UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILH G 000 083 102 4 I 'I 1; i'! I' I'- ''i; I ! ill iiiiili t! W i ill mn ! ii liHll i!i It h'" Pi'iliI I ill*! lul.l !i!;''j;'fi! ill! illlii' i!!! i!i;;';l;liJi;J^ri'ii;Ki!:,;liii !i!!i' lii^Siii i::i;ii;:i:'''''tli,;iiii ili'il'^il^'I'viiMlf'ii^;!; iiii'ljiillillililiiiiiiiiiliii'lil ill UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES GIFT OF Preston Harrison OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY G. W. WADE, D.D. SENIOR TUTOR OF S. DAVId's COLLEGE, LAMPETER WITH THREE MAPS FIFTH EDITION NEW YORK E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY 31 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 1908 ; ) PREFACE J. THE following book is an attempt to compile from the Old Testament Scriptures, in accordance with ^ the principles of historical criticism, a connected account «= of the Hebrew people. As it is avowedly an Old Testament ^history, the arrangement of the Bible has been adhered -?to so far as chronological considerations have permitted, and its contents are discussed consecutively, so that the reader is placed in possession not only of the conclusions ^ of criticism but of the reasons for them. Much attention ■ C has been devoted to tracing the development of religious ^ belief and practice in ancient Israel, the stages reached ^ at successive epochs being reviewed in separate chapters. ^ Information upon geographical and other matters is >:; supplied in footnotes; and the usefulness of the volume (^(it is hoped) has been increased by several appendices and a tolerably complete index, o The subjoined list of books read or consulted witnesses h-to the extent of my obligations to the labours of others ; Sand as specific acknowledgments have been only sparingly introduced into the body of the work, it is the more neces- sary for me to express in this place my indebtedness to all the writers who are there enumerated. But I naturally owe more to some than to others ; and amongst those to whom my debt is greatest are Dillmann, Robertson Smith, Professors Driver, Moore, H. P. Smith, G. A. Smith, Sayce, Wellhausen, and Kirkpatrick, and various contributors to 272S52 VI PREFACE Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. Nevertheless, though I have drawn freely upon the learning of previous writers, I have throughout endeavoured to verify their assertions and to check their inferences, so that the opinions ex- pressed have not been formed without independent inquiry and a sense of responsible judgment. Of the many defects of my work, due to limitations partly of space and partly of capacity, I am fully con- scious, but its deficiencies will perhaps appear less serious if account be taken of the class of readers whose wants it is meant to supply. It is not intended for scholars, who will find in it little that is unfamiliar except the mistakes, but for less advanced students, who require in a text-book not so much extensive erudition as simplicity of method and perspicuity of statement. If it satisfies in any degree the needs of such, it will have achieved its purpose. In conclusion I have to thank my friend and colleague, the Rev. Professor E. Tyrrell Green, for his kindness in reading the proof-sheets and in furnishing me with a number of corrections and suggestions. G. W. W. July, 1901 PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION The pressure of other work has prevented me from undertaking a thorough revision of my book, but various misprints and errors have been removed since the publica- tion of the first edition. For the detection of some of these I am indebted to Dr. Driver, Dr. C. Harris, the Rev. C. Plummer (Fellow of C.C.C., Oxford), and certain of my pupils, to all of whom I desire to express my gratitude. G. W. W. Oct., 1906 ALUMNIS COLLEGII SANCTI DAVIDIS APUD LAMPETER HOC OPUSCULUM QUALECUNQUE EST DEDICAT AUCTOR CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I THE PRE-HISTORIC WORLD CHAPTER II THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY . CHAPTER III RELIGION IN THE PATRIARCHAL AGE . CHAPTER IV THE EXODUS AND THE WANDERINGS . CHAPTER V RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE CHAPTER VI THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN CHAPTER VII THE JUDGES CHAPTER VIII THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY CHAPTER IX THE REIGN OF DAVID rAGK I 37 63 84 98 134 16s 190 213 239 CHAPTER X RELIGION FROM THE CONQUEST TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF DAVID . . ... 277 CONTENTS IX CHAPTER XI ,^^. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON . . ... 294 CHAPTER Xn ISRAEL AND JUDAH . . . . . 312 CHAPTER XIII RELIGION FROM THE ACCESSION OF SOLOMON TO THE CLOSE OF THE EXILE . . . • • • 395 CHAPTER XIV THE RETURN FROM THE EXILE . ... 465- CHAPTER XV RELIGION AFTER THE RETURN . , . . 49I APPENDIX A ANALYSIS OF THE HEXATEUCH . . . .512 APPENDIX B THE MOABITE STONE . . . . . 514 APPENDIX C WEIGHTS AND MEASURES . . . . . 516 APPENDIX D NAMES AND ORDER OF THE MONTHS . . . . 518 INDEX . . . . • , . 5x9 MAPS FACING PAGE 1. THE WORLD AS KNOWN TO THE EARLY HEBREWS , . . 63 2. THE PENINSULA OF SINAI , , ... 98 3. CANAAN AFTER THE CONQUEST . , • . . 165 LIST OF BOOKS READ OR CONSULTED Addis, Documents of the Hexateuch. Barnes, Chronicles. Baxter, Sanctuary and Sacrifice. Bennett, Joshua (Polychrome Bible). Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Introduction, Benzing-er, Die Biicher der Konige. Bevan, The Book of Daniel. Boscawen, The Bible and the Monuments, Brig-gs, Messianic Prophecy. Bruce, The Moral Order of the World. Budde, The Keligion of Israel to the Exile, Burney, Outlines of Old Testament Theology. Carpenter and Harford-Battersby, The Hexateuch. Charles, Eschatology. Cheyne, Isaiah (Polychrome Bible). „ Jeremiahy his Life and Times, ,, Hosea. „ Micah. ,, Jewish Religious Life after the Exile, Comill, History of the People of Israel (Tr.), , , The Prophets of Israel (Tr. ). Davidson, Ezekiel, „ Job, DUlmann, Genesis. „ Exodus und Leviticus, „ Numeri, Deuteronomium , und Josuct, Driver, Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel. Deuteronomy. Joel and Amos. Isaiah, his Life and Times. Daniel. Essay in Authority and Archceology, Ewald, History of Israel (Tr.). X BOOKS READ OR CONSULTED xi Farrar, The Book of Daniel. ,, Solomon, his Life and Times. „ The Minor Prophets. Frazer, The Golden Bough. Giesebrecht, Die Berufshegahung der Propheten, Goldziher, Mythology among the Hebrews (Tr.). Gray, The Divine Discipline of Israel. Green, The Higher Criticism of the Pentateuch, Harper, The Bible and Modem Discoveries. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible. * Henderson, Palestine. Hommel, Ancient Hebrew Tradition, Hunter, After the Exile. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion, Kautzsch, Outline of the History of the Literature of the Old Testament (Tr.). Kennedy, The Book of Daniel from the Christian Standpoint, Kent, History of the Hebrew People. ,, History of the fewish People. King-, Babylonian Religion. Kirkpatrick, The Doctrine of the Prophets, „ Sam,uel. ,, The Psalms y bks. i.-iii. Kittel, History of the Hebrews (Tr.). Lang, The Making of Religion. Martineau, A Study of Religion. Maspero, The Struggle of the Nations (Tr,). ,, The Passing of the Empires (Tr.) McCurdy, History, Prophecy, and the Monuments Montefiore, The Religion of Israel (Hibbert Lectures). Moore, Judges. Mozley, Ruling Ideas in Early Ages. Ottley, Aspects of the Old Testament, „ The Hebrew Prophets. Petrie, Syria and Egypt. Piepenbring, Histoire du Peuple d"* Israel, „ Thdologie de I'ancien Testameyit, Rawlinson, Egypt. „ Moses, his Life and Times. f, The Kings of Israel and Judah. 1 The first two volumes of this work appeared early enough for me to derive much help from it, but the others were not published until my own book was practically completed, so that I have not been able to make all the use of them that I could desire. xii BOOKS READ OR CONSULTED Riehm, Messianic Prophecy (Tr.). Robertson, Early Religion of Israel. „ The Poetry and Religion of the Psalms, Ryle, Ezra and Nehemiah. Sayce, The Higher Criticism and the Monuments, „ The Egypt of the Hebrews. ,, Patriarchal Palestine. „ The Early History of Israel. „ Races of the Old Testament. Schrader, The Cuneiform Inscriptions and the Old Testament (Tr.). Schultz, Old Testament Theology (Tr.). Sinker, Hezekiah and his Age. Skinner, Isaiah. Smith (G. A.), The Historical Geography of Palestine. ,, The Book of Isaiah. „ The Book of the XII. Prophets, Smith (H. P.), Samuel. Smith (W. Robertson), The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, ,, ,, The Prophets of Israel. ,, ,, The Religion of the Semites, Stanley, Sinai and Palestine. „ Lectures on the Jewish Church. Streane, Jeremiah. ,, The Age of the Maccabees. Van Hoonacker, N^hdmie et Esdras. ,, ,, Ndhdmie en Van 20 d'Artaxerxes /., Esdras en Van 7 d'Artaxerxes II. Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of Israel (Tr.). ,, History of Israel and Judah (Tr.). Whitehouse, Primer of Hebrew Antiquities. Willis, The Worship of the Old Covenant. N.B. — All references, except where otherwise indicated, are made to the Revised Version. INTRODUCTION A NECESSARY preliminary to every history is a survey of the material from which it is to be drawn. It is therefore desirable to begin a connected account of the history contained in the Old Testament by briefly passing under review the several books of which the O.T. consists, and considering their origin, character, and value as authorities. The traditional belief re- specting their authorship, over and above what has been inferred from the names which are attached to some of them, seems to rest upon a passage in the Talmud ^ which makes, together with some statements difficult to understand, the assertion that Moses wrote the books known as his, except the concluding eight verses of the last ; that Joshua added these, and wrote his own book ; that Samuel wrote not only i and 2 Samuel^ but likewise Judges and Ruth; that Jeremiah wrote Kings and Lamentations ^ in addition to the book that bears his name ; and that Ezra wrote a portion of the books of Chronicles^ which were completed by Nehemiah. A little reflection, however, shows that both the titles of the books and the Jewish traditions concerning them are in many instances valueless as evidence of authorship. The book of Joshua^ for example, cannot, as it stands, be written by Joshua, for it includes an account of his death ; and though it is possible to explain this (like the final verses of Deui.) as an addition by another hand, the explanation fails when applied to the books of Samuel; for these include most of the reign of David, whereas Samuel pre-deceased Saul (i Sam. xxviii. 