it with thy foot as a garden of herbs: 62. DEATH OF MOSES. 247 but the land whither you go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water of the rain of heaven." The religious and civil precepts dwelt upon by Moses in his long discourse, are mainly those previously enjoined, but they include also a new law, that concerning the future election of a king. He foresaw that the Israelites, so prone to follow the example of surrounding nations, would doubt- less wish for a supreme ruler or monarch, and he desired to guide their choice for their national welfare. "He shall be one/' he said, "whom the Lord shall choose, one from among thy brethren shalt thou make king over thee; thou mayest not set a stranger over thee who is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, in order to multiply horses; for the Lord has said to you, You shall henceforth no more return that way. Nor shall he take many wives, that his heart may not turn away, nor shall he amass silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law out of the book which is before the priests the Le- vites." Pursuing his appeal, Moses set before the people the blessing and prosperity they would enjoy if they were obedient to the Divine injunctions. "For this command- ment," so ran the words of Moses, "which I command thee this day, is not hidden from thee, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldst say, Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very nigh to thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." And on the other hand, Moses unfolded an awful picture of the disasters and calamities that would befall them if they 248 62. DEATH OF MOSES. disobeyed the Lord how they would be persecuted and besieged and driven to unheard-of misery, perish by war. and famine, and pestilence; and how they would finally be captured and scattered, and led as bondmen into a distant land by fierce and merciless foes: ". . . Thou shalt serve thy enemies whom the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and He shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until He has destroyed thee. The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies ; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not under- stand ; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young .... Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long con- tinuance, and sore sickness. . . ." Terrible as these threats and predictions appear, they foreshadowed a reality more terrible still, that fell upon the Hebrews in the fulness of time, when the measure of their sins was complete. But the pious man of God did not cease without giving hope and consolation ; he declared that the people had it in their own hand to avert -so awful a fate, and that the mercy of God was ever ready to assist them: "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God has driven thee, and shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I commanded thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart and with all thy soul; that then the Lord thy God will turn the captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will restore and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God has scatter- ed thee." 62. DEATH OF MOSES. 249 Then Moses called Joshua, the brave, true-hearted warrior, who had before been solemnly appointed his suc- cessor in the leadership of Israel, and he spoke to him in the presence of the whole congregation: "Be strong and of good courage, for thou shalt come with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and thou shalt cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He it is that goes before thee, He will be with thee, He will not fail thee nor foresake thee, fear not, neither be dis- couraged." The grand and sublime charge which Moses , at the foreboding of his death, addressed to the chosen nation, ended with a magnificent song, surveying in one soaring flight the past and the future, uttering rebuke and comfort, dwelling on the destinies of the Hebrews and of their ene- mies a fitting conclusion to a noble and fervent adrifoni- tion: in it appears, intensified and enhanced, the old poetic enthusiasm that had once been kindled at the first feeling of victory and liberty. It was bequeathed to the children of Israel as a precious heirloom; it remains as one of the un- surpassed master -pieces of Hebrew poetry; its fire, force, and beauty can hardly be rendered by any translation; it must be read and appreciated in the original tongue so pe- culiarly adapted for sublime and prophetic Titterance. And then, as if he could never satisfy the love of his own heart, as if, like a dying father surrounded by his chil- dren, he could never give enough of his advice and warning and blessing, he added another poetic address in which he delineated the future destinies of the twelve tribes. As an historical document it is of the utmost value ; it recalls to mind the last speech of Jacob to his sons, and invites a comparison which instructively proves the changes that had gradually been wrought in the relative position of the tribes. Let one instance suffice, that of Levi. In the 250 62. DEATH OF MOSES. address of Jacob, Levi is spoken of in the following terms, which amount to a denunciation and a menace: "Simeon and Levi are brethren, An instrument of violence is their burning rage. Into their council my soul shall not come, In their assembly my glory shall not join: For in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they hamstrung oxen. . Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, And their wrath, for it is cruel: I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel." Now let us hear the language of Hoses: "And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy Holy One, whom thou hast proved at Massah, and*with whom thou hast striven at the waters of Meribah ; Avho said to his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; nor did he acknowledge his brothers, nor knew his own children: for they have observed Thy word, and kept Thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob Thy judgments, and Israel Thy Law; they shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt - sacrifice upon Thy altar. Bless, o Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of those that rise against him, and of those that hate him, so that they rise no more!" Who does not see that here the Levites have attained that honoured and privileged condition which the laws of the Pentateuch so constantly claim for them? Moses wound up his blessing with a final and pithy outburst comprising all his hopes and feelings of patriotic exaltation : "There is none like God, o Jeshurun, who rides upon the heaven for thy help, and in His majesty upon the cloud. The eternal Grod is thy refuge, and underneath work His everlasting arms, and He thrusts out the enemy from be- 62. DEATH OF MOSES. 251 fore thee, and says, Destroy them! And Israel dwells in safety, alone; the eye of Jacob rests upon a land of corn and wine, and his heavens drop down dew. Happy art thou, o Israel: who is like thee, o people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy elevation? And thy enemies shall flatter thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places." Then Moses left the children of Israel to return no more. By Divine command, he ascended the summit of Nebo in the mountain range of Pisgah: he looked over that varied and beautiful country which had been his beacon in the days of Egyptian slavery, the bright goal of the Israelites, tempting and encouraging them on through the pathless tracts of the wilderness. It seemed within his grasp; he glanced over the districts northward, and westward, and southward ; he beheld the fine pasture land of G-ilead and the oak forests of Bashan ; he saw, on the other side of the Jordan, the plains of Naphtali, and Manasseh and Ephraim, down to the shores of the western sea; he enclosed in his eager survey the mountain passes of Judah, and the vale of the Jordan, and the Dead Sea, with Jericho, and Hebron, and Engedi, down to Zoar. As he gazed upon the beautiful land, it faded from his sight, the shadows of death enfolded him and the great prophet passed away into the presence of his God. No human eye saw his death, no human tongue could tell the place of his sepulchre. "And there arose no other prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." 252 62. CHARACTER OF MOSES. It is impossible to read the account of the Israelites' wanderings in the desert, and of their first conquests in the east of the Jordan, without feeling our admiration, nay our reverence, for the character of Moses increasing step by step. He was the deliverer of the Hebrews, their legislator, their teacher, their judge, their general, the faithful servant, the favoured messenger of God. Undimmed by the mist of ages, his image stands before us in bright and clear outline. Round him are grouped all other figures distinguished in his time. The wonderful pictures left to us in the narrative of the Pentateuch, ever show his noble form pre-eminent. We are not confined to a faint and shadowy likeness ; we see and hear the living man, in the full reality of his work and mission, in all the beauty of his meekness, in all his patience under bitter troubles in faith and obedience sub- lime and all but perfect. From his cradle among the bul- rushes down to his mysterious mountain tomb on the heights of Pisgah, his life seems to have been directed and guided by a miraculous hand. Born of Hebrew parents in a time of danger and oppression, and in a country marked above all others by idolatry and hatred of the stranger, wondrous- ly saved from a cruel death, adopted by the daughter of a mighty king, nurtured in an Egyptian palace, Moses might seem like the hero of some fanciful legend. But more or- dinary and more human features intermixed with the won- derful, prove the reality of the story. We read how with a generous and unabating love for his unhappy brethren, with a quick feeling for the wronged and the oppressed, Moses avenged an ill-treated Hebrew, and thus forfeited a life of peace and luxury at the court of Pharaoh. Escaping to Midian, he appears here also, and on his very arrival, as a protector of the weak against the strong. Though soon finding a home and domestic happiness in the house of the wise shepherd priest Jethro, he never forgot the misery of his distant 62. CHARACTER OF MOSES. 253 brethren ? and the high destinies of the Hebrews, the descend- ants of Abraham and the inheritors of his glorious promises. In those wild and deserted tracts, where nature assumes a grander and more imposing aspect than in the flat and sandy plains of Egypt, Moses communed for the first time with the Lord. The bush burning with the fire of heaven, and the voice of the angel coming to the solitary shepherd, awakened his heart to the feeling that he had a special mission to fulfil. But his modesty and humility blunted his courage; he could not believe that he was elected for so grand a purpose. This struggle between his timid diffid- ence and his faith recurred, in many forms, throughout his life; it reveals a soul stirred 'by Divine aspirations, but checked by the consciousness of its human weakness. When the ten fearful plagues spread terror and ruin over Egypt, though constantly prominent before the king and the people, he desired to be no more than a frail and weak instrument in the hand of God, announcing His will and executing His de- crees, without personal ambition, without seeking honour for himself. And what grand proportions did his figure attain at the wonderful times of the exodus ! His courage, his prud- ence, his military skill were equal even to so great and extraordinary an emergency. Combining shrewdness and valour, he defied the watchfulness of the Egyptians, and enhanced the confidence of the Hebrews, whose great model and trusty guide he thenceforth became. When the pur- suing enemies, with their swift horses and proud chariots, had found their graves in the Red Sea, the military leader proved a sublime poet ; pious gratitude inspired him with a hymn of praise of singular force and beauty. And when during the forty weary years of wandering in the desert, the people, rebellious and discontented, overwhelmed him with taunting and upbraiding words, when they basely longed to return to the ignominy of Egyptian serfdom, 254 62. CHARACTER OF MOSES. when sickness and death wasted their numbers, when they were slain by the enemy's sword, by terrible plagues, and heaven-sent fire, he never faltered, remaining true to his mission, obedient to his God: distrustful of himself, he pray- ed for the people, interceded for them, forgave their reck- lessness and their jealousy, taught, led, and judged them, strengthened their hope, and loved them with a never fail- ing love. "When they desponded, he raised their courage; when they revolted, he brought them back to God. He in whose soul burnt the fire of a consuming passion, who in a moment of wrath could dash to pieces the tablets received from God, when the degrading sight of the people's idolatry filled him with horror and agony, was yet the meekest of all men who ever lived on earth. IV. THE TIME OF JOSHUA. [Joshua I XXIV.] 63. CAPTURE AND DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. [ Joshua I VII. ] Joshua, the friend and devoted assistant of Moses, had been prepared for his important and difficult mission by receiving the Divine spirit that had worked so manifestly in his great master. He was essentially a bold and mar- tial man, eager for conquest, courageous in the battle-field, and scrupulous in faith and pious obedience. His strong arm never wearied, his energy and promptitude never failed. His very name Jeho-shuah, "God is my help", might have been his war-cry when he burst with irresistible vehemence on his heathen enemies. Upon him devolved the difficult task of wresting the land of Palestine from its ancient possessors, and of portioning it out among the chosen people. Cities had to be captured or razed to the ground, and populations to be exterminated, before the Israelites could occupy the narrow strip of land between the river of Egypt and the range of the Lebanon, including the rugged hills of Judah and the blooming plains of Samaria; though the ambition and bravery of later chiefs and leaders extended the domin- 256 63. DESTBUCTION OP JEKICHO. ions considerably eastward towards the regions of the Eu- phrates. When the thirty days of mourning for Moses had ex- pired, Joshua sent two spies from the camp at Shittim west- ward over the Jordan, in order to explore the adjacent country, and especially the neighbourhood round Jericho and this important town itself. The men went, and came to the house of Rahab which bordered on the wall of the city. When the news reached the king of Jericho, who had doubt- lessly watched the movements of the invading hosts with great anxiety, he at once sent to the woman and bid her give up the two strangers. But Rahab, whether foreseeing the great triumphs of the Hebrews, or fearing their God, was determined to save the lives of her guests by strategem. She hid them on the broad roof of her house amongst the stalks of flax which she had there piled up, and when the king's messengers came, she told them that the men had left her at dusk, and had departed from the city, she did not know whither. "Pursue after them quickly," she urged eagerly, "for you shall surely overtake them." Away sped the messengers to the fords towards the Jordan. Then Rahab went up to the men to the roof of the house, and entreated them thus : "I know that the Lord has given you the land, and -that your terror has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land tremble before you. For we have heard, how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts melted, nor did there remain any courage in any man on account of you : for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown 63. DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. 257 you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my fa- ther's house, and give me a true token; and that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death." The men pledged themselves faithfully to re- member her and her household. Then Rahab let them down by a cord from the window, over the wall of the city, and bid them hide in the mountains for three days, in order to elude their pursuers. The men, before leaving her, desired her to tie a scarlet thread in her window, so that the con- querors should know and respect her house, into which she was to assemble her whole family, lest any member of it should unwittingly be injured. Rahab promised to do so, and the men cautiously departed. When they returned to Joshua, it was with the joyful and confident intelligence, "Truly, the Lord has delivered into our hands all the land, for all the inhabitants of the land tremble before us." The time for marching forth had now arrived; the camp was broken up; and the Ark of the Covenant was borne aloft by the priests, and preceded the congregation at a considerable distance, guiding and encouraging them. Joshua proclaimed on that day: "Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you." They were to pass over the waters of the Jordan as miraculous- ly as their fathers had passed through the waves of the Red Sea. It was harvest time, and the river was swollen, overflowing its banks everywhere. The priests advanced with their sacred burden, and as the soles of their feet touched the bed of the river, suddenly "the waters which came down from above, stood and rose up like a wall . . . and those that came down towards the plain, the Salt-Sea, failed and were cut off." Thus the river-bed was dry, and the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan, whilst the whole nation passed over. Now the Lord commanded Jo- voi.i. 17 258 63. DESTBUCTION OF JERICHO. shua to call one man from each of the twelve tribes, and to bid each man put a stone in the midst of the Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests had rested, as an eternal memorial of the wonders they had just witnessed. "When the twelve stones were placed, and the people had passed over, Joshua commanded the priests to follow the rest from out of the river-bed. As their feet reached the bank, the waters rushed back, overflowing the sides as they had done before. The people gazed with reverential awe upon Joshua, and they feared him as they had feared Moses. The Israelite host encamped at G-ilgal, about two miles south-east of Jericho, in full view of the stately city of the plain, in the shade of a great forest, near broad fields of golden corn, with the refreshing sound of numerous rivulets gladdening their ears. 40,000 warriors were to win that country of which Jericho was the key. Unlike their fathers, who had toiled and trembled so long in Egyptian bond- age, they were men born in the desert, inured to hardships, anxious to battle with the foe, and steadily obedient to their leader. This band of Hebrew soldiers, ever ready for the march or the attack, has through successive ages been the model of all sternly resolute men, desperately resolved to cling to their faith, pitiless to their foes, unflinching in their determination. At Grilgal, the rite of circumcision was enforced, which under the leadership of Moses had been neglected since the departure from Egypt; and the feast of Passover was cele- brated, the people baking their unleavened cakes of the ripe corn of the country which they were soon to call their own. From that day the "heavenly bread", the manna, ceased to be their ordinary food. Joshua was wandering without the camp of Gilgal, gazing perchance at the walled city of Jericho, when a 63. DESTBUCTION OF JEEICHO. 259 vision appeared to him. It was a warrior with a drawn sword. Joshua asked, it may be with secret misgiving, "Art thou for us or for our adversaries?" But the vision answered, "Nay, but as the Lord of hosts I come." Then Joshua fell on his face before the glory of the Lord thus suddenly revealed to him. and he said, "What says my Lord to His servant?" And he received the answer, "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy." The fall of Jericho was connected with extraordinary marvels and wonders. The conquest of the first Canaanitish city did not depend on the courage of the Hebrew warriors, or on the strategy of Joshua, but it was to be-* marked as the work of the Lord's own will and might. It was indeed calculated to terrify the heathens and to encourage the Hebrews. The Lord commanded Joshua to besiege the city. Its gates were shut, its walls closely watched; no one was allowed either to enter or to go out. The Hebrew army en- compassed Jericho as with an iron grasp. For seven days the siege lasted: once on each day, the Ark of the Covenant was borne by the priests from the camp at Gilgal round the walls; seven priests preceded it, blowing a blast on their silver trumpets, and the armed men followed in solemn silence. On the seventh day, the Ark was carried round seven times, and at the seventh long blast of the trumpet, Joshua called out to the people, "Shout! for the Lord has given you the city." A great war-cry rose up into the air, the walls 01 Jericho fell down to the ground, and the He- brew warriors rushed into the town. Then followed the work of destruction which sounds so terrible to our ears. The affrighted and panic - stricken people fell beneath the weapons of the invaders; even women and children were slain, old and young together, nor was the cattle spared. But the spies did not forget the promise they had made to 17* 260 64. CAPTURE OF AI. Rahab; they went into her house, brought her out with all her family, and led them safely to the camp. They alone of their whole race were allowed to dwell among the Hebrews. The city of Jericho was burnt; only the vessels of gold and silver, of brass and iron, were saved for the holy Tabernacle; and Joshua proclaimed publicly, "Cursed be the man before the Lord that raises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof with his first- born, and with his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it." 64. CAPTUEE OF AI AND STRATAGEM OF THE GIBEONITES. [Josh. VIII. IX.] The next point of Joshua's attack was the town of Ai, north-west of Jericho and south-east of Bethel, which was probably then a holy place of the Canaanites. He sent spies up to the mountains to explore the country, who seeing but few of the enemies, augured an easy victory for the Hebrews. Only three thousand men went up to the attack; but the people of Ai rushed furiously upon them, slaying some and driving the others back to the camp. It was the first signal defeat, and the Israelites were utterly dismayed. Joshua rent his clothes, and fell upon the ground before the Ark, pray- ing to the Lord for help, and wailing bitterly in his despair. "What hopes could the chosen people cherish ? What glory would they bring to their God? The voice of the Lord answering Joshua told him, that some of the devoted treas- ures of Jericho had been secretly appropriated by one of his soldiers, and that until the offender had been discovered and punished, the Hebrews would feel the Divine displeasure. Joshua then called all the people together, and announced the will of God. On the following day, when the twelve 64. CAPTUKE OF AI. 261 tribes were assembled, the trial by lot commenced; the tribe of Judah was taken, then the family of the Zarhites, then the household of Zabdi, and last of all the lot fell upon Achan. Joshua called out the disobedient man and said, "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me." Achan did not at- tempt to conceal his sin, but confessed that he had taken from the spoil a valuable Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, and that he had hidden these things in and under his tent. Joshua's messengers found the objects as they were described, and brought them "before the Lord", that is, to the door of the Tabernacle. Then the whole congregation led Achan into the valley of Achor, with his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and his asses. There the men and beasts were stoned to death, and then burnt together with their tent and the spoil unlawfully taken at Jericho. A huge pile of stones was raised up over the remains, as a monument of the Lord's anger. The city of Ai now fell an easy prey to the eager Israelites. It was to be taken by stratagem. Joshua divided his soldiers into two parts, sending the larger number by night to the mountains, westward of the town, on the road to Bethel, where they were to lie quietly in wait; whilst he himself at the head of the other part, encamped in a plain at the northern side of the town. When the king of Ai saw, in the morning, the advancing Hebrews, he summon- edhis soldiers and marched boldly out to meet the enemy. Joshua awaited their approach, and then suddenly, as if seized by a panic, turned round with his men, and fled in hot haste towards the desert. The heathen army pursued them exultingly, until they touched the sandy tracts of the desert. Joshua then raised his mighty spear, brandishing it 262 64. CAPTURE OF AI. aloft ; and when it was seen by the men lying in ambush in the west of Ai, they rushed, without check or obstacle, into the unguarded city, and set it on fire. When the pursuing hosts looked behind them, and beheld the rising flames, they were seized by a sudden fear. As they stopped, Joshua turned round upon them, forcing them back to the burning city. Here they were received and opposed by the Hebrew conquerors; thus they were hemmed in by the two armies of the Israelites ; flight was impossible, and they fell beneath the sword of the invaders. All the Hebrews now entered Ai, where they completed the work of carnage. They slew the inhabitants, but they took with them the cattle and the spoil. The king of Ai was hanged on a tree, and then thrown down before the gate, where the corpse was covered with a huge heap of stones. After these fearful acts of devastation, Joshua and all the Israelites, the priests and the Levites carrying the Ark, journeyed northwards, probably through Shiloh to Mount Ebal. Here they built an altar to the Lord, and faith- fully carried out the commands given by Moses : the Law was engraved on stones; then it was read to the whole congregation together with all strangers; and finally the blessings and the curses were recited from Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, in the exact manner previously enjoined. Terror and consternation spread through the land of Palestine. Every king and chief prepared to do battle to the invader. Then a league was formed among the principal tribes: the Amorites, the Hittites, and the Hivites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, came from their hills and plains, and assembled to meet the common foe. But the town of Gibeon, lying to the west of Jericho, re- solved to save itself by stratagem. There appeared one day in the camp of Gilgal, a party of men with ragged sacks slung across their asses, with leathern wine bottles, old, 64. STKATAGEM OF THE GIBEONITES. 263 rent, and bound up again; shoes torn and way-worn; gar- ments dusty and faded; and their bread dry and mouldy. They had the appearance of people who had made a very long journey. They told Joshua that, having heard of the great wonders performed by the God of the Hebrews, they had travelled from their far distant homes to meet him, and had come to offer their allegiance, and to make a treaty with the Hebrews. As a sign of the truth of their words, they pointed to their tattered garments, and showed their dry provisions. Joshua, not doubting their words, conclud- ed a league with them, promising to spare them in the ge- neral destruction. But soon after he was told that these very men belonged to a neighbouring'tribe, and that Gibeon itself was one of their cities. Though indignant at their cunning, he adhered to the oath by which he had pledged himself, and he was supported in this course by the elders of the congregation. But the people murmured and insisted on the punishment of the impostors. Joshua calmed them by this decision : "We will let them live, but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation." Then summoning the men of Gibeon, he severely censured their deceitful artifice, and told them that, though he would secure their lives from the wrath of the Israelites, they must be servants, and the lowest menials at the Sanctuary for ever. 65. FURTHER CONQUESTS IN CANAAN. [Josh. X XII.] The sincerity of Joshua's promise to protect the men of Gibeon was soon to be tested ; for the neighbouring trib- es, seized with fear and jealousy, leagued together to attack their city under the leadership of the king of Jerusalem. Five kings assembled their armies, those of Jebus, Hebron, 264 65. FUKTHEK CONQUESTS IN CANAAN. and Jarmuth, of Lachish and Eglon, all determined to punish the subservient and cowardly Gribeonites. At the report of their approach, the latter hastily despatched messengers to the camp at Gilgal, summoning the aid of Joshua: "Slack not thy hand from thy servants," was the entreaty, "and save us, and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains, are gathered together against us." Joshua answered readily to the cry of distress; he called out his warriors who had now proved themselves men of valour; in the night he marched from the camp at Grilgal, and soon stood before Gribeon like an avenging spirit. The shrill war-cry sounded and the armies closed. It was a terrible death-struggle, it was to be the crowning defeat of heathendom in Canaan. The battle began at day- break and lasted on throughout the day; at length, sorely pressed by Joshua, the allied armies turned and fled; they clambered up the rocky side of Bethhoron, and were pur- sued by Joshua over the steep mountain-passes, where they fell, slain by the sword of the Hebrews, or by the storm of heavy hailstones that descended from the sky. This great battle at G-ibeon was long famed in Hebrew history; it was the most important victory in the period of the conquest, for it established the power of the invading Israelites. It was told by the warriors to their lisping children; it was mentioned with awe as being supernatur- ally achieved; it was dwelt upon in the poetic chronicles of the nation; and referring to one of them, "the Book of the Righteous", the Bible narrates the event in the following terms : "Then spoke Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Is- rael, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gribeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still and the moon stayed until the people 65. FURTHER CONQUESTS IN CANAAN. 265 had avenged themselves upon their enemies. . . So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened to the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel." The five kings had fled southwards from the terrible arms of the Hebrews, and sought refuge in one of the mountain caves at Makkedah ; but even there they found no safety. The place of their retreat was discovered, huge stones were rolled before the opening of the cave, which was strictly guarded, while the main army continued the pursuit of the enemies. When these were fairly routed and scattered, Joshua ordered the five kings to be brought before him. Then followed one of the terrible scenes too frequent in those times of hatred and confusion. The five captive monarchs were bidden to kneel down, and at Jo- shua's command, his chieftains and chosen warriors placed their feet on the necks of the kings as a sign of subjection. After undergoing this act of humiliation, the five kings were hanged, and finally thrown into the very cave which had been their last hiding place. Their kingdoms fell into the hands of the conquerors, who had now established a firm footing in Palestine. Joshua then traversed the land with his sword and his spear; he made an easy conquest of Makkedah, Libnah, and Lachish, Grezer, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir, devastating the towns and their territory, and slaying the inhabitants ; in a word, he smote "all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the low-lands, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord Grod of Israel com- manded;" for "the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel." Joshua's swift energy was untiring; it was not until he had conquered nearly the whole of the southern country, that he returned to the camp at Grilgal. 266 65. FURTHER CONQUESTS IN CANAAN. But the heathens ventured one more attempt to struggle against the advancing foe; and this attempt was made by one of the Canaanite chiefs dwelling in the northern part of the land. Jabin, king of Hazor, had heard of the un- paralleled success of the invaders ; and full of courage, he de- termined to stem their progress. He sent messengers to the valleys of the south, to the eastern hills, and to the king- doms lying on the sea-coast. He summoned all the chiefs to meet him with their armies at the northern lake of Merom, the first through which the Jordan passes in its course from the heights of the Lebanon. A vast army answered the ap- peal; "they were like the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many." They encamped at the waters of Merom, defiant in their strength, confident of victory. But like a flash of lightning, like a thunderbolt from heaven, Joshua, undaunted, and relying upon Divine assistance, appeared at the head of his warriors before the enemy's gigantic army: "and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them and chased them as far as great Zidon and Misrephoth-maim, and to- the valley of Hizpah eastward; and they smote them until they left them none remaining." A guerilla-warfare, occasionally assuming the propor- tions of great and regular battles, continued for many years even after the brilliant and decisive northern victory ; but Joshua was everywhere successful ; he subdued by untiring energy all the principal towns of Canaan, slew their kings and warlike populations, and enriched his army by their cattle and their spoil. We find thirty -one cities specially mentioned, and in every case the same stern and unsparing measures were carried out. These struggles lasted through- out the prime of Joshua's life, to the very verge of his old age: and yet many places and districts remained to be con- quered among them all the territory of the Philistines 66. SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE. 267 and of Geshur, of the Avites, of the Giblites, and of all the Lebanon. At last the Israelites began earnestly to long for peace; and the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh implored Joshua to be allowed to return to their wives and their children on the eastern side of the Jordan. 