3). Similarly the books of Kings^ of which the Talmud asserts Jeremiah to be the writer, cannot well proceed from him, since ' Quoted in Driver, Introd, to the Lit, of the O.T.^ p. xxxii , Bennett and Adeney, Biblical Intro'd,^ p. 7. B 2 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY mention is made, in the Second Book (xxv. 27), of the accession of the Babylonian King Evil Merodach (561 B.C.), whereas Jeremiah, after the capture of Jerusalem in 586, was conveyed not to Babylon but to Egypt {Jer. xliii. 6, 7), and is scarcely likely to have survived until 561 if his prophetic ministry began as early as 624 or 626 (see Jer. i. 2). The First Book of Chronicles (in iii. 19-24) carries the genealogy of Zerubbabel («>. 520 BC.) down to the 6th generation after him {i.e. cir. 340 B.c.),^ and therefore must have been composed later than this last date, whilst Nehemiah, to whom the Talmud attributes its completion, lived a century earlier. As the external testimony is thus unsatisfactory, it is necessary to have recourse to the internal evidence ; and an explanation of the origin of the O.T. writings must be sought from the writings themselves. The help which the O.T. Scriptures furnish for the settlement of the question of their origin and date is derived not only from their allusions, but from an analysis of their structure. Hebrew writers, in place of first assimilating, and then repeating in their own language, the information obtained from earlier authorities, were frequently accustomed to incorporate in their own com- positions longer or shorter extracts from such authorities, re- produced verbatim. For instance, the identity of Is. il 2-4 with Mic. iv. 1-3 points to the appropriation, by one of these prophets, of the production of the other, or by both of the work of a third; and the close resemblance oi Jer. xlix. 14-16 to Obad. 1-4 leads to a similar conclusion. The writer of Chronicles has followed the same practice on a much larger scale. A com- parison of numerous passages in these books with the parallels in Sam. and Kgs. noted in the margin of the ILV. will show that the author has extracted large portions of these latter books and inserted them in the body of his own work, from which they are sufficiently distinguished by their style and spirit. It will be obvious that certain sections of such books as have been com- piled in this manner are practically distinct compositions, even though they may not exist in a separate form (as is the case with the passages derived by Chronicles from Sam. and Kgs)^ and / 1 The text is obscure, but it names six generations at least. The LXX. gives eleven. INTRODUCTION 3 may possess much greater authority than the complete work of which they form part. For the purpose of the present investigation, the O.T. writings may be conveniently classified into (I.) those which are pro- fessedly of the nature of histories : (II.) those which are of a different character. In the case of the latter it is only neces- sary to determine the age which produced them in order to use them at once as evidence for its conditions and circumstances. But behind the former lie their sources, which equally with them- selves call for consideration, so that the inquiry in consequence is more extensive and involved. This class, in which must be included the Pentateuch, will comprehend all the books (as arranged in the English Bible) from Genesis to Esther ; whilst the other class will comprise the remainder. I. The Pentateuch and Joshua. The books of Moses profess to cover a period of history extending from the Creation to the death of Moses ; so that even if Moses were the writer of them, a long interval would separate the record from many of the events recorded. But the inference, suggested not only by the mention of Moses* death but by the knowledge shown of the entrance into Canaan {Ex. xvi. 35, cf. Josh. v. 12), the ex- termination of the Canaanites {Gefi. xii. 6, xiii. 7, Deut. ii. 12), and the institution of the kingdom {Gen. xxxvi. 31), that they are later than Moses is confirmed by an examination of their structure. A scrutiny of the first four books of the Pentateuch reveals here and there a double strand of narrative, presenting duplicate accounts of the same subject, each composed in a style and with a vocabulary of its own, which sometimes repeat and sometimes contradict each other. Some of the more con- siderable inconsistencies will come under notice in the course of the history;^ whilst the difference in phraseology where the resemblance in substance is closer may be illustrated on a small scale by the following parallel passages \'^ 1 See pp. 55, 57,78, 107, etc. ' In addition to the dififerences in vocabulary observable in the sections quoted at length, the following are noteworthy. In the account of the Creation, Gen. ii. makes no mention of creeping things, which Gen. i. names repeatedly (ver. 24, 25, 26) ; in the account of the Flood certain sections use blot out (vi. 7, vii. 4, 23 marg. ) whilst others uniformly employ OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Gen. ii. 5, 7-9, 19, 22. And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up : for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth and there was not a man to till the ground And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward in Eden ; and there he put the man whom he had for^ned. And out of the ground made Jehovah God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. . . . And out of the ground Jehovah God fomied every beast of the fields and every fowl of the air. . . . And of (a) rib which Jehovah God had taken from the man made he a woman. Gen. i. i, 11-12, 25-27. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth . . . And God said. Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed and fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind^ wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth : and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yield- ing seed after its kind^ and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind: and God saw that it was good . . . And God made the beast of the earth after its kind ; and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its ki?id, and God saw that it was good. And God said. Let us make man in our image, after our like- ness . . . And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him : male and female created he them. Ex. vii. 14-18 (part). And Jehovah said unto Moses . . . Get thee unto Pharaoh, and thou shalt say unto him . . . Thus saith Jehovah, In this Ex. vii. 19. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say ufito Aaron^ Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the waters of Egypt, over their destroy (vi. 13, 17, ix. Ii, 15) ; and in the narrative of the Plagues of Egypt one series of passages, to describe Pharaoh's obstinacy, says that his Juart was heavy or he made his heart heavy {Ex. vii. 14, viii. 15, 32, ix. 7, 34 marg.), whereas another series says that his heart was strong ox Jehovah made his heart strong {\i\. 13, 22, viii. 19, ix. 12, 35, x. 20, 27, xi. 10 marg.). INTRODUCTION 5 thou shalt know that I am Jehovah : behold I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be' turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river. rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood, and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt. Ex. viii. 1-4 (part). And Jehovah spake unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh and say unto him ... I will smite all thy borders with frogs, and the river shall swarm with frogs which shall go up and come into thine house and into thy bedchamber and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people. Ex. viii. 5. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. Through a large extent of the four books there runs, indeed, only a single thread of narrative; but the variation in style in different parts of this is sufficient to connect the several sections with one or other of the two threads which are interwoven else- where. When the separate portions of each of these constituent factors are brought together, they are found to form two more or less continuous compositions, originally independent of each other, which have been amalgamated (though not in their entirety) by a compiler. One of these, from containing the greater part of the ceremonial law, has been entitled the Priestly narrative;^ whilst the other, which itself shows signs (by repeti- ^ The style of the Priestly code is exceedingly precise and formal (see Gen. i., Num. vii., xxvi.) and its phraseology is very distinctive : amongst the expressions which constantly recur are create, after its {their) kind, male and female, all flesh, establish a covenant, be fruitful and multiply , in the selfsame day, substance, cut off from his people, gathered to his people, land of thy {his. 6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY tions and discrepancies) of being composite in texture,^ is known as the Prophetic narrative (more by way of antithesis to the former than from much resemblance to the writings of the prophets). The two may be conveniently denoted by the symbols P and JE (the latter letters standing for the two Divine names Jehovah and Elohim (God) which in Genesis are the chief criteria for distinguishing the component elements into which it is be- lieved that the Prophetic narrative can be partially analysed). The book of Deuteronomy (symbohsed by D), which is at variance with JE and P in its account of certain matters related by them in common,^ is distinguished from both by its phrase- ology which is of a strongly marked character. ^ The Pentateuch, as a whole, thus appears to be composed of at least three sources, if not of four. Sections of all these likewise occur in the book oi Joshua^ so that the title Hexateuch (embracing the first six books of the O.T.) is now widely used to denote the Pentateuch together with the book that follows it. The fact that Joshua is thus united to the so-called Books of Moses by its literary structure disposes of the belief that Moses can be the author of the latter. It would be untenable even if the phraseology characteristic of P, JE, and D re- spectively were confined to these five books, for it is very unlikely that Moses should have written different parts of his own memoirs in a variety of styles which has little relation to the variety of the subject-matter. But when the succeeding book (which records the death of Joshua) is found to share this feature with them, it is clear that the compiler of the whole must have hved later than Joshua and a fortiori later than Moses. The dates of JE, P, and D can only be determined vaguely. JE was composed subsequently to the estabHshment of Israel in Canaan, for Gen. xii. 6, xiii. 7 (already referred to) belong tJuir) sojournings, for a possession. Phrases which are frequent in the legislative portions are the congregation (of Israel), throughoiU your {their) generations, bear his {their) iniquity^ wickedness (or lewdness). » See p. 78, 104, 107. ' See pp. 134 foil. • Frequently recurring expressions are observe to do, take heed to thyself {yourselves) lest, that your days may be long, by a strong hand and a stretched out arm, cause to inherit, cause My nanu to dwells with all your heart and with nil your soul, to do that which is right {evil) in the sight of Jehovah ; see Driver, Introd.^ pp. 91 foil. INTRODUCTION ; to this source, and some of the laws of Exodus which are included in it imply a settled and agricultural, not a nomadic and pastoral, community (xxi. 6, xxii. 6). The literary skill it evinces indicates that it was not written until the Israelites had become w^ell acquainted with the art of composition ; and its origin may plausibly be placed within the period of the Monarchy. The presence in it of the Blessing of Jacob {Gen. xlix.) is consistent with a date within the reigns of David or Solomon (see p. 82) ; but its inclusion of the Blessing of Esau {Gtn. xxvii. 39-40) probably requires it to be brought down to the ninth century B.C. It was, however, earlier than Deuteronomy which, for part of its contents, is dependent upon it. That this latter book was written towards the close of the Monarchy in Judah is suggested by the fact that it was not until a late period in the history of that kingdom that the warning (iv. 19, xvii. 2-5) against planet- worship became needed, or the injunction (xii. 5) to confine the public service of Jehovah to a single sanctuary was carried out (though several of the early sovereigns of Judah were God- fearing rulers). The worship of the host of heaven is mentioned in connection with the kingdom of Israel as early as the eighth century {Am. v. 25, cf. 2 Kg. xvii. 16); and in Judah certain reforms effected by Hezekiah accorded with the precepts of Deut. But Manasseh in the seventh century was the first Judaean king who worshipped the host of heaven ; and Deuteronomy may have been produced as a protest against his idolatry. It was certainly in existence in the time of Josiah, when a copy of it was found in the Temple {2 Kg. xxii. 8, see pp. 376-7), and some of the features of its peculiar style re- appear in Jeremiah^ who lived in the reigns of Josiah and his successors. 1 The origin of P may with some probability be assigned to the time of the Exile, when the suspension of all sacrificial worship would render it desirable, in view of the expected Return, to draw up in writing a body of regulations which previously custom alone had been competent to evolve and transmit. This conclusion is supported by the facts (i.) that the ceremonial legislation peculiar to it was largely unobserved ^ With the phrases quoted in the previous note cf. Jer. xxi. 5 (xxvii. 5, xxxii. 21), xii. 14, vii. 12, xxxiv. 15. 8 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY throughout the period of the Kings (as described in the books of Kings) under circumstances which seem to indicate that such neglect was due not to wilful disobedience but to ignorance : (ii.) that its characteristic vocabulary first occurs on any con- siderable scale in Ezekiel^'^ a prophet of the Captivity : (iii.) that to certain of its arrangements near, though not exact, parallels are found in Ezekiel's regulations for the Israelite community when restored to its own land — regulations which are less likely to be modifications of long-established and authoritative institu- tions than the tentative beginnings out of which the enactments of the Priestly coc'e resulted. P, for example, contains pro- visions, among others, which {a) restrict the priesthood to the descendants of Aaron (instead of allowing it to be shared by all Levites, as represented by Deut.), {b) assign for the habitation of the priests certain cities, {c) station the sanctuary in the midst of the camp (instead of outside it, as represented by JE),^ {d) ordain an annual ceremony of atone- ment for the sanctuary and its furniture, {e) appoint a daily flesh sacrifice, both morning and evening; and to these a significant resemblance is borne by the directions of Ezekicl^ which {a) con- fine the priesthood to the descendants of Aaron's son Zadok, {b) allot to the priests a certain portion of holy ground round the sanctuary, {c) place the latter in the midst of the tribes, {d) enjoin atonement to be made twice a year for the sanctuary and altar, (tf) establish a daily flesh sacrifice every morning, the prophet's precepts appearing to be in some respects less developed than those of the Priestly code. The distinction between the Priests and Levites prevailed at the time of the Return in 536 {Ez. ii.) ; and the arrangements which Nehemiah is represented as carrying out at Jerusalem in 444 B.C. agree generally with certain of the other peculiar requirements of P (see pp. 492-3). The Priestly code was therefore practically completed, and probably fused with the other sources of the Hexateuch* into a single whole, before the last-mentioned date. ^ See, for instance, xiv. 8, 10, xvi. 43, 58, 60, 62, xxi. 30, xxiv. 2, xxviii. 13, 15, xxxvi. II, xl. I, xlv. 5, xlvii. 10; and comp. p. 5, note. 2 See p. 140. ' See Ezek. xliv. 10-16, xlviii. (cf. Davidson ad loc), xlv. 18-25. ^ Certain portions of Deuteronomy as it exists at present are derived from the Priestly Source, e.g. xxxii. 48-52, xxxiv. 7-9. INTRODUCTION 9 Judges, Ruth, 1, 2 Samuel, 1, 2 Kings. The historical books from Judges to Kings appear, like the Hexateuch, to be of compo- site texture. The accounts of the Judges, for example, which form the central portion of the book of Judges^ are, for the most part, introduced and concluded by short observations (serving as a framework for them) which are all cast in a uniform mould (see for introduction iii. 7, 12, iv. i, vi. i, x. 6, xiii. i, and for con- clusion iii. II, 30, V. 31, viii. 28); whereas the accounts them- selves display great freshness and variety. Ruth exhibits in its last five verses something of the style and vocabulary of P ;^ but these may have been added by an exilic or post-exilic writer to a composition of pre-exilic times. It is obviously of later origin than the reign of David to whom it refers (iv. 17), and one of the customs described in the narrative is expressly stated to have obtained in for??ier times (iv. 7) ; but more positive and precise indications of its date are absent. In the Hebrew Bible it is not attached to fudges but is comprised within the group of writings which was the last to be included in the Canon. In I Sam. a number of narratives fall (as will appear later)'-^into two series which are sometimes difficult to harmonise with one another, and seem to be variant representations of the same facts composed by different authors at different dates ; whilst in 2 Stwt. the existence of more than one account of the reign of David, deaUng with different sides of it, is suggested by the two summaries of his officers in viii. 15 foil, and xx. 23 foil. In the books of Kings a collection of graphic stories (many of them relating particularly to the prophets Elijah and Elisha) is inserted in the middle of a compendious chronicle of the kings of Israel and Judah, which is marked by recurrent phrases similar to those just noticed in Judges. But the process followed in the forma- tion of Jud.-Kgs. differs from that pursued in the Hexateuch. In this the earlier documents employed appear to have been welded together into a fairly harmonious whole with a minimum of additions from the hand of the compiler or compilers. In the succeeding books, the contributions of the compiler are more extensive, for to him are probably due the moralising and ^ Cf. Gen. xi. lO foil., where the same form (Heb.) of the verb to beget is used. 2 5gg pp 216, 221, 224, etc. lO OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY annalistic sections, marked by stereotyped phrases, which are so large an element of them. The compilation seems to have been made after the production of Deuteronomy (for the passages assigned to the compiler generally resemble that book in spirit and diction),^ but prior to the Exile (since passages like / Kg. xii. 19, 2 Kg. xvii. 18, 23 must have been written in Palestine while Judah was still a kingdom).