66. THE SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE. [Josh. XIII XXII.] But the land was first to be divided between the tribes of Israel. It was of small extent and comparatively narrow, about 190 miles long, and about 80 wide in the middle (varying from 10 to 15 in other parts), containing about 15,000,000 acres. On the eastern side, it stretched towards the great empires of the Euphrates and Tigris, the regions of magnificent despotism ; on the west, it was bathed by the waters of the Mediterranean which connected it with the Grecian isles, the cradle of taste, learning, and philosophy; the southern boundary was that large tract of waste sand, which lay like a barrier between Palestine and Egypt, the land of idolatry and priestcraft ; while to the north it reach- ed to the high range of Lebanon, those tall mountain peaks which separated it from Syria. This small country was singularly endowed by nature; it could boast of rich past- ure lands abundant enough to feed thousands of flocks and herds; it was rich in woods of oak and sycamore, in groves of pine and olive, in the stateliest cedar - forests, luxuriant vineyards, and blooming gardens. Its small com- pass embraced mountains and rocks, sea-coasts, lakes, and rivers, teeming valleys and breezy table-land, but also sandy wastes and stony deserts. The equitable division of such a country was no easy task. The difficulty was evaded by leaving the issue to the 268 66. SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE. decision of the lot, which the Hebrews and other eastern nations believed to reveal the Divine will. To the share of Judah, the lion of Israel, the most numerous of the tribes, fell one of the southern provinces of Palestine, bordered on the east by the shores of the Salt- sea up to the influx of the Jordan, on the west by the ter- ritory of the Philistines, and extending almost to the Medi- terranean, on the south by the mountains and deserts of Edom, and on the north by the extensive plains of Dan and the blooming districts of Benjamin. It was a cool hill country, on whose rugged heights the warlike tribe could dwell in security. The high eminences were crowned with fenced cities, destined to become famed in after-ages. The valleys were rich in corn, and the mountain sides in vine- yards. As to the luxuriant growth of the vine, it is only necessary to recall to mind Eshkol, the halting place of the spies sent by Moses, from where they brought back the colossal grapes. But the town of Hebron, associated with the name of the early patriarchs, though lying within the boundaries assigned to the tribe of Judah, was not to come into its exclusive possession ; it was permitted as a residence to one man and his descendants for ever. Caleb, the tried and faithful servant of Moses and Joshua, asked for this beautiful spot as a reward of his long services. Joshua granted the request upon the condition that he would wrest it at the point of the sword from the giant race of the Enakim who still inhabited it. Caleb succeeded, and obtained his coveted prize. Southwest of Hebron lay Debir, or as it was anciently called Kirjath Sepher. Caleb, wishing to take it from the heathen and to annex it to his own territory, promised to give his daughter Achsah to the man who should win it. His own nephew Othniel came boldly forward, and the city of Debir was added to the possessions of Caleb. Thither he conducted his daughter, 66. SETTLEMENT IX PALESTINE. 269 who, however, apparently looking with apprehension on the sandy plain around the city, begged and obtained from her father the springs that were in the neighbourhood. But Jebus, the future Jerusalem, lying on impregnable heights, remained the stronghold of the Jebusites, who, like some less important populations, dwelt unhurt in the very midst of the land of Judah. Next in importance to the tribe of Judah was that of Joseph; it had so much increased in influence and strength that it was divided into two branches, Ephraim and Ma- nasseh, each sufficiently powerful to form an independent tribe. The Ephraimites especially grew in authority and weight; they received a portion of Palestine north of Judah, but separated from it by the provinces of Dan and Benjamin the Jordan in the east, the Mediterranean in the west. It included the beautiful plain of Sharon; the old town of Shiloh, so long the home of the Tabernacle; Shechem, a second capital of Palestine, and almost forming its centre; and the famous mountains of Ebal and (rerizim, which were to give rise to rival sects. The men of Manasseh again separated in two parts ; one division settled in the north of Ephraim, the other, as has been related, in the east of the Jordan, in the pasture lands of Grilead and Bashan. The tribe of Ephraim, not contented with the districts at first allotted to it, demanded of Joshua more land: "Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, for the Lord has blessed me hitherto?" Joshua replied, "If thou be a great people, then go up to the wood country and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee . . . The mountain shall be thine, for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down, and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the 270 66. SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE. Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong." Five tribes had now received their territories Reuben, Grad, and Manasseh, Judah and Ephraim. Then Joshua sum- moned the whole nation to Shiloh to make arrangements for the allotment of abodes to the remaining tribes. Three men from each tribe were sent out to furnish an accurate account of all the land that had been conquered ; and when they returned, lots were cast for its distribution. It was portioned out in the following manner. The tribe of Ben- jamin was closely hemmed in between Judah and Ephraim, but extending only about half-way between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, enclosing within its borders the holy town Bethel and the fertile plain of Jericho, Gfilgal and G-ibeon, Anathoth and Michmash and Raman all famous in later times. The western part of the intervening country, up to the coast, was assigned to the small tribe of Dan, perpetually threatened by the dangerous vicinity of the Philistines, whose cities Grath and Ekron were never con- quered. To the tribe of Simeon was given the most southern part of Palestine, which lost itself in the wilderness of Kadesh, and which, by its very situation, as later by its political insignificance, was necessarily protected, if it was not absorbed, by Judah. It enclosed Beer-sheba, the southern boundary town of the land, once hallowed by Abraham's so- journ. At the extreme north, between Mount Lebanon, the Jordan, and the sea-coast with its Phoenician settlements, were domiciled side by side, and forming the northern barrier of the kingdom, the four tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon, Asher and Issachar, the two latter bordering on the Mediter- ranean Sea. Though the Levites were to have no connected territorial possessions in the land, they received for their maintenance forty-eight cities, four as a rule in every tribe, together with strips of land around each, as pastures for their cattle. .. ' 66. SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE. 271 Thus the conquered land was portioned out in the new commonwealth of the Hebrews. A people of nomads was from that time to dwell in towns and villages, or to pitch their tents permanently in the forest land or the wide pasture plains. But in order to remind the nation that the entire country in reality belonged to the Lord, who had but tem- porarily granted it to His chosen people, it was, in every fiftieth year, reclaimed by Him; and then all the land that had within that period been sold or given up, was restored to the original proprietors or their heirs. Thus no tribe could enlarge its extent to the injury of other tribes; no one family could seriously disturb the virtual equality of all members of the community ; there could neither be ex- cessive wealth nor helpless poverty, neither despotism nor slavery. When the land was fairly allotted amongst the tribes, Joshua permitted the men of Reuben, Gad, and a portion of Manasseh, to return to the transjordanic districts they had chosen. He blessed them, bid them depart rich with the spoils of the cities they had helped to conquer, but exhorted them: "Take diligent heed to do the com- mandment and the Law, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cling to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul." Upon their arrival on the eastern side of the Jordan, they erected. a great altar to the Lord. When the Israelites heard of it, their anger was kindled, and they resolved to march out against them with a large army; for they thought those eastern tribes guilty of rebellion against God and His Law, which severely forbids the offering of sacrifices at any altar except that of the common Sanctuary. But they sent first Phinehas, the High-priest, who should try to bring them back to obedience. This step prevented a 272 67. DEATH OF JOSHUA. fratricidal war; the transjordanic tribes gave a satisfactory explanation : the altar had not been built by them for sacri- fice or for public and private worship, but merely as a wit- ness of their union with their brethren in the west of the Jordan, and as a means of securing to their descendants the privileges and the glory of belonging to the people of Grod. This account, given in good faith, was accepted, and the harmony of the tribes was happily preserved. 67. DEATH OF JOSHUA. [ Josh. XXIII. XXIV. ] Joshua's great task was now ended; he had led the people into Palestine, and had laid the foundations of the new commonwealth. The valiant soldier had worked un- remittingly; he was advanced in years, and his rest was near at hand. Once more he summoned the Israelites, who assembled round him at Shechem to hear his parting words. Like Moses, Joshua impressed upon them faith in Grod, obe- dience to His Law, utter destruction of all idols, and separ- ation from the idolaters. He pointed out the dangers that still encompassed them; he added warningly, "As all good things are come upon you which the Lord has promised, so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil things, when you transgress the covenant of the Lord your Grod;" and with increasing force he concluded, "And if it seem evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve ;. whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell : but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Could the Israelites withstand an appeal so just and so earnest? They promised, no doubt with all sincerity : "Grod forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods." But how soon were they to prove faith- less to their pledge ! 67. DEATH OF JOSHUA. 273 To commemorate his last words, Joshua set up a stone pillar under the oak near the Sanctuary at Shechem. He died 110 years old, about B. C. 1450, and was buried in Timnath-Serah in Mount Ephraim, near Shechem. Within the boundaries of the same tribe, in Shechem, were deposit- ed the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought with them out of Egypt. Not long afterwards the High- priest Eleazar, the son of Aaron, died, and he was buried in a ground belonging to his family in Mount Ephraim. Thus all the men who had witnessed the wonderful times of the deliverance from Egyptian bondage, passed away; but the memory of the great leader and lawgiver Moses lived among their descendants to cheer and to guide them on their difficult and dangerous path. voi.i. 18 V, THE TIME OF THE JUDGES. 68. GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE PERIOD. [Judg. I. II. XVII XXI.] After the death of the brave Joshua followed a wild and lawless time, when "every man did that which seemed right in his own eyes." Joshua left no successor capable of ruling the entire nation by vigilance and energy, no one mastentepirit eager to grasp the sword and to continue the warfare with the heathen. The High -priest Phinehas who presided at the common Tabernacle in Shiloh, exercised only religious authority. Thus the nation divided itself into separate clans, each clustering round its own chieftain or leader. And yet the country was far from perfectly con- quered; the Israelites were threatened by constant feuds and disturbances from the native inhabitants. Encircled by dauntless enemies, each tribe had to contend for its own safety or existence : often Judah dwelt in peaceful repose when the more northern tribes where fighting on the battle-field; and the latter rested from their labours when the warriors of Judah wrung Jebus from its old inhabitants. The Hebrew nation no longer marched out as one man "from Dan to Beer-sheba" to maintain the honour and the glory of the whole community ; union in spirit and in action were want- 68. TIME OF THE JUDGES. 275 ing; nay jealousy or fierce violence led occasionally to strife and warfare between the tribes themselves. Yet in times of great peril and distress, men of valour and intelligence usually arose to lead the Hebrew soldiers to battle and victory, and to conciliate by their authority the conflicting factions of the commonwealth. These men were "the Judges", a term which conveys but a partial idea of their duties and offices namely those which they performed when their successful leadership against the enemy had restored peace. They were therefore not regu- larly appointed, nor did they follow each other in unbroken succession, but they were acknowledged in periods of ex- ceptional difficulty, and then, when the danger had been overcome by their help, they naturally commanded the re- spect of the people, and were allowed to exercise supreme jurisdiction. The different tribes carried on the war of conquest as best they could. Judah and Simeon joined each other, and defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, seizing and mutilating Adoni-bezek, the king; Judah next took and partially burnt Jerusalem, and then continued a suc- cessful expedition in the southern districts of the province and at the sea-coast, subduing the cities of Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron. The Ephraimites occupied the holy place Bethel ; and the small tribe of Dan, finding itself molested by the Amorites, pressed northwards and took possession of the town Laish. The account of this migration of the Danites is highly instructive, as it well illustrates the lawless character of the age. From Zorah and Eshtaol, two older possessions of the Danites in the central parts of the land, five men were sent as spies to the northern regions of the country. On their way, they came to the house of a certain Micah in Mount Ephraim, where he dwelt with his mother. He had 18* 276 68. TIME OF THE JUDGES. instituted in his house a private worship by means of an ephod and teraphim, of a graven and molten image. At first he made one of his sons priest at this domestic shrine ; but when a young Levite, wandering about homeless and aim- less, passed his house, he secured his services for a small allowance ten shekels of silver and a suit of apparel an- nually, besides his food and exclaimed with a glow of satisfaction, "Now I know that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to be my priest!" And yet the Law specially forbids all outward form of worship at any place except the Tabernacle, which was then at Shiloh! When the five spies from Dan noticed the Levite in Mi- cah's house, they requested him to consult the Divine oracle in their behalf; the answer was entirely encouraging : "Gro in peace; before the Lord is your way wherein you go." The words of the Levite proved true; the men went on to Laish, saw that the town was easy of conquest, and the surrounding country rich and beautiful, and returned to their tribe with a most favourable report. Six hundred Danites inarched out to take possession of the explored territory. On their way, they also came to the house of Micah, and, prompted by the five spies, they seized the sacred images and statues, and persuaded the Levite, who at first opposed their acts of violence, to accompany them to their new homes and to be their priest. They set at nought the im- ploring appeals of Micah, who prayed in vain for the restor- ation of his gods and his Levite. They then marched upon Laish, took the town, called it Dan, and set up the graven image, which continued to be worshipped there under the direction of Levites "all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh," nay "until the very time of the captivity of the land." Another event recorded in the Book of Judges, an event full of barbarous wickedness, cruelty, and bloodshed, 68. TIME OF THE JUDGES. 