^ But as the last chapter of 2 Kg. records the fall of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon (see also xvii. 19-20) this book must have been supplemented during the Exile, at which time some small additions were made to the other books likewise.^ In the books of Samuel the compiler's own hand is less discernible than in the books immediately preceding and following. 1, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. The books of Chronicles^ Ezra, and Nehemiah all form one connected work. Not only are the two last verses of 2 Chron. identical with the opening verses of Ezra^ but they end in the middle of a sentence, the conclusion of which only occurs in Ez. i. 3 ; whilst by Josephus* and in the Talmud Ez. and Neh. must have been counted as one book. As has been stated, a passage in Chronicles implies that it is not earlier than 340 B.C.* With this agrees the reference in Nehemiah xii. 11, 22, to Jaddua, who was high-priest in the time of Darius Codomannus 335-330 and Alexander {ZZ^-Z^Z)- I" * e.g. he {they) did that which was right {evil) in the sight of Jehovah ; cf. p. 6. ' The incidental observations respecting the Judaean ownership of Beer- sheba and Bethshemesh in / /ig. xix, 3, 2 Kg. xiv. 11, which convey the same implication, occur in sections which do not proceed from the compiler but have been incorporated by him from earlier sources. ' Features characteristic of the Priestly Code occur \n Jud. xx., xxi. (see p. 192), I Kg. viii. 1-5 (p. 304) ; cf. also / Kg. iv. 24 marg. * In Cont. Ap. i. 8 he states that the Jews possessed only 22 books, of which 5 contained the laws of Moses and the tradition of the origin of man- kind up to the time of Moses' death, 13 contained the history of the nation from Moses till the reign of the Persian King Artaxerxes, and the remaining 4 consisted of hymns to God and directions for the conduct of human life. The 22 books are generally reckoned to be (1-5) the five books of Moses, (6) Joshua, (7) Judges and Ruth, (8) Samuel, (9) Kings, (10) Chronicles, (11) Ezra and Nehemiah, {12) Esther, (13) Job, (14) the xii. Minor Prophets, (15) Isaiah, (i6) Jeremiah and Lamentations, (17) Ezckiel, (18) Daniel, (19) the Psalms, (20) Proverbs, (21) Ecclesiastes, (22) the Song of Songs. ' That it was written in the Persian or Greek periods appears further from the mention of darics or droihintB in / Ch. xxix. 7. rNTRODUCTION ii Chronicles^ as has been said, there are incorporated sections of the books of Samuel and Kings ; whilst in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah portions of the memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah (marked by the use of the ist person sing.) are embodied (e.g. Ez, vii. 27-ix. 15, Neh, i.-vii). Esther. This book, which professes to relate an incident in the reign of the Persian Xerxes (485-465 b.c), must neces- sarily have been written as late as that date ; but as the opening words suggest that the days of Xerxes were long past, the book is generally assigned to the Greek period and held to be subse- quent to 330 B.C. A more precise conclusion is unattainable. The analysis, however, of so many of the O.T. histories into their component parts does not exhaust the inquiry : it remains to determine upon what sources of information the latter were dependent. Contemporary written sources were forthcoming in abundance for some of the later periods described; and explicit references to such are not infrequent in the books relating to the Monarchy and the Return. For the earlier periods, when direct allusions fail, we have, in estimating the character of the materials from which the history has been derived, to be guided by general considerations. In this con- nection it is important to observe that the evidence for the practice of writing at a certain date by one people does not prove, or necessarily render probable, the use of the same by another people living under different circumstances. The preva- lence of literary habits and the creation of documentary records imply settled life and some measure of culture. Where these conditions have been absent, it is not likely that the art of writing, if known, could be largely practised, or written memorials, available for the future historian, produced. For the ages previous to the Call of Abraham historic data must have been altogether lacking. The account given of these in the opening chapters of Genesis obviously partakes of the nature of the stories by which early races everywhere have en- deavoured to explain the origin of the universe. As will be seen, they have many points of likeness to those which are known to 13 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY have been current in Assyria and Babylonia, The times when the Hebrews came into contact with the Empires of the East were not confined to the 8th and 7th centuries B.C. or the period of the Exile. Babylonian influence had penetrated into Palestine in the 15th century B.C. (as appears from certain tablets found at Tell-el-Amarna, in Egypt),^ and there seems no reason for questioning the trustworthiness of the belief that the ancestors of the Hebrew race themselves came at a still remoter date from Babylonia. The difference in substance and spirit discernible in certain of the parallel narratives in the beginning of Genesis suggests that the materials of them were adapted and shaped by the Hebrews at distinct periods, some perhaps being either appropriated or worked up in the time of the Exile, whilst others may date back as far as one of the two earlier occasions just indicated. In regard to patriarchal times, certain poems and lays were current, which have been incorporated by the writers of the histories: such are those relating to Lamech {Gen. iv. 23, 24), Noah (ix. 25-27), Rebekah (xxv. 23), and Isaac (xxvii. 27-29, 39-40), and the so-called Blessing of Jacob (xlix. 2-27). It is not probable, however, that all of these really proceed from this period; and the bulk of the patriarchal narratives can scarcely rest upon any other basis than tradition. A body of shepherds, such as the ancestors of the Hebrews avowedly were, are not likely to have drawn up and preserved written records of themselves ; and certain features of the narratives (the derivation of the Hebrew people and their kin from a single ancestor, and the precise genealogical tables of their descent) suggest that they are in some degree the product of an imaginative treatment of traditional material. Of the life of Abraham, however, one incident is brought into connection with a Babylonian king {Gen. xiv. i), to whose reign certain inscriptions recently dis- covered relate; and some features in the account of it may be drawn from Babylonian sources, though whether obtained in Babylon or Palestine is uncertain. And, in addition, some of the facts in the career of Joseph (e.g. Gen. xlvii. 13-27) may repose on more secure ground than the rest ; for not only are they in point of time the most recent in the patriarchal history, * 170 miles S. of Cairo. INTRODUCTION 13 but the scene of them is Egypt, where the memory of the past was systematically preserved.^ In the times of Moses and Joshua, as in the preceding age, the situation of the Hebrews, recently escaped from bondage, does not favour the belief that they produced many memorials of themselves. They had, however, in their leader Moses one who had been reared in the house of an Egyptian princess and probably trained in Egyptian learning (JSx. ii. 10); and if he was acquainted with the art of writing (as he may well have been) it is sufficiently likely that he used it. And actual mention is made of records drawn up by him in connection with the feud with Amalek (Ex. xvii. 14), the Sinaitic legislation (Ex. xxiv. 4, 7), a list of stations passed in the Wanderings {Num. xxxiii. 2, P), and the repetition of the Law before his death (Dent. xxxi. 9, 24). But the laws formulated in the several parts of the Pentateuch, together with their respective contents, exhibit, as has been shown, signs of belonging to a later date than the Mosaic age; so that if they embody Mosaic writings, it is impossible to dis- tinguish them. Moreover, the Mosaic legal system appears to have originated in judgments given by word of mouth to dis- putants (Ex. xviii. 13), such oral decisions being converted into written statutes at a subsequent period. The experiences of the Exodus and the Wanderings (which occupy the narrative parts of the Pentateuch) and those attending the conquest of Canaan (related in Joshua) were sufficiently impressive to be re- tained (in outline) in the memory, apart from documentary records \ but the many discrepancies manifested in the different sources of the Hexateuch indicate that much uncertainty pre- vailed as to details, which were in consequence handled with some freedom. Particular incidents became the subject of songs and poems, such as that attributed to Miriam at the Passage of the Red Sea (Ex. xv. 1-2 1). This, together with those quoted in Num. xxi. 14-15, 17-18, 27-30, and others, were probably ^ No confirmation, however, of the history of Joseph has been furnished by the Egyptian monuments, though many both of the customs and of the names which occur in it find illustration from them. And even in regard to the latter, it has been observed that parallels to them are in general derived from monuments relating to a much more recent time than the supposed age of Joseph (see Driver in Authority and Archceology, p. 52). 14 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY at first preserved orally, and committed to writing at a later date, certain of them receiving additions in the course of transmission. Some of these compositions appear to have been eventually collected in a book entitled The Wars of Jehovah {Num. xxi. 14). Another collection of similar poems was the Book oj Jashar {Josh. x. 13). The name of this probably has reference to Israel "the righteous" (cf. Jeshurun^ Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 2 Is. xliv. 2), its contents consisting of songs in praise of Israelite heroes. The date of the latter collection, from the fact that it comprised David's elegy on Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. i. 18), could not be earlier than David's time.^ The narratives in the book ol Judges were presumably derived in the main from poems and stories ^ respecting local heroes which circulated among the several tribes. Such poems and stories were not always constant in the matter of details ; and this want of fixity explains some unimportant discrepancies in the existing accounts. But that these accounts are in the main trustworthy may be inferred from a comparison of one of them (c. iv.) with the evidence supplied by the Song of Deborah (c. v.) which appears to be contemporary with the events it relates.^ With the establishment of the Monarchy Israel entered upon a more settled period of history; and from the rise of national sentiment and the development of national resources the rise of a national literature may plausibly be dated. As the people advanced in culture and civilisation, both the materials for history and the ability to use them would increase. Alike at the courts of the kings (amongst whose officials a Recorder is mentioned, 2 Sam. viii. 16, 7 Kg. iv. 3, 2 Kg. xviii. 18), at the Temple at Jerusalem (where registers and genealogies were kept), and in prophetic circles, numerous sources of information must have accumulated. And that these were utilised by annalists is clear from the titles of the works adduced as authorities in the books ^ It may even be later than the reign of Solomon ; see the LXX. of I Kg. viii. 12 (53) where the words iv /3i^\/(^ t^s ^5^5 have been conjectured to be an error for in the book of Jashar (the Hebrew for the two phrases diflFering but slightly). * Yet it is implied m fud. viii. 14 (marg.) that a knowledge of writing was possessed by even ordinary individuals during this period. ' But see p. 199. INTRODUCTION 15 of Kiftgs and Chronicles. The former mentions three works (or perhaps three sections of one work), "the Acts of Solomon" (z Kg. xi. 41), "the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel" (z Kg. xiv. 19, etc.), and " the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah " (/ Kg. xiv. 29), which would seem to have been based on the public archives.^ The latter refers to a similar work bearing the title of " the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah " (or its equivalent — see 2 Ch. xxvii. 7, xvi. 11, xxxiii. 18) ;2 and also cites either as independent authorities, or as embodied in the book just named,^ the writings of certain prophets, Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Shemaiah, Iddo, Jehu, and Isaiah.* And many of the lists of names which appear in Chronicles^ Ezra^ and Nehemiah must be due to compilations of the priests, begun before the Exile and continued subsequently. The completion and final revision of the historical books of the O.T. occurred (as has been said) at a comparatively late date, at a time when the consciousness of a Divine purpose manifesting itself in Hebrew history had become mature. To this fact are owing two characteristics of this class of writings. In the first place, the interest of their writers was with the religious rather than with the secular side of their nation's annals; and this affected not only their choice of subject-matter,^ but their treatment of it, so that they were less concerned to trace the causes, than to draw the moral, of the events described. In the second place, in their view of the earlier stages of the history they were influenced by their knowledge of the later, but having an imperfect apprehension of the gradualness with which impHcit principles receive explicit expression in the course of historical evolution, they were not content to leave the accounts of the rudimentary phases of their countrymen's religious development * That they were not themselves official documents appears from the char- acter of the reference in / Kg. xvi. 20, 2 Kg. xv. 15. ^ In 2 Ch. xxxiii. 18 mention is made of "the prayer of Manasseh" as being recorded in "the acts of the kings of Israel," and as it finds no place in the history of Manasseh in 2 Kg. xxi. 1-18, the latter work cannot be re- ferred to. 3 See 2 Ch. xx. 34. * See I Ch. xxix. 29, 2 Ch. ix. 29, xii. 15, xx. 34, xxxii. 32. "* For information which they are not interested in supplying they frequently send their readers to the historical works mentioned above as their authorities (see especially / Kg. xiv. 19, xxii. 39). i6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY to be read in the light of the sequel, but were inclined to rewrite them and adapt them to the condition of things that afterwards prevailed. This inclination to introduce the practices and ideas of contemporary times or of the immediate past into the description of a remote period is indisputable in the books of Chronicks; for by the side of these the earlier books of Kings have been preserved, and the difference between their representa- tions is too pronounced to escape notice. But though this is the only case in the O.T. where two separate works upon the same subject are available for comparison, it is probable that the same tendency has been at work in other instances ; and the existing accounts of the Patriarchal and Mosaic ages in particular contain features which (as has been indicated) find on such an hypothesis their best explanation. II. Those of the O.T. books which are not professedly histories but poems, prophecies, or philosophical compositions are of importance to the study of O.T. history from the light which they throw upon the social, moral, and religious conditions of the age which produced them. What this was, however, cannot always be ascertained with certainty, since in the absence of trustworthy traditions it has to be inferred from the general standpoint of the writer or from his specific allusions to persons or events of known date. In some instances the only clue is the character of the subject-matter, linking them to compositions whose age is otherwise fixed ; but it is obvious that writings which are assigned to a particular time solely on the ground of the beliefs and sentiments which they express cannot, without a peiiiio priticipii^ be used to illustrate the characteristic ideas of that time. The non-historical books may be divided into (i.) Poetical, (ii.) Didactic, (iii.) Prophetical. To the first belong the Psalms, Job, and the Song of Songs; to the second. Proverbs and Ecdesiastes ; and to the third the Major and Minor Prophets. The Psalms. Of the Psalms, which number 150, a large proportion are connected, in the titles prefixed to them, with the names of various individuals, viz. Moses (i), David (73), Solomon (2), the sons of Korah (11, including one to which the name of Heman is also attached), Asaph (12), and Ethan (i); INTRODUCTION 17 whilst of the Psalms bearing the name of David, some are associated with particular incidents in his Hfetime. But the contents of many of these last are inconsistent with the state- ments in the titles. In v. 7, xxvii. 4, and Ixv. 4, the allusion to a teifiph does not suit David's reign (though the term is used of the sanctuary at Shiloh).^ In li., which in the title is brought into relation with David's intrigue with Bathsheba, the writer is conscious (ver. 4) of sin against God only (not man), and the closing verses are a prayer for the building of the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm xxxiv., which is assigned to the time when David feigned madness at the court of Gath (7 Sam. xxi. 13), is avowedly intended to give instruction in the fear of Jehovah (ver. 1 1 foil.). In lix., which the title connects with Saul's attempt to kill David at his own house (z Sam. xix. 11), the prayer to God to arise and visit the nations (ver. 5, 8) is inappropriate to the s'lpposed situation. In these cases the value of the titles is discredited, and doubt, in consequence, is cast upon others which are not so obviously in error. The internal evidence, however, though sufficing to disprove many of the conclusions expressed in the titles, is for the most part too vague to supply others as precise but more correct. Nevertheless there is great probability that some psalms proceed from David, though much uncertainty as to which they arc,^ xviii. and xxiv. perhaps having as good a claim as any to be considered his. Others, by their allusions to the king, may have been composed at any time within the period of the monarchy (ii., xx., xxi., xlv., Ixi., Ixiii., Ixxii.); and to these should be added xlvi.