277 characterises the unchecked confusion of the time even more strongly. A Levite with one of his wives was re- turning from Bethlehem in Judah to his house in Mount Ephraim. They passed Jerusalem, unwilling to stay over night in a town which was still in the hands of the hostile Jebusites; so they pressed on northwards and arrived at dusk in Gribeah, a city of the Benjamites. No one offered them shelter or hospitality. They were sitting despond- ingly in the street, when an old man, who was himself but a sojourner in Gribeah, while his home was also in a town of Mount Ephraim, seeing the strangers, bid them come with him, and 'rest for the night in his house. He feasted them plentifully, and showed them every attention they so much required after their long and weary journey. "When still at their repast, they were suddenly aroused by the wild clamour of angry voices. They saw the house sur- rounded by the frantic Benjamites, threatening instant destruction unless the Levite was delivered up to them. In fact, a scene was repeated resembling that which called down the Divine vengeance upon Sodom. Fearful for the safety of all the inmates of the house, the host sent out the Levite's wife. A terrible fate awaited her ; she was ill- treated by the impious crowd, until she returned to the house, and fell dead on the threshold. There the Levite found her on the following morning. In an agony of re- vengeful grief, he placed her body on his ass, and returned to his home. He had determined upon an awful means of retribution. Dividing the body of the unfortunate woman into twelve parts, he sent one part to each tribe, and ap- pealed for help and vengeance. A cry of horror ran from city to city; this time all Israel rose as one man from Dan to Beer-sheba; nor did the eastern tribes fail to send their ' aid. The warriors, 400,000 in number, assembled atMizpah, where they held a council. The Levite there publicly re- 278 68. TIME OP THE JUDGES. counted the details of the horrible crime. A shout of de- testation was raised against the Benjamites; and all agreed that "there was no such deed done, nor seen, from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt." The men of Israel sent messengers to Gribeah, and sternly demanded the immediate surrender of the perpetra- tors of the outrage. But the haughty Benjamites, dead to all sentiments of justice, refused the request, and thus became accomplices of the atrocious misdeed. They boldly marched out to do battle with the united tribes of Israel, number- ing 26,000 soldiers, and among them 700 chosen men, left- handed, but such dexterous slingers that they could sling stones at a hair's breadth without missing. They poured down upon their enemies, and defeated them on two suc- cessive days, killing 40,000 men. Mourning and terror spread in the camp of the Israelites; but praying, and fast- ing, and offering sacrifices, they took courage, and on the third day, by well -devised stratagems, they gained a de- cisive victory, and a scene of fearful carnage ensued. The splendid army of the Benjamites was completely cut to pieces, and pursued to the mountains and rocky districts; Gribeah and many other towns of Benjamin were burnt, and men and beasts killed by the sword. A small remnant of the Benjamites, six hundred men, found refuge in the caves of Kimmori, north of Gribeah. When the first heat of vengeance had cooled down, when the terrible punishment with all its ghastly results became clear, despair and horror seized the Israelites; for their arms and their wrath had exterminated a whole tribe of their own brethren. Six-hundred Benjamites were left it was true; but at Hizpah, all the children of Israel had sworn that none of their daughters should ever marry a man of Benjamin. Again they met in council, trying to find a remedy for the misfortune. Now, among all the cities, 68. TIME OF THE JUDGES. 279 one, Jabesh in Grilead, had refused to obey the general summons, and had not joined their fellow-citizens in chast- ising the Benjamites. For this offence the people of Jabesh were to be punished. An army of the Israelites marched out against the city, besieged and took it, and slew all the in- habitants. Pour hundred maidens alone were saved and brought back to the camp at Shiloh. The 600 Benjamites who still held out on their rock at Eimmon, were forgiven, and invited to return, and finally the four hundred virgins were given to them in marriage. But there were yet two hundred who had no wives. How was the difficulty to be overcome? The Israelites adopted a very curious device. On the day of a festival celebrated annually in Shiloh, the Benjamites were to lay in wait within the vineyards, and as they saw the virgins pass by singing and dancing, they were suddenly to emerge from their retreats, and each of them was to select a maiden and to carry her off to be his wife. This extraordinary measure succeeded: the fathers and brothers of the captured virgins were at first vehement- ly opposed to it ; but when their anger subsided, they gave their consent, and were glad to think that the extinction of a brother-tribe would thus be prevented. What a picture of the time is reflected in the story of the Levite and its sequel the outrage and cruel murder, the fierce revenge, the impetuous fury of the Israelites, their apparently implacable hatred, and the final pardon of the Benjamites concluding with the strange scene in the vine- yards of Shiloh! These are curious glimpses of that barbar- ous age, and, together with similar incidents narrated in the Book of Judges, form a fitting background for the deeds of the great warriors of Israel. 280 69. OTHNIEL EHUD SHAMGAR. [Judg. III.] The first generation of the conquerors passed away, and was succeeded by a race of men who, careless of the Law and the word of Moses, soon fell into dangerous intimacy with the surrounding nations. The Hebrews adopted the rites of the heathen, in spite of the stern warnings they had received. The Hebrew maid left her people to become the pagan's wife, and the Canaanite's daughter brought her idols and her superstitions into the tent of the Israelite. The sacred groves, dotted everywhere over the country, were visited by the Hebrew no less than by the heathen, and countless images were worshipped by both in common. The belief in the one omnipotent God of heaven and earth had hardly yet taken root among the chosen people. In this sad and degenerate condition, they easily fell a prey to powerful neighbours. Thus they had soon to feel the arms of Cushan- Kishataim, the king of Mesopotamia, who completely sub- dued them, and forced them to pay tribute for eight years. In their shame and despair they prayed to the Lord for deliverance. Their cries were heard, and God imbued with His spirit Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's youngest bro- ther. He was the first prominent champion or "Judge" of the Hebrews in a troubled and helpless time. He shook off the yoke of the foreigner, and secured peace for forty years. After Othniel's death, the Israelites relapsed into their old sin of idolatry, bringing in its train, as usual, an- archy and disunion, of which the surrounding nations never failed to take advantage. The Moabites, under the leader- ship of their king Eglon, in alliance with the Amalekites and the Ammonites, attacked and captured Jericho, the beautiful city with its famous groves of palm-trees. Thus possessed of the key to the whole country, they forced the Hebrews into bondage, in which they held them for eigh- 69. EHUD, SHAMGAR. 281 teen years. Loud and incessant were their prayers and lament- ations. At last, there sprung from the tribe of Benjamin a man fearless and resolute, but no less cunning and dex- terous, Ehud the son of Grera, who removed the disgrace from his people. He was, with others, selected to carry the tribute to Eglon, the king of Moab, who after receiving the money and presents, politely accompanied him a part of his way homeward, and then returned. When Ehud had ar- rived near Grilgal, he sent word to the king, that he had a secret message to deliver to him. He wore a long cloak, under which he concealed, at his right side for he was left- handed his double-edged sword a yard long. The king, a large and fat man, was ready to receive him. When he was reclining in his summer parlour, probably some spacious breezy room on the roof the house, Ehud entered and ex- claimed, "I have a message from God to thee;" and drawing his sword with his left hand, thrust it into the king's body, and pressed it forward till it came out at the opposite side. He then escaped in haste, shrewdly managed to delay sus- picion, and eluded his pursuers till he arrived safely in Mount Ephraim. Here he assembled the Hebrew army by the blast of his trumpet. When the affrighted servants of Eglon found him lying dead in the chamber, they gave the alarm, and the Moabite hosts, certain of victory, and now burning for battle, marched out to avenge their king. In the mean time, the army of the Israelites had advanced to Jericho; they occupied and closely watched the fords of the Jordan; they prevented all Moabites from crossing; and by Ehud's skilful leadership and daring, they slew on one day 10,000 men of the enemy. Thus the Moabites were ex- pelled from the territory of the Hebrews, who now enjoyed peace and prosperity for eighty years. It appears, however, that within this period the He- brews were molested and enslaved by the Philistines; how 282 70. DEBORAH. long they sighed under the yoke, our annals do not record; nor do they enter into details on the manner of their de- liverance, briefly narrating: "And after Ehud was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox-goad, and he also rescued Israel." 70. DEBORAH. [Judg. IV. V-] Again, however, the Israelites turned to idolatry, and despised the Law which they had sworn to obey. When their vigilant Judge Ehud was dead, they followed their sinful ways unchecked. From the north of Palestine, with nine hundred iron chariots, came Jabin, the powerful king of Hazor, whose famous general Sisera was the terror of his enemies. He easily defeated and subjected the Hebrews, and forced them to pay tribute for twenty years. Grievous was the oppression, and the piteous cry of despair rose to the Lord, who mercifully raised up a deliverer. There lived at that time between Ramah and Bethel, in the mountain of Ephraim, a wise and God-fearing woman, Deborah, the wife of Lapidoth, renowned as a prophetess. In the midst of sin and idolatry, she had remained true to God and His word, and inspired all who saw and heard her with love and reverence. She was recognised and appealed to as the supreme judge by the whole nation. Under a palm-tree which remained famous in after-ages, she sat, and there uttered advice, warning, and judgment. Seeing the oppression of the people, and feeling their misery, she sent for Barak, the son of Abinoam, who dwelt in Kadesh-Naphtali, a city in the far north, and who was probably known as a bold and valiant warrior. Him she selected as the champion of the nation. She bid him, in the name of God, call an army of 10,000 men from amongst the 70. DEBORAH. 233 people of Naphtali and Zebulun, who lived at the northern frontier of Palestine, and to assemble them on Mount Tabor; she would cause Siserato pitch his camp at the river Kishon, so that the two armies would be confronted in the plain of Esdraelon; there, she confidently predicted, the chosen people would rout the Canaanites. Barak was afraid that this daring scheme, if undertaken by him alone, would not succeed; he believed that it required the assistance and authority of Deborah, to guide and inspire the soldiers; he, therefore, sent her this reply: "If thou wilt go, then will I go, but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go." Deborah rejoined promptly: "I will surely go with thee, but the journey that thou takest shall not be for thy hon- our, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then sounded the muster call throughout the land. But the days for a general answer to such a summons had passed; the disunion among the tribes became sadly manifest. The Ephraimites were the first to respond: Ben- jamin sent their slingers and archers ; Manasseh followed with chosen men; Zebulun and Naphtali came boldly for- ward, ready to conquer or to die; and Deborah herself, traversing the land from Bethel to Kadesh and Mount Ta- bor, aroused the people of Issachar, and bid them follow her to the battle field. But the powerful tribe of Judah did not appear; Asher preferred his tranquil life on the sea-shore; Dan could not be induced to leave his ships, and risk his gains; Reuben, wavering and irresolute, remained idly among his sheep-folds; and the other tribes of Gilead continued unmoved in their peaceful pursuits. So many, in- different to the dangers of their brethren, kept aloof both meanly and unwisely ! The Hebrew warriors, not numerous but singularly inspired by courage, assembled at Mount Tabor. When Sisera was informed of their advance, he felt that a great 284 70. DEBORAH. struggle for deliverance was imminent, and he determined to crush what he considered an audacious rebellion by the whole strength of his army assisted by his nine hundred iron war-chariots. He drew up his troops along the river Kishon that was soon to become renowned as "the river of battles." But Deborah knew that the Lord's help was near ; she exclaimed to Barak: "Up, for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into thy hand; is not the Lord gone out before thee?" Barak with his 10,000 men hastened promptly from the high-lands of Tabor, and rushed valiantly onward against the horsemen of Sisera. A fearful carnage ensued; the corpses of the slain enemies filled the plain, or were swept away by the waters of the Kishon; the formid- able chariots were of no avail ; Sisera himself, seeing every chance lost and abandoning all hope, leapt from his chariot, and fled on foot for his life. He escaped probably northwards, wandering among his well-known mountain refuges, until he came to the settlement of Heber the Kenite, who had sev- ered himself from the Hebrews, and lived in the plain of Zaanaim and Kadesh, like an independent chief. As Jabin the king of Hazor and Heber the Kenite were at peace, Sisera felt that he had at last found a safe retreat. He went to one of the tents, a worn-out fugitive. Jael, the wife of Heber, came out to meet him. She was a true Hebrew woman at heart, although she dwelt in friendship with the idolaters, and she exulted to find that the power- ful general had fallen into her hands. Shrewdly dissembling her feelings, she said , "Turn in to me, my Lord, turn in to me, fear not." When he had entered, she showed him the most studied attention. He was thirsty and asked for water, she offered him a draught of sweet milk. He was weary and desired to rest, she covered him with a mantle; but he cautiously bade her, "Stand in the door of the tent, and 70. DEBOEAH. 285 when any one comes and enquires of thee and says, Is there any man here? thou shalt say, No." She promised to do as he had requested. Then she waited a while until she was certain that he was asleep. Now the moment for executing her design had arrived. She drew one of the large tent- nails from the ground, and took a hammer in her hand; then advancing softly to the sleeping man, she struck the nail into his temples, and without fear or mercy, she fasten- ed it firmly to the ground! In the mean time, Barak had hotly continued his pur- suit of Sisera. Following his traces, he arrived breathlessly at Heber's tent. Jael came out to meet him in all the flush of triumph, and exclaimed, "Come and I will show thee the man whom thou seekest." She led Barak into the tent, and there lay the great captain murdered , with the nail in his temples. . In verse and in plain narrative the deed of Jael has been extolled as one of supreme merit. And yet, can we really admire that deceitful and relentless woman, who profaned and disgraced the sacredness of hospitality, knew of no pity or tenderness to a wearied soldier, a fallen enemy, and perfidiously lured him to a terrible death? But her contemporaries saw in her only the most patriotic lover of her people, and therefore revered her as a heroine. They looked upon Sisera not as a trembling fugitive, but as the representative of heathen might and hatred, and there- fore glorified his destroyer as the great instrument that de- cided the destiny of the chosen people. Though we, in our happier times and with our better experience, justly revolt from an act of treason and ferocity, we can at least under- stand how it was accepted and even praised by an oppressed and struggling people in that early dawn of civilisation. Did not the same age bring forth a Deborah, a true heroine endowed with a great and manly soul, but also with the 286 70. DEBORAH. same admixture of unwomanly sternness ? In what light did the deed appear to her? Let us see. Returning, after the victory, to her peaceful abode in the mountain of Ephraim, she immortalised the recent war and herself by a poem of singular and almost unequalled beauty. But second only to its literary merit is its histor- ical importance. It is not merely a jubilant song of triumph, of remarkable vividness of colouring, force of expression, and wealth of imagery, but a precious and faithful reflex of its time, especially with regard to the condition and mutual relation of the Hebrew tribes. So rich and so complete a pic- ture has rarely been compressed within so small a compass. The very commencement introduces us into the midst of the busy scene so full of excitement : "That leaders led Israel , that the people followed willingly , therefore praise ye the Lord. Hear, o kings, give ear, o princes; I will, yea I will sing to the Lord, I will offer praise to the Lord, the God of Israel." Then, in attempting to describe the power of God and His mercy towards Israel, she recalls to her mind that event, ever present to Hebrew poets and patriots, the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, fol- lowed by the grand revelation on Mount Sinai ; she describes it with a few vigorous touches, and leaves us to infer that a similar instance of power and mercy had been witnessed in her own time. "Lord, when Thou earnest out of Seir, when Thou didst step out of the Land of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens overflowed, and the clouds poured forth waters. Mountains quaked before the Lord, even that Sinai before the Lord God of Israel." Now turning to her own time, she portrays its dan- gers, its confusion, and its helplessness with equal precision and impressiveness: "In the days of Shamgar, the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were untrodden, and the travellers of even paths went through crooked by- 70. DEBORAH. 287 ways. Chiefs were wanting in Israel, they were wanting, until Deborah arose, until I arose, a mother in Israel. They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or a spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?" Unwilling to dwell on this sad picture of humiliation, she hastens, as if hy a strong effort, to delineate with a few dramatic sentences, the rescue, the safety, the present pride of her people: "My heart is towards the rulers in Israel you that came forward readily among the people, bless ye the Lord! You that ride on white asses, you that sit on embroidered covers, and walk openly on the road give praise. With the voice of those that divide spoils at the water-wells, they recount the mercy of the Lord, the mercy of His chief in Israel : then the people of the Lord go down to the gates. Awake, awake, Deborah, awake, awake, utter a song; arise Barak, and lead away thy captiv- es, son of Abinoani." And now follow the call to arms, the preparations, the war-cry, the meeting of the warriors whose very steps as they rush onward, we seem to hear : "Then I spoke, Go down, remnant, against the nobles ; people of the Lord, go down against the mighty. Out of Ephraim there came those that have their root among Amalek; after thee, Benjamin among thy people; out of Machir came down rulers, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer. And my princes of Issachar were with Deborah; and Issachar, the support of Barak, rushes with him into the valley. At the rivers of Reuben there were great councils. Why didst thou abide among the sheep-folds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? On the rivers of Reuben there were great councils. Grilead remained beyond the Jordan; and why did Dan abide in his ships? Asher continued on the sea- shore, and rested in his harbours. Zebulun is a people that give up their lives unto death, and Naphtali on the heights 288 70. DEBOEAH. of the field. . . Curse ye Meroz, says the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly its inhabitants ; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." How will she describe the battle itself the struggle so fierce and sanguinary, so decisive and all-important? A few words suffice to bring before our eyes the fury and the bloodshed, the miraculous aid and the fearful issue. "The kings came and fought ; then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money. They fought from heaven the stars in their cour- ses fought against Sisera. The river of Kishon swept them away, a river of battles is the river Kishon. Tread, oh my soul, upon the strong. There the horse-hoofs struck out on account of the hurry, the hurry of their mighty ones" Then she touches upon Jael's deed. Has she a word of com- passion for the unfortunate captain, defeated foe though he be, or a word of condemnation for the woman who added deceit to cruelty? She is true to her people and to her age; she describes the act with even more than her ordinary power, she lingers over it with apparent delight and glow- ing admiration, and bursts forth in enthusiastic praise of her country-woman, who seemed, in her eyes, to have com- pleted in the peaceful tent what she had herself begun in the battle field : "Blessed above all women shall Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite, blessed shall she be above all women in the tent. He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter on a lordly dish. She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workman's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote his head, and she dashed to pieces and pierced through his temples. At her feet he sinks, he falls, he lies; at her feet he sinks, he falls; where he sinks, there he falls down de- stroyed !" 71. GIDEON. 289 But the stern poetess is capable of gentler feelings ; she can understand the grief of Sisera's family; she leads us from the bloodstained tent of Jael to the palace of the warrior's mother bent down by mournful forebodings: "The mother of Sisera looks out at the window, she calls through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the footsteps of his horses? The wise among her ladies reply to her, and she returns answer to herself: "Will they not find, will they not divide the prey? to every man a damsel or two, to Sisera a prey of many-coloured garments, a prey of many-coloured, embroidered garments, a many-coloured, two embroidered garments for the neck of a captured animal ?" But lest she be supposed to sympathise with the mo- ther's grief, she concludes, almost abruptly, with a few words powerfully and grandly expressing her wishes and aspirations: "So let all Thy enemies perish, Lord! But let those that love Him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might!" 71. GIDEON. [Judg. VI VIII.] After forty years of peace, the Midianites, in con- junction with the Amalekites and other tribes of the eastern desert, tempted by the fertility and beauty of Palestine, invaded the land from the south. "They came as grass- hoppers for multitude; both they and their camels were without number." They caused terrible devastations, and forced the Hebrews to flee from the cities panic-stricken, and to seek refuge in the mountains , in caves , and rocks. To save themselves from starvation, the Israelites continued to cultivate the soil as well as they could; but when the crops were ripening, the fierce enemies swept over them, destroying everything in the length and breadth of the land, the produce of the field, the flocks and herds. This sad and Vol. i. 19 290 71. OIDEON. humiliating condition lasted for seven years. In trembling and despair, the Israelites prayed to God for rescue, and He sent them a deliverer. There dwelt in Ophrah, a city of Manasseh, on the western hill overshadowing the plain of Esdraelon, a man of the name of Gideon, the son of Joash, the Abi-ezrite. All his brothers had been put to death on Mount Tabor by the Midianites ; he was the only surviving son of his father, the last of a grand and heroic family , "each one resembling the children of a king"; and he, in his valour and manly though tfulness , represented his race nobly. But even this family was tainted by idolatry ; for Joash had in his house an altar of Baal , on which he had placed an image of Ash- tarte, and where probably he and his whole tribe worship- ped. Gideon alone seems to have remained uncorrupted by the evil influences that surrounded him, and to have kept firmly to the service of God. One day he was threshing out some ripe corn by the winepress to hide it from the Midian- ites, when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in human form, and greeted him with the words, "The Lord is with thee , thou mighty man of valour." But Gideon answered, "0 my Lord , if the Lord be with us , why then has all this befallen us? and where are all His miracles of which our fathers told us saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? And now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." "Go in this thy might," rejoined the angel, "and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites; indeed, I have sent thee." These words fell upon a wondering ear; how could he, without prominent position and influence, ^ad his people to war and victory? Yet willing to accept the great mission, he asked for some sign to assure him that he had indeed heard a message from God. Eritreating the angel to stay, he hastened into the house, and when he returned again, he 71. CIDEON. 291 brought the meat of a kid, with unleavened cakes of flour and a pot of broth. But the angel, declining to taste of it, requested Gideon to lay the flesh and the on- leavened cakes upon the stone, and to pour out the broth. As this was done, he touched the food with the end of his staff, when fire rose up out of the rock and consumed the meat and the cakes. Gideon then felt that he stood in the presence of the Lord; fear overcame him; he trembled for his life, because he had seen an angel of God; but he re- ceived cheering promises ; and he built on the sacred spot an altar which he called Jehovah - Shalom (The Lord of Salvation). In the silent hour of the night, the Divine voice came again to Grideon, bidding him to hew down the altar of Baal together with the image of Ashtarte, which polluted his father's house. He was then to build an altar to Gfod upon which he was to offer a bullock seven years old as a burnt -offering, using for the sacrifice the wood of the de- stroyed idol. Aided by ten of his servants, Gideon executed this daring scheme by night. In the morning, when the deed was discovered, the men of Ophrah, full of rage, searched for the perpetrator: they discovered and convicted Gideon; they surrounded the house of Joash, and exclaimed angrily, "Bring out thy son that he may die, because he has cut down the altar of Baal, and because he has cut down the image of Ashtarte that was upon it." Joash, anxious to rescue his brave son, answered shrewdly, "Will you fight for Baal? will you save him? .. If he be a god, let him fight for himself, since some one has destroyed his altar." By this reply he silenced the incensed multitude, and Gideon re- ceived the name of Jerub-baal, that is, "Let Baal fight against him." The campaign against the Midianites was now to com- mence, and Gideon conducted it as general. He easily col- 19* 292 71. GIDEON. lected round him the men of his own family and clan; then sending out messengers throughout the northern districts of the land, he roused the warriors of Manasseh and Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali. The renown of his name and the reliance placed in his valour and wisdom, induced very large numbers to answer his call. Yet though filled with the spirit of the Lord, he could not divest himself of doubt and diffidence. He again prayed earnestly for a sign, this time to guarantee his success in the impending war. He spread the fleece of a sheep upon the ground, where he left it during the night; should he find the earth around dry, but the fleece saturated with dew, he would be convinced of the Divine assistance. On the next morning, he saw the ground dry, while the fleece was steeped in dew. Still a remnant of doubt lingered in his mind , and he prayed for the same sign reversed. The following day, copious dew lay on the ground, but the fleece was dry. Now at last Gideon's fears were quieted, and his resolution taken. Thirty-two thousand men had answered to his summons; but that number was deemed by him too large, for the defeat of the enemy was to appear mainly as the work of God, not of men, and Israel was not to say, "My own hand has saved me." Therefore, Gideon proclaimed, "Whoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead." Twenty-two thousand soldiers left the camp. But as even the remaining 10,000 men were considered too many for the purpose, a curious device was adopted for weeding out the least energetic. Gideon took the men to the water: those who threw themselves on their knees and drank leisurely, were sent home; while those who, gathering the water in their hands, rapidly "lapped it as a dog laps", were retained: of the latter there were but three hundred men; and with this small band Gideon boldly undertook to meet the enemy who lay in the valley of Jezreel "as the sand by 71. GIDEON. 293 the seaside for multitude". It was night, aiid the Lord bid Gideon arise and approach the camp of the heathens, which was sure to fall into his hands: if he was afraid to go alone, he might take his armour-bearer Phurah with him. So both stole softly, in the stillness of the night, into the valley. AVhen they had reached the outskirts of the camp, they heard one man tell his dream to his comrade: "Lo, a cake, of barley tumbled into the host of Midian, and came to the tents, and struck them that they fell, and overturned them, and the tents lay along": after which he heard his comrade give this interpretation : "This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand has God delivered Midian and all the host." When Gideon heard these auspicious words, he worshipped God in gratitude, and returned hopefully to his men. He told them that the hour of action had come. The plan of attack was promptly made: the three hundred men were arranged in three divisions, each man provided with a trumpet , an empty pitcher, and a torch within the pitcher; all the sol- diers were in every respect to imitate Gideon's actions. The latter went onward accompanied by a hundred men ; the rest followed. Gently they ascended the hill, and stood close to the unsuspecting enemy. Gideon advanced, blew a stirring blast on his trumpet, broke his pitcher, and held aloft the lighted torch. His example was instantaneously followed by his soldiers, who rushed forward to the war- cry, "Sword for the Lord and for Gideon." The deafening din of the trumpets aroused the sleeping Midianites, the blazing torches alarmed them. Utter confusion reigned in their camp ; seized with a panic , and without attempting the slightest resistance, they turned in hasty flight, and sped on madly in the hope of gaining the fords of the Jor- dan, and thus to reach in safety the Desert or some friendly tribe. Fierce was the chase through Palestine; Gideon sent 294 71. GIDEON. his speedy messengers through all the mountain ol'Ephraim, bidding the people occupy at once the passes of the Jor- dan, and so cut off the retreat of the Midianites. The men of Ephraim promptly obeyed the command, and caused a terrible massacre at the fords of the Jordan. They captured also the two Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb, slew them, and brought their heads as trophies to Gideon. A hundred and twenty thousand of the enemies fell in this fearful war. But the men of Ephraim, hardy warriors, conscious of their growing power, and not free from overbearing pride which was later to cause fatal divisions, felt aggrieved that they should not have been summoned sooner to share in the glory of the victory, and they remonstrated sharply with Gideon. His judicious answer, reflecting the mode- ration and nobleness of his nature, averted a dangerous conflict: "What have I done," he replied, "in comparison with you ? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer ? God has delivered into your hands the princes of Midian Oreb and Zeeb, and what was I able to do in comparison with you?" The Ephraimites were satisfied. Gideon and his three hundred men conti- nued their pursuit of the enemy; they hastened on east- ward, anxious to capture the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, crossed the Jordan, and arrived wearied and ex- hausted at the ancient city of Succoth. They begged for bread to satisfy their hunger; the men of Succoth answered tauntingly, "Dost thou hold Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hands, that we should give bread to thy army?" Gideon swore to take fearful revenge if he should return victorious, and passed on with his faint followers. Having arrived at Penuel, he repeated his entreaty, was as heart- lessly refused, and menaced a similar retribution. Mean- while Zebah and Zalmunna had rallied at Karkor the remnant 71. GIDEON. 