-xlviii., Ixxv., Ixxvi., the language of which, though more or less suitable to any occasion when the nation had experienced a great deliverance, is peculiarly appropriate to the time of Sennacherib's over- throw in the reign of Hezekiah. Many are fixed, by their allusions to the captive and distressed condition of the people and the desolation of the Temple, to the Exile or to some later calamity like the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes (168 B.C.), which roused the resistance of the Maccabees (Ixxiv., Ixxix., Ixxx., lxxxix.).3 Ps. cxxvi. expresses the outburst of joy excited by the ^ See / Sam. i. 9 and p. 280. ^ Cf. p. 276. • It has been questioned whether the Canon of the O.T. was not closed i8 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Return from captivity; whilst Ixxxv. seems to reflect the de- spondency which afterwards supervened. A certain number of psalms are liturgical in character (cxv., cxxxv.), and these must proceed from times when the Temple services were carefully organised. It is not, however, improbable that many which exhibit traces of late origin contain an earlier nucleus, old material having been adapted to subsequent needs. The alterations and combinations to which writings of this kind were liable is clearly evidenced by a comparison of cviii. with Ivii, and \x., and of Ixx. with xl. From what has been said it follows that the present collection of the Psalms was the work of post-exilic times. But that earlier collections once existed, which were afterwards incorporated in the later, is suggested by certain internal features. The arrangement into five books might, if it stood by itself, be reasonably held to be the work of the editor ; but the fact that the sections correspond only approximately, not exactly, with the natural divisions into which the contents fall, points to the conclusion that they existed as independent aggregates before the time of the final editor, and that they were, in some respects, modified by him.^ Job. The book of fob, which is a philosophical drama or dialogue, is ascribed in the Talmud to Moses ; but it is highly improbable that in the Mosaic age there could have been pro- duced a work marked by the artistic form and profound thought oi Job. Precise allusions, however, for determining its date are wanting, though the references to the worship of the sun and moon (xxxi. 26-28), with which the Hebrews seem to have become familiar for the first time in the closing years of the Northern Kingdom {2 Kg. xvii. 16), suggest that it was com- posed not earlier than the end of the 8th or the beginning of the 7th century B.C. But if account be taken of the stage of philosophical reflection reached in it, a later date than this is too soon for psalms of the Maccabean period to be inserted in it, the writer of Ecclus. implying that in his time {c. 133 B.C.) there existed a translation of "the law, the prophecies, and the rest of the books," which suggests an earlier date than 168 for the originals from which the translation was made. But the statement leaves uncertain (i) what "the rest of the books" com- prised, (2) whether, if the Psalter was included, it was the existing collection or an earlier one (see the next paragraph). ^ Bks. i. and ii. consist mainly of alleged Davidic psalms, and bk. ii. concludes with the statement "The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended," whereas in reality these two books do not include all the reputed Davidic psalms, whilst they comprise several psalms expressly attributed to other writers (Asaph, Solomon, and the sons of Korah). INTRODUCTION 19 rendered probable, its questionings of Divine justice bringing it into association with Jeremiah and Ezekiel (6th century B.C.). And there are some features which point to a later date even than the Exile, since the only parallels for the character of Satan are furnished by Zech. iii. i and i Ch. xxi. i (both post-exilic writings), whilst the expression holy ones (v. i, xv. 15) to denote angelic beings appears to be found elsewhere only in ^^ Zech." xiv. 5, Fs. Ixxxix. 7, and Dan. viii. 13 (but cf. Deut. xxxiii. 2). The patriarch who is the subject of the book was, no doubt, an actual personage, who was represented either in history or tradition as distinguished both for his piety (cf. Ezek. xiv. 14, 20) and his prosperity ; but, as the symmetry which obtains between his losses and his recompense (i. 2, 3, xlii. 12, 13) suggests, the historical or traditional matter has been freely handled by the poet. Uz, the native land of Job, is associated with Edom in Lam. iv. 21. Song of Songs. The Song of Songs^ a love poem, is either a drama or a collection of lyrics sung at bridal festivals. It bears the name of Solomon (i. i); but certain peculiarities of diction have led to its being assigned either to the time of the Monarchy after the division of the Kingdom, or to the period after the Exile. Proverbs. Proverbs consists of several collections of pro- verbial sayings and maxims, which are respectively attributed to (i) Solomon (i. i-xxii. 16 (or x. i-xxii. 16^) and xxv.-xxix., the latter being stated to have been ** copied out " by " the men of Hezekiah ") : (2) " the wise " (xxii. 17-xxiv. 22 and xxiv. 23-end): (3) Agur the son of Jakeh, of Massa^ (c. xxx.) : (4) Lemuel king of Massa, " which his mother taught him " (c. xxxi.). The final combination of these collections into one book was prob- ably effected at a late date (after the Exile), as one of the collections is said by scholars to contain traces of Aramaic. But the bulk of the book is doubtless old; and apart from the evidence supplied by the title in xxv. i, the numerous allusions to the king (xvi. 10 foil., xix. 12, xx. 8, 26, 28) show that parts must proceed from the time of the Monarchy. Probably many of the proverbs come from Solomon himself (cf. i Kg. iv. 32) ; but it is not likely that all that are ascribed to him are really his, * C. i.-ix. are generally regarded as an introduction to the Solomonic collection x. i-xxii. 16. ' See Gen. xxv. 14. 20 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY since some are of a tenor rather inconsistent with his policy and habits {d.g. xxi. 31, xxii. 14). Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes^ professes (seemingly) to be the work of Solomon (i. i) ; but its ascription to him is probably only a literary device, for neither the description of the pre- valence of oppression (iii. 16, iv. i, v. 8, cf. also x. 5), which reflects severely upon the character of the ruler, nor the counsel relating to the conduct of a subject towards the king (viii. 2 foil., X. 20) is consistent with the book being the composition of one who was himself a sovereign. Still less compatible with its alleged authorship is its diction, which points to its being one of the latest books of the O.T. and therefore post-exilic. But whether it belongs to the Persian or to the still later Greek period is a question which is not easily determined, and turns partly upon the social conditions it contemplates, and partly upon the parallels it offers to certain Greek philosophical systems. Unlike the personal names borne by some of the Historical books, those attached to the Prophetical books are, with two or three exceptions, the names of their authors; and in the case of the majority the age to which they belong is known from in- formation supplied by the histories, or from statements prefixed to the prophecies themselves and confirmed by the evidence of their contents. But in a certain number of instances the date is ascertainable from the internal evidence only, and this is of a conflicting character. And even of those books whose author- ship is known, there are longer or shorter passages which differ so widely both in substance and form from their context that it is difficult to beheve that they can proceed from the same hand j and the origin of such sections has likewise to be determined from their writers' standpoint and allusions. But some un- certainty is inseparable from inferences drawn from these data. In the first place when one country was absorbed by another as the result of conquest, the conqueror could be described as king of the subject territory equally with the previous native ruler ^ Ecclesiastes is the LXX. rendering of the Hebrew Kokeleth^ meaning ** a member of an assembly," and so " a debater." INTRODUCTION 21 (see 2 Kg. xxiii. 29, Ez. v. 13, vi. 22), so that under the same expressions a great- change in the historical situation might be concealed. Secondly, the prophets embraced within their mental view not only the past but the future, and blended together the real and the ideal, so that it is frequently a question of no little perplexity to decide whether the circumstances they depict repre- sent an actually existing state of affairs or only a forecast of one still to come. When a particular standpoint is steadily main- tained for a long space, it may reasonably be regarded as por- traying the conditions under which the prophet was living at the time he wrote : but where short passages are concerned, much doubt is inevitable. Isaiah. Isaiah was a native of Judah, and seems to have been born in the reign of Uzziah, in the year of whose death he received the first call to his prophetic work (vi. i). He lived through the reigns of Jotham and Ahaz, and at least part of that of Hezekiah, his latest prophecies relating to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib in 701 b.c. Whether he survived Hezekiah is not known for certain ; but tradition affirms that he lived till the reign of Manasseh by whom he was put to death. Certain sections of the book of Isaiah are so unlike the rest of it that they may plausibly be assigned to another writer or writers, the reason which has led to their being attached to the authentic productions of Isaiah being perhaps convenience in copying or arranging manuscripts. These sections are xiii. i- xiv. 23 ; xxiv.-xxvii. ; xxxiv.-xxxv. ; and xl.-lxvi. The most important of these is xl.-lxvi. Between this section and the acknowledged writings of Isaiah there is great dis- similarity both in standpoint and style. Here the writer assumes that the nation is in exile (Ixiv. 10), and contemplates its restora- tion from it in consequence of the destruction of Babylon, which is regarded as near at hand, and was actually effected by Cyrus the Persian in 538 B.C. (see xlv. i). The Persian king is already in motion (xlv. 1-2, 5) ; and the prophet in consequence appeals to the fulfilment of earlier predictions (presumably some relating to Cyrus and the successes he has already achieved) as accrediting 22 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the new announcements which he proceeds to make (xlii. 9, xlviii. 3-8). Cyrus who was King of Anshan (a district within the borders of Elam), became in 549 lord of the Medes and Persians by the overthrow of Astyages; and the reference in xli. 25 to one coming from the North and East is possibly an allusion to the union, under him, of these two nations, and consequently confines the date of the section within the interval between 549 and 538. The differences in style between this section and c. i.-xxxix. cannot be dealt with at length here : it is sufficient to name one or two. For instance, the words create and all flesh are common in c. xl.-lxvi. ;^ they are characteristic of the Priestly narrative of the Hexateuch^ which has been assigned to the Exile ; and they are almost entirely absent from c. i.-xxxix. (the only exception being iv. 5). The duplication of an emphatic word is also of frequent occurrence in xl.-lxvi. (see xl. I, xlviii. II, li. 9, 12, 17, lii. i, 11, Ivii. 6, 14, 19, etc.); but in the earlier chapters the only instances are viii. 9, xxi. 9, xxix. i. The section is generally known as 2 Isaiah, Within the last eleven chapters of this section (Ivi.-Ixvi.) there occur certain passages which seem to imply other conditions than those which pre- vailed during the Exile. Thus, {a) idolatry of a Canaanite type is practised, the scenes of superstitious rites being the hills and torrent-valleys of Palestine (Ivii. 5-7, Ixv. 7), {b) social disorder is rife (Ivii. 1-2, Ixvi, 5), {c) the founda- tion of the second temple has been planned, but the reconstruction of it is interrupted by the malice of enemies (Ixiii. 18, cf. Ixvi. i), {d) the pious section of the community is weak, but it is to be shortly strengthened by the return of many Jews who are still scattered abroad These features seem to reflect the conditions that existed soon after the Ketuni (as disclosed in Ezra iv. 1-5, Hag..^ and Zech. i.-viii.) circ. 536-520, when a breach occurred between the recently returned exiles and the population which had been left in the land, and which had probably become semi-pagan (cf. the description of the people of Samaria in 2 Kgs. xvii. 24-41). But some assign these chapters to the time of Nehemiah (5th cent.), and designate them j /r.' xiii. i-xiv. 23, which announces the impending fall of Babylon and the restoration from captivity of Jewish prisoners, is expressly attributed in the superscription to Isaiah, and contains a certain number of parallels to Isaianic phraseology. But the representa- * For create or creator see xl. 26, 28, xli. 20, xlii. 5, xliii. i, 7, 15, xlv. 7, 8, 12, 18, xlviii. 7, liv. 16, Ivii. 19, Ixv. 17, 18; for all Jlesh see xl. 5, 6, xlix. 26, Ixvi. 16, 23, 24. * See p. 5, note. * See Cheyne, Jewish Religious Life after the Exile ^ p. 25. INTRODUCTION 23 tion of Babylon's destruction as near (xiii. 22) and to be effected by the Medes (xiii. 17) suits the close of the Exile best. In xxxiv.-xxxv. the absence of precise references makes the occasion of its composition doubtful ; but the hostility displayed towards Edom (xxxiv. 5-6), and the close parallel with Ixiii. 1-6 (cf. also Ezek. xxv. 12-14), again renders an exilic date probable. Of xxiv.-xxvii. the origin is highly uncertain. The catastrophe described relates to a city (not a country like Assyria, the foe of Israel in Isaiah's time), which may be Babylon, in which case the section will be exilic in origin. With this agrees the reference to Moab (xxv. 10) which finds a parallel in Ezck. xxv. 8-1 1 ; and there are some features of likeness to Is, xxxiv.-xxxv. (just considered). But the mention of this mountain (xxv. 6, 10) points to the writer being in Palestine ; and a post-exilic is more probable than a pre-exilic date, though a confident assertion is impossible. If post-exilic and belonging to the Persian age, it is variously referred to the reigns of Darius Hystaspis (521-485) and Artaxerxes Ochus (358-337) (see pp. 469, note, 487).^ Jeremiah. Jeremiah began to prophesy in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign (see i. 2); and his prophetic activity extended beyond the Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.). The first copy of his prophecies was written in the fourth year of Jehoiakim (xxxvi. I, 2), and this being burnt, a second was made in the following year; so that the chapters of the book which relate to the earlier years of his activity were not composed contemporaneously with the events to which they refer. Two sections of the book, if not more, probably proceed from another than Jeremiah, viz. x. 1-16, and 1. i-li. 58. The second contemplates an attack upon Babylon by the Medes (see li. 11-28); and both exhibit parallels in thought and expres- sion to 2 Is, They may consequently be assigned to the Exile. A part of the second section (li. 15-19) reproduces x. 12-16. Lamentations. Lamentations in the Hebrew has no name attached to it ; but in the LXX. it is expressly assigned to Jeremiah. ^ Some scholars regard xi. 10-16, xii., and xxi. i-io as likewise non- Isaianic (pp. 428, 368, notes). C. xv. i-xvi. 12 is almost certainly quoted by Isaiah from an earlier unknown prophet : part of it is also reproduced by Jeremiah (xlviii. 29 foil.). 24 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY The subject (the Fall of Jerusalem) and the tone of the poem are generally appropriate to the situation and character of Jeremiah ; and there are one or two close parallels between the writer's account of himself and the experiences of the prophet (cf. iii. 14, 53 vfith/er. xx. 7, xxxviii. 6). But the language used of the king (Zedekiah) in iv. 20 seems too sympathetic to pro- ceed from Jeremiah (contrast /er. xxiv. 8), and the writer identifies himself with the political intrigues of the time more closely than Jeremiah is likely to have done (v. 6). Moreover, the fact that of the five chapters, or poems, of which the book consists, four are arranged as acrostics, makes it difficult to think that it could have been composed by a prophet of Jeremiah's temperament ; and his authorship of it is discountenanced by the circumstance that in the Heb. Bible it does not appear among the prophetical writings. Ezekiel. Ezekiel was one of the captives who, in 597, were taken to Babylon with King Jehoiachin, and who found a home at Tel Abib (iii. 15). His prophetic call took place in 592 (i. 2), soon after his own exile began, but before the deportation of his countrymen at large; and consequently some of his writings reflect the conditions and ideas of the time preceding the Fall of Jerusalem. Others, however, were produced subsequently to that event, and more strictly belong to the period of the Exile. The latest of them dates from 570 B.C. (xxix. 17-21). Daniel. The book of Bam'e/, which in the English Bible is placed with the prophetical books, is not counted among them in the Hebrew Scriptures. The narrative element is much more extensive in it than in the prophetical writings generally, occupy- ing about half the book: in this Daniel is referred to in the 3rd person ; but elsewhere he is represented as writing in the ist. The book professes to relate certain events occurring to DanieP and some other captive Jews in Babylon (illustrative of Hebrew faithfulness under trial, and God's goodness towards His loyal servants (c. i., iii., vi.)), and also certain revelations made to ^ The Daniel who is the subject of the book can scarcely be identical with the Daniel named in £zeL xiv, 14, xxviii, 3, who, from the character of the references to him, must have lived long before the Exile. INTRODUCTION 25 Daniel individually respecting the future (c. viii.-xii.). There are, however, numerous difficulties in the way of accepting the book as the work of a prophet of the Exile. The narrative section contains so many inaccuracies and improbabilities that a long period must have separated the writer from the time which he describes. Moreover, the predictions which occupy the second half of the book differ in two respects from those of other prophets, since, on the one hand, they have little relation to the circumstances of the writer's assumed age, and on the other hand, they are very precise and circumstantial in regard to what is represented as a distant future. It has therefore come to be very generally held that the book is of much later origin than the Exile, and really dates from the second century B.C., being contemporaneous with the outrages upon the Jewish nation and religion perpetrated by Antiochus Epiphanes (175- 163 B.C.). If this view is correct, it will be clear that (i) the narrative part cannot command implicit confidence ; (2) the bulk of the prophecies were written after the events predicted had taken place. But it does not follow that the incidents and pre- dictions are alike pure inventions : the writer, for his account of both, may have had materials to work upon, though, if so, it is probable that he has handled them with freedom. Nor even if all the prophecies, except that of the destruction of Anliochus in viii. 25 and xi. 45, and the establishment of the Divine kingdom in ii. 44, vii. 14, 27, are actually vaticinia post eventus^ is the writer necessarily guilty of intentional deceit. The pre- dictive form into which he has cast what is ex hypothesi an account of the past may be only his method of expressing and making intelligible the truth that everything that had previously happened had taken place in accordance with the foreknowledge and purpose of God, and was preliminary to a glorious future which he beUeved and affirmed to be in store for his suffering countrymen. Among the certain or probable errors which have been observed in the book may be mentioned : — 1. The forms Nebuchadnezzar iox Nebuchadrezzar'^ and (probably) Abednego for Abednebo. 