295 of their army consisting of fifteen thousand men, eager to crush Gideon and his handful of followers. But the Hebrews, incited by despair, and fighting for their existence, sur- prised the hostile camp at an unguarded hour with complete success. The heathen army was routed and put to flight; Gideon dashed off in pursuit of the two kings and captured them. He proceeded with them to Succoth, summoned the elders of the town, seventy-seven in number, and bade them look upon his royal captives. "Behold here are Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom you mocked me, saying, Are Zebah and Zalmunna already in thy hands, that we should give bread to thy men that are weary?" Thereupon he carried out his fearful threat, and beat the elders to death with thorns and briars. He then fell upon the town of Penuel, and slew its inhabitants. Now he ordered Zebah and Zal- munna to be brought before him; the moment had arrived for fulfilling what he considered a sacred duty. "What manner of men", he asked the captives, "were those you slew at Ta- bor?" Promptly they replied, "As thou art, so were they, each one resembled the children of a king." Then Gideon exclaimed, "They were my brothers, the sons of my mother; as the Lord lives, if you had saved them alive, I would not slay you." Desirous to leave to his firstborn the merit and the glory of the deed, he called upon his son Jether to strike the death-blow. But the youth trembled to approach the famous heroes. Then the kings, anxious to escape the in- dignity of falling by the hand of a boy, requested Gideon, "Rise thou, and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength." So Gideon himself avenged the murder of his brothers, and the war was concluded. When perfect peace and security were restored, the Hebrews, ready to show their gratitude to the hero who by his fearless courage had restored to them their liberty and their homes, offered him the crown of royalty to be 296 71. GIDEON. hereditary among his descendants. But Gideon felt that his task was accomplished; he had always considered him- self merely as an agent and instrument of God; he was satisfied to have been the champion of his people, he shrank from being their king, and he replied, "I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you, the Lord shall rule over you." Nothing allows us a better insight into the strange cha- racter of the time than the fact recorded of Gideon after this noble answer, which seems to imply an absolute obedience to the Divine will. He requested the Israelites to bring him from the spoils as many golden trinkets as they would give up ; and when they had presented heavy golden earrings, and chains taken from the camels' necks , and magnificent embroideries, he made of them an image or ephod, and set it up as an object of worship at Ophrah, his own city. Can we doubt that this image was dedicated not to an idol but to Grod, whom it was meant to represent? How far, there- fore, was true Mosaism from being established in the minds of even firm believers in the one God ! Gideon had many wives , and became the father of se- venty sons, besides whom a wife of inferior rank bore to him at Shechem another son whom he called Abimelech. He survived his glorious victories for forty years, a happy and peaceful time for the Israelites; and when he died at a great age, he was buried in the grave of his ancestors, mourned by a grateful nation. 297 72. ABIMELECH. [Judg. IX.] But with Gideon departed the faith and the gratitude of the people. They turned to idolatry, and the worship of Baal became again general in the land. A time of confusion and bloodshed followed. Abimelech, ambitious and unscru- pulous, aspired to the sole rulership over Israel. He shrank from no crime to secure this end. He first stirred up the people of Shechem: "What is better for you that seventy persons, all the sons of Jerubbaal, reign over you, or that one man reign over you? And remember that I am your bone and your flesh." He found sympathy and support, and proceeding to his father's house at Ophrah with a number of reckless and evil-minded men, he slaughtered all his bro- thers upon one great stone, possibly an old altar of Baal. Jotham alone, the youngest, escaped the terrible massacre. The men of Shechem now proclaimed Abimelech king. But Jotham, young as he was, felt deeply his wicked brother's atrocity, and longed to avert the danger that threatened the people. He went up to Mount Gerizim, and when large numbers of Shechemites had assembled, he addressed to them the following fine parable, the first we read of in the Bible: "Hearken to me, ye men of Shechem, that God may hearken to you. Once the trees went forth to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive-tree, 'Heign thou over us;' but the olive-tree said to them, 'Should I leave my fatness, which God and man honour in me, and go to wave over the trees?' Then the trees said to the fig-tree, 'Come thou and reign over us;' but the fig-tree said to them, 'Should I forsake my sweetness and my choice fruit, and go to wave over the trees?' Then the trees said to the vine, 'Come thou and reign over us;' and the vine said to them, 298 72. ABIMELECH. 'Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to wave over the trees?' Then all the trees said to the hramble, 'Come thou to reign over us;' and the bramble said to the trees, 'If in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow ; and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon." Concluding the parable with an appeal which implied the interpretation, Jotham exclaimed: "Now, therefore, if you have done truly and sincerely, in that you have made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as his hands deserve for my father fought for you, and exposed his life to the danger, and delivered you out of the hand of Midian . . if you then have dealt truly and sincerely with Jerubbaal and with his house this day, then rejoice you in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you; but if not, let fire come out of Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem and the house of Millo; and let fire come out from the men of Shechem, and from the house of Millo, and devour Abi- raelech." As Jotham ceased speaking, he disappeared from the mountain top; and fearful for his life, he fled from Gerizim to Beer, where he remained in concealment. Abimelech was now undisputed ruler, at least over some districts, and he maintained the power for three years. But then a spirit of mutual hostility arose between him and the people of Shechem; the latter way-laid and plun- dered the followers of Abimelech, who, feeling no longer safe in his old stronghold of Shechem, took up his abode in Arumah. Gaal, the son of Ebed, dexterously fostered the dissension; at a vintage -feast, when all the people were assembled in a great temple of Baal, venting their wrath against their late tyrant in maledictions, he said: "Who is 72. ABIMELECH. 299 Abimelech, and who is Shechem that we should serve him? Is not he the son of Jerubbaal, and Zebul his officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem; for why should we serve him?" He asked to be entrusted with the leader- ship against Abimelech ; he obtained it , and made at once preparations for an attack. But Zebul , Abimelech's faith- ful and vigilant general, was informed of the plans, and frustrated them; he advised his master to march with his army towards Shechem, to wait in an ambush during the night, and then to fall upon the town. The scheme succeeded completely. Abimelech surprised Gaal, who was compelled to flee, and he took Shechem, which, after a fearful carnage, he razed to the ground. Many Shechemites, with women and children, had escaped to a fortified sanctuary of the god Baal-Berith; Abimelech kindled fire around it, and more than a thousand souls perished in the flames. Then he quickly advanced upon the town Thebez ; but here his sanguinary career was to come to a disgraceful end. The inhabitants sought refuge in the strong tower where they tried to hold out against the besiegers. They climbed up to the top, and looked upon the well-equipped army beneath them. The daring Abimelech had already fought his way up to the very gates; he was on the point of hurling the burning firebrands into the midst of his enemies, when a woman, in her rage and despair, threw down a mill-stone upon his head and crushed him. In the agonies of death, he cried hurriedly to his ar- mour bearer, "Draw thy sword , and slay me , lest men say of me, a woman slew me." Thus ended the short and evil reign of Abimelech. A unity , which had little of strength and nothing of liberty, was broken up; the Israelites dispersed to their homes; Jotham's curse was realised. 300 73. TOLA JAIR JEPHTHAH. [Judg. X XII.] After the time of Abimelech, the Bible mentions briefly two Judges, but gives us hardly more than their names - Tola of the tribe of Issachar, who dwelt in the town Sha- mir in Mount Ephraim, and judged Israel for twenty-three years; and Jair, a Grileadite, who was leader for twenty-two years; he had thirty sons who possessed as manj r cities in Grilead, and who are described as "riding each upon his ass colt." After the death of Jair, the Israelites fell back into the darkest idolatry, and worshipped many gods of the sur- rounding nations. As usual, idolatry was the forerunner of misery and bondage. The heathen nations, ever watchful and ready to take advantage of dissensions, attacked the Hebrews. First the Philistines vexed them, and then the Ammonites fell upon the tribes of Grilead in the east of the Jordan, made them tributary, and imposed upon them heavy burdens, under which they sighed for eighteen years. Soon afterwards, the Ammonites, forcing their way across the Jordan, attacked the powerful tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and Benjamin. There was mourning and constern- ation among the Israelites, who could not but feel that their own sins and offences had called down upon them this terrible scourge. They prayed earnestly for deliverance ; and promising faithful obedience, they eagerly destroyed their idols. In greater force then ever, and flushed by their victories, the Ammonites were assembled in the land of Grilead, prepared for warfare. The Hebrews held council at Mizpah in trembling fear; for there was none who durst lead them against the mighty hosts of the heathen. At last they bethought themselves of an able chieftain, and to him they appealed in their despair. Jephthah, a 73. JEPHTHAH. 301 Grileadite, renowned for his valour, bad been driven from his father's house by his brothers, who disputed his share in the inheritance. He had fled to the land of Tob, where he lived a wild and reckless life, surrounded by a band of lawless followers. To him came the elders of Gilead, entreat- ing him to return with them, and lead the Hebrew hosts against their dreaded enemy. He agreed to their request, but he insisted upon one condition, which was accepted, that, should he defeat and drive back the Ammonites, he was to be the sole chief and ruler of the people of Gilead. Then he felt, probably for the first time, that he was chosen to fight as the warrior of the Lord for the glory of His name and the rescue of His people. In this solemn turning- point of his life, inspired by a feeling of religious enthu- siasm, he made the following vow to the Lord: "If Thou shalt indeed deliver the children of Ammon into my hands, then it shall be that, whosoever comes forth to meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer him up for a burnt- sacrifice." And unenlightened as he was, he meant to per- form a pious act, a deed of extraordinary devotion. After fruitlessly attempting a peaceful settlement with the king of Ammon, Jephthah went forth at the head of the Hebrew army. He fought well and bravely, utterly subdued the Ammonites, smiting them in the length and breadth of their country, taking twenty cities. The Hebrew tribes of Gilead were delivered from their bondage. The news of the glorious victories reached Mizpah, where Jephthah's household was established. He had an only child, a daugh- ter, affectionate, devoted, and heroic. She went out joyful- ly, to meet her father when he returned from the battle- field, playing the timbrel and dancing. As he saw her ap- proach in her unconscious gladness, bitter agony pierced his soul; he rent his garments, and a cry of anguish burst 302 73. JEPHTHA.H. forth from his lips: "Alas, my daughter, thou bendest me low indeed, and bringest me to destruction, for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot go back." The maiden was equal to the great occasion ; she felt the vow was sacred and inviolable, and she shrank not from its accomplishment. She accepted her fate with resignation, merely entreating that for two months she might be permitted to live with her companions in seclusion on the mountains, there to be- wail her untimely death. Was Jephthah unable to see, that the vow was in itself impious, that it could never have been acceptable in the eyes of the Lord, and that it was detest- able blasphemy to offer such a sacrifice? Great beyond our present means of realising it must have been the confusion of the lawless times, in which such deeds could be publicly done and regarded as meritorious. Jephthah granted his daughter's last request; and when she returned to his house after two months, "he did with her," the Bible tells us, considerately veiling the awful scene, "according to his vow." The memory of the unhappy maiden was cherished among her country-women; for it became a custom for the daughters of Israel, annually to go up to the mountains and to praise her obedience and fortitude. When the war was concluded, the Ephraimites appear- ed with an army in Grilead, and addressed to Jephthah the same haughty remonstrance which they had before made to Gideon: "Wherefore didst thou proceed to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? We will burn thy house upon thee with fire!" Jephthah replied, that in the time of distress he had invited the Ephraimites to join him, but they had sent no help ; and he at once marched against them, drove them back to the Jor- dan, and occupied the fords. Now, when fugitives came and desired to pass, they were bidden to say the word shibboleth (meaning stream) ; if they pronounced it sibboleth, they were 74. IBZAN ELON ABDON SAMSON. 303 recognised as Ephraimites (for in their dialect sh was pro- nounced like s), and they were put to death. Thus fell 22,000 men of Ephraira. 74. IBZAN ELON ABDON SAMSON. [Judg. XII -XVI.] After the death of Jephthah, who judged Israel for six years, we have a string of mere names presenting but little importance to us. Thus we hear of Ibzan of Bethlehem with his thirty sons and thirty daughters-in-law ; of Eton, a native of Zebulun ; and Abdon of Pirathon in Epbraim, who had forty sons and thirty grand-sons the three together ruling over Israel for 25 years. But the person and history of the next Judge are asso- ciated with features and events which seem to lead us to the old mythical traditions of Greece rather than to the annals of the chosen people. The life of Samson, so vividly told in the Book of Judges, so full of hazards and risks, of buoyancy and rude humour, finds its counterpart in the fabled deeds of Hercules. Unlike the other Judges, Samson performs all amazing feats of valour and strength alone and unaided ; he never leads the people to great enterprises ; he is their sole champion, rejoicing in his strength , and rushing into perils for the mere delight he feels in braving them. There is a quaintness and lightheartedness about this giant warrior, which give to his adventures a wonderful interest enhanced, perhaps, by the fearful tragedy which concludes his career. The story is peculiarly life-like, and yet it sounds almost legendary in its details. His exploits are ever listened to with wonder and admiration, and his sayings, chiefly riddles and puzzles, never fail to cause pleasure and merriment. The land of Canaan was bounded on its south-western frontiers by the territory of the Philistines which, running 304 7*. SAMSON. into the provinces of Dan and Judah, extended in a narrow strip of land along the shore of the Mediterranean. The Philistines, descendants of the giant races that once pos- sessed Canaan, rude, warlike, and restless, had grown into a powerful nation, and were among the most implacable and most dangerous enemies of the Hebrews. In these perpetual feuds, the Israelites, weakened by idolatry and disunion, were often defeated and subdued, and had then to submit to merciless oppression. The burdens both of the war and servitude fell naturally most heavily upon the neighbouring tribe of the Danites ; but they were felt with more or less weight by the whole nation. During forty years the Israel- ites *bore the hateful yoke, and they sent up their cries for help und rescue. Their deliverer came at last from the tribe of Dan. In the small town of Zorah, there lived a man of the name of Manoah, whose wife was childless. One day an angel appear- ed to her declaring, that she would become the mother of a son who should, in due time, save the Hebrews from the hand of the Philistines. The boy was from his birth to be dedicat- ed to God as a Nazarite ; no razor was ever to touch his hair ; even the mother was to abstain from strong drink and all unclean food. Amazed by what she had heard , she told it to her husband, who devoutly prayed for another appear- ance of the Divine messenger, to learn more fully the duties that awaited him and his wife. The vision was repeated, and the angel announced again, this time both to Manoah and his wife, the birth of the wondrous child, and renewed his former injunctions both with respect to the boy and the mother. Manoah entreated his guest to stay and to partake of a meal which he would speedily prepare. The angel de- clined, but left it to him to sacrifice a burnt -offering to Grod. When Manoah had laid the kid he had slaughtered upon the rock which he was using for an altar, and had 74. SAMSON. 305 kindled the fire, the angel, rising upon the flame, ascended with it towards heaven, and was lost to their view. Awed yet reassured by the miracle, Manoah and his wife worship- ped silently, certain that the promise they had received would come true. When the child was born, he was called Samson, the sunny, the bright ; and he grew, and God's blessing was with him. His exploits commenced when he was a mere youth. On one of his frequent roaming expeditions, he came to Thimnah, situated north of his native town Zorah. There he saw a Philistine maiden who so pleased him that he resolv- ed to make her his wife. His parents were unwilling to bring an idolatress into their household, and entreated their son to select a bride from among his own people. But Samson obstinately insisted upon his choice, and went to Thimnah with his father and mother, to make them acquaint- ed with the maiden. On the way, and whilst he was wan- dering alone in the vineyards near the town, he was met by a young lion; he seized the wild beast, and rent it asunder as if it had been a kid. Then he joined his parents uncon- cerned, without mentioning his feat. Returning to Thimnah some time afterwards to celebrate his marriage, he found, upon looking at the spot where he had before killed the lion, that a swarm of bees had built their hive in the carcase. He took some of the honey and ate it on his way. At Thim- nah, he prepared a wedding feast, to which he invited thirty of his companions, and which was to last for seven days. Delighting in riddles, and desirous to perplex his guests, he put before them the following puzzle : "Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." If they guessed the meaning , he promised to give to each of them a shirt and a suit of apparel, but if not, then they were to give him thirty shirts and thirty suits of apparel. Unable to explain the riddle, the guests urged Samson's Vol. I. 20 306 74. SAMSON. bride to persuade him to tell her the interpretation, and then to communicate it to them. She succeeded by artful appeals to her husband's tenderness; and on the last day of the feast the men said : "What is sweeter than honey, what is stronger than a lion?" Samson, easily divining the source of their knowledge, answered in his quaint manner : "If you had not ploughed with my heifer, you had not found out my riddle." Resolved to pay his debts in no ordinary way, and at the same time to chastise the cunning deceit of the Philistines, he went down to Ashkelon, and in the full flush of his strength slew thirty men, and stripped them of their garments, which he gave to the wedding guests. He then returned, angry and mortified, to his father's house in Zorah. In the height of the eastern summer, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson came back to claim his wife, when her father told him that in his absence she had been given to one of his companions, and offered him her younger sister in her stead. Enraged at the insult , he ex- claimed, "This time I am free of guilt with respect to the Philistines, if I do evil to them;" he rushed out into the fields, caught three hundred foxes, tied them together by their tails two and two, putting a lighted firebrand between them, and let them loose into the standing corn, into the vineyards, and the olivegroves. The affrighted Philistines asked each other, "Who has done this ?" And when they heard, it was Samson who thus sought to punish his father- in-law's treachery, they went up to the house of the latter, and burnt it to the ground. Samson's wife and her father perished in the flames. Some of the old affection was still lingering in the hero's heart, and eager to avenge his wife's cruel and untimely death > he attacked the Philistines single-handed, and caused a great slaughter among them. Then he hurried back into the territory of Judah, and there 74. SAMSON. 307 concealed himself in one- of the caves of the rocks of Etam. The incensed Philistines pursued him, and demanded that the daring offender should be delivered into their hands. The men of Judah, fearing their masters and anxious to propitiate them, surrounded the cave where Samson lay hidden, remon- strated with him sharply for what they considered reckless imprudence, bound him with two new cords, and brought him a prisoner to the Philistine camp at Lechi. A shout of joy arose from the heathen hosts; but "the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Samson, and the cords upon his arms became as flax burnt, with fire, and his bands fell loose from his hands." Then taking for his weapon the jaw-bone of an ass which he found near, he slew with it a thousand men, in commemoration of which exploit the place where it was achieved was called "Ramath Lechi" (the height of the jaw-bone). Wandering alone amidst the rocks, weary and exhausted, far from brook or spring, the hero prayed earnestly to God for help; the ground clove at his feet, and a stream of refreshing water rushe'd up before him: the spring remained, and was long famous under the name of "En-hakkore" (Spring of the praying). Samson was now the recognised chief and Judge of Israel. His strength and the terror of his name were suf- ficient to maintain peace for twenty years. One night, when he had roamed into Gaza, one of the chief cities of the Philistines, his enemies, ever lying in wait for him, surrounded the walls and barred the gates , with a view of attacking and killing him in the morning. But Samson, guessing their evil designs, arose at midnight, and unhinging the two huge gates, placed them on his shoulders, bar and all, and carried them as far as the top of a hill before Hebron. In the valley of Sorek, in the territory of Judah, there dwelt a woman, Delilah, deceitful and avaricious, whom 20* 308 74. SAMSON. Samson loved. The wily Philistines determined to make her the instrument of his ruin. She was to entice from him the secret of his strength. It is a strange incident in his life, showing us, how weak was the moral nature of that giant in outward strength. At first, he tried to baffle the insidious enquiries of the traitress, and his answers evinced his usual humour: "If they bind me with seven fresh withs that were never dried, then shall I be as weak as any other man." When he had fallen asleep, Delilah, hiding a number of Phi- listines in the room, tied his arms with green withs, and suddenly arousing him, she exclaimed, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson !" He sprang up and broke the withs, as a thread of tow crumbles away when touched by fire. The secret of his strength was still his own. Again the false temptress urged him to tell her, how he could effectually be pinioned. Samson, enjoying the jest, replied, "If they bind me fast with new ropes, which have never been used, then shall I be weak and be as any other man." Delilah fastened him with new ropes, and 6nce more gave the signal for the Philis- tines' attack. But Samson tore the cords from his arms like threads. When Delilah still continued to weary him with her entreaties, he said, he would lose his strength, if she entwin- ed the seven locks of his head with linen threads. In his sleep she did so, and fixed his locks to the wall with a strong nail, but at the words, "The Philistines are upon thee!" he started up from his sleep, carrying away with him the nail, and facing his enemies in unimpaired vigour. Delilah now lavished upon the hero her fondest caresses: "How canst thou say, Hove thee, when thy heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lies." The rich reward which the princes of the nation had promised for her treachery, incited her to repeat the request again and again; she allowed Samson no peace and no rest, "until his soul 74. SAMSON. 309 was vexed to death." Too confident to flee from this evil woman, and too weak to resist her, he at last poured out his whole heart ; he told her that the mystery of his power lay in his hair, which no razor had touched from the day of his birth, and that as long as he was truly and faithfully a Naza- rite to the Lord, he would remain invincible. Delilah felt that this time he had spoken the truth; she called the Philistine chiefs, and informed them that at last she had Samson indeed in her hands. With well-feigned affection, she watched beside her unfortunate victim till he slept and then she softly bid a man cut the long and carefully preserved locks from his head. When the fatal work was finished, she cried out, "The Philistines are upon thee!" Samson awoke, unconcerned as before, trusting that he would rid himself of his enemies as he had done so often but his strength was gone. The Philistines fell upon him, made him their prisoner, cruelly put out his eyes, and brought him to Gaza, where they loaded him with iron chains, and made him grind wheat in the prison house. The Philistine people rejoiced over the fall of the mighty Hebrew champion; they held public festivals and revelries, and offered sacrifices and thanksgivings to their god Dagon. It was during one of these feasts of wild merry- making that they brought out their captive, cruelly to make sport of him in his misery and blindness. The temple of the god Dagon was filled with vast numbers of people; three thousand were on the roof alone, whilst the inner part of the building was thronged to excess. Samson was led out of his prison, and his inhuman masters bid him sing and dance before them. A boy was leading him by the hand, and placed him between two of the pillars that sup- ported the colossal building. In the midst of his toil and degradation, his hair had begun to grow, and his strength had imperceptibly returned. He felt it; a great resolve 310 75. THE STORY OF EUTH. flashed upon his mind, and at once matured into deed. He said to the lad, "Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereon the house stands , that I may lean upon them." Then he poured out a fervent prayer from the depth of his soul : "0 Lord God, remember me, I pray Thee, and streng- then me, I pray Thee, only this once, o God, that I may take one revenge upon the Philistines for my two eyes." And now grasping both pillars, one with each hand, he ex- claimed, "Let me die with the Philistines !" As he bent down the pillars with all his might, "the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein, and the dead whom he slew at his death were more than those whom he slew in his life." The consternation which this fearful event caused among the Philistines, enabled Samson's brothers and" re- lations to rescue the body of their great kinsman from the land of the heathen, and to bury it in the territory of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the grave of his father Manoah. 75. THE STORY OF EUTH. [Book of Buth.] The stormy period, the events of which we have just related, is relieved by a glimpse of bright sunshine, all the more cheering for the surrounding darkness. It is a beau- tiful episode in the lives of two women, a Hebrew and a Moabitess; and it is told so sweetly and so charmingly, that the story of Ruth and Naomi may well be called the great Idyl of the Bible. It is a refreshing interlude between the history of the Judges and the labours of Samuel, between the old times of lawlessness and the age of the new kingdom. There are but few women whose destinies and deeds are narrated in the Bible with some fulness, and those few are 75. THE STORY OF EUTH. 311 principally conspicuous for energy and courage, like Debo- rah, Jael, and Esther. But the memory of Ruth is rich with affection and gentleness, devotion and filial attachment, un- selfish and pure-minded simplicity. The very sound of her name conjures up before our eyes busy harvest scenes in the land of Palestine, the young men reaping, the maidens gleaning, and the stately yet kindly figure of Boaz moving among his sheaves. It is the one peaceful page snatched from the turbulent lives of the Hebrews of that time; not fanciful like the feats of Samson, not fierce and inspiring like the work of Deborah, but homely and winning in its details, simple yet picturesque. We can do no better than give the story as much as possible in the very words of the Bible, inimitable in their beauty and childlike plainness. "It happened in the days when the Judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Beth- lehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. And they came into the country of Moab, and stayed there. And Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. And they took to themselves wives of the women of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah , and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years. And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them, and thus Naomi alone was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, and returned from the country of Moab, for she had heard that God had looked upon His people and given them bread. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, 'Go return each to her mother's house ; the Lord deal kindly with you and with me; the Lord grant you, that you may find rest # 312 75. THE STORY OF RUTH. each of you in the house of her husband.' Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept. But they said to her, 'Surely we will return with thee to thy people.' And Naomi replied, 'Return home, my daughters, go your way . . . my lot is much bitterer than yours , for the hand of the Lord is gone out against me.' And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother- in-law [and departed]; but Ruth clung to her. And Naomi said, 'Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back to her people and to her gods, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, 'Entreat me not to leave thee and to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go, and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God ; where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to me and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.' When Naomi saw that Ruth was steadfast in her purpose, she left off persuading her. So they two went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they arrived at Bethlehem, all the city was in excitement about them, and they asked , 'Is this Naomi?' And she replied to them, 'Call me not Naomi (gracefulness), but Mara (afflicted), for the Almighty has afflicted me very much: I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty' ... So Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley-harvest. And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, 'Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after any one in whose sight I may find grace.' And Naomi said to her, 'Go my daughter.' And she went and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and it so chanced that the portion of the field belonged to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the 75. THE STOBY OF KUTH. 313 reapers, 'The Lord be with you,' and they answered him, 'The Lord bless thee.' Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, 'To whom does this young woman belong?' And the servant who was set over the reapers answered, 'It is theMoabitish young woman that came back with Naomi out .of the country of Moab; and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves; so she came, and has continued from the morn- ing until now; it is but little that she rested in the house.' Then Boaz said to Ruth, 'Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, nor go from hence, but abide here close by my maidens; let thy eyes be on the field that they reap, and go thou after them; behold, I have charged the men that they shall not touch thee; and when thou art thirsty, go to the vessels and drink of that which the men have drawn.' Then she fell on her face and bowed down to the ground, and said to him, 'Why have I found grace in thy eyes that thou shouldst take notice of me, seeing I am a stranger?' And Boaz answered and said to her, 'I have been fully told everything that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband, that thou hast left thy father, and thy mother, and the land of thy birth, and art come to a people which thou knewest not heretofore: the Lord recompense thy work, and thy reward be complete from the Lord God of Israel, to whose wings thou art come to seek refuge.' Then Ruth said, 'Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord, for thou hast comforted me, and hast spoken friendly to thy handmaid, though I am not like one of thy handmaidens.' And Boaz said to her at meal time, 'Come thou hither and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sat beside the reapers, and they reached her roasted corn, and she ate and was satisfied and left over. And she rose to glean; then Boaz commanded his men, saying, 'Let her 314 75. THE STORY Of RUTH. glean also among the sheaves, and do not vex her; and let also fall some of the bundles on purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.' So Ruth gleaned in the field until the evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it, and went into the city . . . and she took out and gave to her mother-in-law what she left over after she was satisfied. And Naomi said to her, 'Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where didst thou work? blessed be he that took notice of thee!' And Ruth answered, 'The man's name with whom I worked is Boaz.' And Naomi said, 'Blessed be the Lord who has not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead: the man is near of kin to us, one of our redeemers.' And Ruth said, 'He said to me also, Thou shalt keep close by my men, until they have ended all my harvest.' Then Naomi replied, 'It is good, my daugh- ter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they do not meet thee in any other field.' So she kept close by the maidens of Boaz to glean to the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest ; and she dwelt with her mother- in-law." We pause in the narrative to remind the reader of the law observed among the ancient Hebrews, that if a man died, leaving a childless widow, his nearest of kin was bound to purchase his property and marry his widow, in order to "redeem" his name from oblivion. Naomi, naturally anxious to preserve the memory of her deceased husband and sons, was resolved to act upon this law, the more as Boaz, Eli- melech's near kinsman, had been found, and had shown such kindness to Ruth. We now continue in the words of the Bible. "Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, 'My daugh- ter, must I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now, is not Boaz our kinsman? Behold, he 75. THE 8TOEY OF BUTH. 315 winnows barley to night in the threshing-floor. Therefore, wash and anoint thyself, and put on thy raiment, and go down to the threshing-floor, but do not make thyself known, until he has finished eating and drinking. And when he lies down, mark the place, and go there . . . and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.' And Ruth replied, 'All that thou sayest to me I will do.' And she went down to the floor, and did everything that her mother-in-law had told her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and when his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came up softly, and laid herself down at his feet. And it happened at midnight that the man was afraid, and he turned himself, and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, 'Who art thou?' And she answered, 'I am Ruth, thy handmaid ; spread therefore thy protecting wing over thy handmaid, for thou art a redeemer.' And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter! Thou hast shown more kindness in the latter time than at first, because thou didst not follow the young men whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest; for all the city of my people knows that thou art an excellent woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer, but there is yet one nearer than I. Stay this night, und it shall be in the morning that if he will redeem thee, well, let him redeem thee ; but if he will not redeem thee, then I will redeem thee, as the Lord lives: lie down until the morning. And she lay at his feet, until the morn- ing, and she rose up before one could recognise another. . . And Boaz said to her, 'Bring thy cloak, and hold it;' and when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it upon her, and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she told her all that Boaz had done to her. . . . Then Naomi said, 'Remain, my daugh- ter, until thou knowest how the matter will turn out, for 316 75. THE STORY OF EUTH. the man will not rest until he has finished the matter this day." The gate of the city was in those days the chief place for all public assemblies; it was the open court of justice, where men pleaded their cases, where redress was sought, and all claims were decided.* It was there that Ruth's fate was settled. "Boaz went up to the gate, and sat down there; and behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken, was passing by, and he said, 'Ho, such a one, stop and sir" down here' ; and he sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city , and said, 'Sit down here ;' and they sat down. And he said to the redeemer, 'Naomi that is come back out of the country of Moab, sells a piece of land which belonged to Elimelech. And I thought to inform thee, and say. Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it, but if thou wilt not re- deem it, then tell me that I may know, for there is none to redeem it beside thee, and I am after thee!' And the other replied, 'I will redeem it.' Then Boaz said. 'When thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou buyest it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, in order to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.' But the redeemer said, 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance: redeem thou my right of redemption for thyself, for I cannot redeem it.' Now this was the man- ner in former times in Israel with respect to redeeming and to changing, to confirm all things: a man took off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour, and this was the custom in Israel. Therefore the redeemer said to Boaz, 'Buy it for thee,' and he took off his shoe. And Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, 'You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover * See p. 38. 76. THE STORY OF RUTH. 317 Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon have I acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his in- heritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; you are witnesses this day.' And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, 'We are witnesses: the Lord make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah who both built up the house of Israel ; and acquire wealth in Ephrath, and be famous in Bethlehem!' So Boaz took Ruth and she was his wife . . . And she bore a son, and the women said to Naomi, 'Blessed be the Lord who has not left thee this day without a redeemer, and may his name be famous in Israel; he shall be to thee a comforter of thy life, and a support of thy old age ; for thy daughter- in-law who loves thee, and who is better to thee than seven sons, has born him." The child was called Obed, who became the father of Jesse, and the grand-father of king David. Thus the affectionate and true-hearted Moabite woman was the ancestress of Israel's greatest ruler. VI. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SAMUEL. 76. SAMUEL'S YOUTH. [1 Sam. I III.] In Mount Ephraim, at Ramathaim Zophim, there dwelt a man of the name of Elkanah, who had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children, but the pious and humble-minded Hannah had none; yet Elkanah loved his childless wife most. Every year this family went up to offer sacrifices at Shiloh, which was still the common place of worship for all Israel. Here was the Ark and the Taber- nacle, and here were officiating priests and Levites, who performed the sacred rites for the people. The High -priest at this time was Eli, a lineal descendant not of Eleazar, but of Aaron's youngest son Ithamar; he had also been the Judge of Israel for many years, and was now weak and ad- vanced in age. At the annual meetings in Shiloh, it was customary for the worshippers to hold sacrificial repasts, in which their entire households took part, besides invited guests, especially the poor and the Levites. Now, at these meals, Elkanah would give the largest or most valued por- tions to his favourite wife Hannah. This was felt as a slight and an insult by Peninnah , who became jealous of her childless rival. She vented her anger freely upon Hannah, 76. SAMUEL'S YOUTH. 319 who wept and touched nothing at the feast. Elkanah, seeing her distress, asked, "Hannah, why weepest thou, and why eatest thou not, and why is thy heart grieved? Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" But Hannah was troubled and oppressed with sorrow. At one of her yearly visits to Shiloh, she went alone to the door of the Tabernacle, and entering within the holy precincts, she sought relief in prayer. She poured out the distress and bitterness of her soul before the Lord, and as was usual in those days, her supplication took the form of a vow. "0 Lord of Hosts", she said, "if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Thy handmaid, but wilt give to Thy handmaid a man-child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." As she prayed silently and inwardly, her lips moved, but no word was heard. From his seat near the entrance, Eli the High-priest had seen her come in, and closely watch- ed her. His anger was roused, for he thought the strange woman was drunk, and at last he exclaimed, "How long wilt thou be drunken! Put away thy wine from thee!" Hannah answered meekly, "No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit, I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord : count not thy handmaid for a worthless woman, for out of my great grief and misery have I spoken hitherto." Then Eli knew her words were true, and he bid her go in peace, saying, "The God of Israel will grant thee thy petition which thou hast asked of Him." Hannah went back com- forted and with a cheerful countenance, and her foith was rewarded. For a son was born to her, and she called him Samuel ("the Lord hears"). This child, she felt, was but confided to her as a trust; he was to belong to God throughout life; for she meant faithfully to carry out the 320 76. SAMUEL'S YOUTH. vow she had offered in her distress. She determined not to go up to Shiloh until the boy was weaned, when she would leave him in the Tabernacle under the care of Eli. Then, at the appointed time, she made with her little son the journey to the holy town ; there she offered up a bullock for a sacrifice, and then led Samuel into the Tabernacle, and presented him to Eli, saying, "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore I will lend him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he shall be lent to the Lord." Then Hannah prayed again, but now her heart was throbbing with gratitude and praise, and her prayer was one of gladness and thanksgiving. It ran thus : "My heart rejoices in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord, my mouth is enlarged over my enemies, because I re- joice in Thy salvation. There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside Thee, neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly, let not arrogance come out of your mouth; for the Lord is a G-od of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were satisfied have hired themselves out for bread , and they that were hungry ceased to be so ; nay the barren has born seven, and she that has many children has grown feeble. The Lord kills and makes alive, He brings down to the grave and brings up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich, He brings low and lifts up. He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory : for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set the world upon them. He will guard the feet of His pious servants, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness ; for by strength no man prevails. The adversaries 76. SAMUEL'S YOUTH. 321 of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall He thunder upon them : the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and He shall give strength to His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed." Hannah returned to Ramah with her husband, leaving their little son in the care of Eli. Samuel grew and began to assist in the service of .the Tabernacle, girded with a linen ephod like a priest. Young as he was, the Lord's grace rested upon him, and he won favour in the eyes of all men. Elkanah and his household came up yearly to Shiloh to offer their regular sacrifice ; on these occasions Hannah never failed to bring with her presents and garments for her child. She was blessed for her love and self-denial ; for in the course of time she became the mother of three other sons and of two daughters. Eli's declining years were embittered by the wicked conduct of his sons Hophni and Phinehas. These served likewise as priests at the Sanctuary, but unscrupulous and depraved, they committed the most flagrant offences at the very gate of the Tabernacle and in the holy place itself. They even perverted the people that came to sacrifice in Shiloh. It was useless for Eli to reprove them ; they would not listen to him, but continued in their evil ways. We are told that "a man of God", a prophet or seer probably, came to Eli, to warn him of the fate that would befall his sons ; they were sinning against God most griev- ously, and were destined both to die on one day. The house of Eli would cease to be the house of God's priests, and sink into sad poverty and contempt. "I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest," said the messenger in the name of the Lord, "that shall do according to that which is in My heart and in My mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before My anointed for ever. And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left in thy house, shall come voi.i. 21 322 76. SAMUEL'S YOUTH. and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' offices that I may eat a piece of bread." It was from the lips of Samuel that Eli was to hear this mournful message repeated and confirmed; for, when still very young, Samuel received a Divine revelation, and was endowed with that peculiar gift of God's grace, which raised him at once from the priest to the prophet. It was night or early morning, and the Tabernacle was dimly illumined by the soft light from the lamp that burnt there from sunset to sunrise. Eli who had been rapidly growing weaker and more infirm, was lying down in his place. Samuel also was sleeping within the sacred dwelling, when a voice, calling his name, aroused him. He sprang up, and running to Eli, said, "Here am I"; for he thought Eli had called him. But Eli answered, "I called thee not, go back and lie down again." Samuel obeyed. But again the same voice was heard, and again Samuel hastened to Eli, saying, "Here am I." Eli bid him return as before, and lie down. It was the voice of the Lord, but the^child knew it not. It came to him a third time, and again thinking that it was Eli who called, he hastened to him. Now Eli became aware that it was the Lord's summons, and he said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if it happens- that thou art called, thou shalt say, 'Speak, o Lord, for Thy servant hears.' " So Samuel went, and the Lord addressed him as before, "Samuel, Samuel!'* Then Samuel answered, "Speak, for Thy servant hears.'' And the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both ears of every one that hears it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all the things which I have spoken concerning his house; I shall begin and finish. For I have told him, that I will punish hia house for ever, for the offence that he knew that his sons made themselves accursed, and restrained them not. And 77. CAPTURE OF THE ARK. 323 therefore 1 swear to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever." Samuel lay quietly in his place until the morn- ing. He was afraid to relate the vision of the night. But Eli called him, and bid him tell all fearlessly. After hearing the awful announcement, the old man said humbly, "It is the Lord, let Him do what seems good to Him. r The Biblical historian appears to linger fondly on the picture of the child-priest in the Tabernacle; he tells us repeatedly, how the Lord blessed, and how the people loved him. Strengthened by the spirit of Grod, intelligent and high-minded, full of earnest faith and energy, Samuel grew up to become a prophet of the Lord, and the greatest, as he was the last, of the Judges of Israel. 77. CAPTURE AND RETURN OF THE ARK. [1 Sam. IV VI.] The word of solemn warning had gone forth, and the day of sorrow was at hand. The evil deeds of the people and their priests were to meet with a speedy retribution. The Philistines who had so constantly molested and troubled the Hebrews, invading their territory, seized their harvest fruit, and making raids on their flocks and herds, now reappeared to carry on their usual aggressive warfare. This struggle came to a decisive issue in a hard -fought battle between Aphek and Eben-ezer in the south of Pales- tine, where the Israelites were defeated with a loss of four thousand men. Now the elders of Israel remembered that in the days of Joshua, the Ark of the Lord had been triumph- antly carried at the head of