2. The statement that Nebuchadrezzar besieged Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's * This mistake is also made i^- ' A^. xxiv. lo, 2 Ch. xxxvi. 6, and E%. i. 7, 26 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY third year (i. l) and carried away the king and much treasure ;^ whereas the predictions \njer. xxv. 9 (delivered in Jehoiakim's fourth year, ver. i) and xxxvi. 29 (delivered in his fifth year, ver. 9) imply that the Babylonian attack at those dates was still in the future, and Jehoiakim actually reigned eleven years (according to 2 Kg. xxiii. 36). It may be added that if Daniel was a youth of (say) 12 at the time at which he is represented as taken to Babylon (viz. Jehoiakim's third year, B.C. 604) he would have been eighty at the fall of Babylon in 536. 3. The appUcation of the name Chaldeans to describe professional sooth- sayers and wise men (ii. 2) — a use of the national appellation which is quite late, Herodotus being the first to employ the term in a limited sense to denote the priests of Bel (i. 181).' 4. The statement (v. 2, 18) that Belshazzar was son of Nebuchadrezzar and king of Babylon ;3 whereas, on the evidence of inscriptions found at Mugheir (Ur),'* he was the son of Nabunahid the last king of Babylon, and did not himself come to the throne. If the statement in Daniel is to be reconciled even approximately with history, the description of Nebuchad- rezzar zs, father of Belshazzar must be taken to mean one of \i\% predecessors^ and it has to be assumed that Belshazzar was joint-ruler with his real father Nabunahid. 5. The statement that the conqueror of Babylon was Darius the Mede* (v. 31), instead of Cyrus the Persian, who is represented as one of his successors (vi. 28). In ix. i Darius is called the son of Ahasuerus, and if this name stands for Xerxes (cf. Esth. i. i), there is another error, for Xerxes was not the father, but the son, of Darius Hystaspis." The language of the book is partly Hebrew and partly Aramaic ;^ and the latter is said to be of the Western (Palestinian) and not the Eastern dialect. The Hebrew is regarded by scholars as similar to that of the Chronicler, and it contains certain words of Persian, and others of Greek, origin^ which are not likely to have been known to a Hebrew writer in the time of the Exile. ^ The capture of Jehoiakim and his deportation to Babylon is also afiirmed in 2 Ch. xxxvi. 6-7 but not in Kings. - See Driver, Daniel^ p. 12. ' The successors of Nebuchadrezzar were really as follows : Evil-Mcro- dach (561), Nergal Sharezer (559), Labashi-Merodach (556), Nabunahid (554). The last was a usurper, and was overthrown by Cyrus, his capital (Babylon) opening its gates to the conqueror. * Quoted by Driver in Authority and Archaology, p. 123. • "Darius the Mede" has by some authorities been identified with Gobryas the general of Cyrus, by whom (it is assumed) he was made governor of Babylon. But the name of Darius has perhaps been associated with the capture of the city in consequence of the later assault upon it in 520 by Darius the son of Hystaspes ; though the writer of Daniel certainly seems to have thought that a Median empire succeeded the Babylonian and preceded the Persian: see c. vii. and Driver's note, pp. 99, 100. That the Medes would be the destroyers of Babylon had been asserted in "A." xiii. 17, "yifr." li. II. ^ Seep. 472. ' As there is nothing in the nature of the contents to explain why Hebrew should be used in one part and Aramaic in another, the fact has been accounted for by the supposition that a portion of the Hebrew original had been lost or destroyed, and that the gap was filled by a section taken from an Aramaic version of the book, see Bevan, Daniel^ p. 27. 8 Such as satrap (iii. 2, 3, vi. I, 2), psalty^, harp (Gk. KLdapis)^ dukinur ^Gk. avfKpuyia) (iii. 5, 15). | INTRODUCTION 27 The deliverance of Hananiah and his companions from the fire and of Daniel from the lions is quoted in / Mac. ii. 59, 60, so that the book must have been written very shortly after the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. According to Josephus the prophecies of Daniel existed in the time of Alexander, and were shown to him at Jerusalem ; but the story is generally discredited (cf. p. 487). Hosea. Hosea, who appears to have been a native of the Northern Kingdom,^ prophesied in the reign of Jeroboam IL; and his activity was probably prolonged into the reigns of that king's three successors, for vii. 7, v. 13 seem to allude to the deaths of Zechariah and Shallum (2 Kg. xv. 8-10, 13-15), and to the policy of Menahem {2 Kg. xv. 19). But whether he died before the reign of Pekah and the devastation of Gilead by Assyria (vi. 8, xii. 11), or lived to witness the intrigues with Egypt pursued by Hoshea (vii. 11, xii. i), who was the contemporary of Hezekiah (i. i), is uncertain.^ Joel. The date oi Joel is much disputed, as many of the allusions are consistent with more than one period. The omission of all mention of Assyria and Babylon points to its having been produced either {a) before the rise of the former {i.e. early in the 8th century), or {b) after the downfall of the latter {i.e. in the 5th century) ; and each of these alternatives will account for certain features in the book. The denunciation of Tyre, PhiHstia, and Edom (iii. 4, 19) can be paralleled both from Am. i. 6-12 in the earlier period and from Jer. xlvii. 4, "/f." xxxiv. 5 foil., and Ixiii. 1-6 later; the reference to the priests (i. 9, ii. 17), (to the exclusion of the king) and the absence of any allusion to idolatry are reconcilable with its origin either in the early years of the rule of Joash of Judah, over whom Jehoiada acted as guardian {2 Kg. xii. i, 2), or after the Exile, under the Persian domination; the daily meal offering (i. 9, 13) and the practice of fasting were not distinctive of any age; whilst in regard to the resemblance between Jo. iii. i6 and * This is indicated by his familiarity with various localities in N. Israel ; e.g. Mizpah, Tabor (v. i), Gibeah, Ramah, Beth-aven ( = Bethel) (v. 8), Shechem (vi. 9), Gilgal (ix. 15). ' Certain portions of Hosea are considered by a few critics to be later inter- polations ; but the abruptness and obscurity of the book make proof of such mterpolations difficult. The short section i. lo-ii. I is probably misplaced ; its contents connect it with ii. 23. 28 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Am. i. 2, and between y Of his subsequent descendants, one, Lamech, took two wives, named Adah and Zillah. Adah bore Jabal and Jubal, of whom the first was the father {i.e. the instructor) of such as dwelt in tents and had cattle; whilst the second was the father of those who handled the harp and pipe. Zillah's children were Tubal-cain, the father of all smiths 1 So the Hebrew. But the LXX., pointing differently, renders ojJ/c iav opdCis xpoaev^KTjS, opOus 8^ /ir] SiA-js, iifj-dpres, i] 1- 11)) whilst there appears to be a uniform use oi Amorite mjosh. xxiv. 15, 18 which is sugt,'estive of a different source (which must be E). 2 It is possible that the Perizzites, since they are not named amongst the sons of Canaan in Gen. x. 15 foil., and are coupled with the Rephaim in /osh. xvii. 15, were, like the latter, an aboriginal race (see p. 73). THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 71 Amorites of Deut. i. 44 are the Canaanites and Amalekites of Num. xiv. 45. The last-named people are mostly represented as occupying the south of Judaea and the neighbouring wilderness (see Gen. xiv. 7, Num. xiii. 29, of. / Sam. XV. 7, xxvii. 8), but were also found in the peninsula of Sinai {Ex. xvii. 8).i (3) The Semitic peoples — Shem Elam Asshur Arpachshad Shelah^ Eber* Lud Aram I Hul Gether Mash» I Peleg Reu I Serug Nahor Terah 1 Joktan I I Almodad Sheleph \ \ Hazarmaveth Jerah Hadoram Uzal Diklah Obal' Abimael Sheba I Ophir I Havilah Jobab I \ I Abram Nahor Haran Ela7n consisted of the mountainous country, with the marsh lands at its base, which was situated at the head of the Persian Gulf. Its chief city was Shushan or Susa (cf. Dan. viii. 2). Asshur was Assyria, the country lying along the middle course of the Tigris and its affluent the lower Zab; its extent varied considerably at different times. Arpachshad probably represents Babylonia (the latter half of the name being practically identical with the word Chesed,^ from ^ In Gen. xiv. 7 Amalekites are represented as existing in Abram's time, but in xxxvi. 12 Amalek is the son of Abram's descendant Esau. - The LXX. inserts another step in the genealogy, making Kat^aj' the son of Arpachshad and the father of Shelah. ' In / Ch. i, 17 Meshech. * From Eber the name Hebrew is derived, and according to the above table of descent, would apply to the Arabian tribes derived from Joktan as well as to the descendants of Peleg. If taken to mean those who had come in the person of Abraham from " the other side " {eber) of the Euphrates, it applied to several peoples beside the Israelites, who had an exclusive claim to the title only as immigrants into Canaan from " the other side " of the Jordan. The LXX. renders it by 6 irepaTrjs. ^ In / Ck. i. 22 Eba/. * The name C/iesed occurs amongst the sons of Nahor in Gen. xxii. 22. 72 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY which comes the plural Chasdim, the usual Hebrew appellation for the Babylonians (cf. Joseph. Ant i. 6, 4). This was the level country between the lower waters of the Tigris and Euphrates as far as the Persian Gulf, Shinar (Gen. x. 10) being another name for it. From Arpachshad, and his son and grandson Shelah and Eber^ were derived, on the one hand (through Joktan) a number of Arabian tribes Sheba, Havilah and others, and on the other hand (through Pekg and his line) Terah and his descendants, who will be considered later. Lud is unknown, but is perhaps to be identified with Lydia (cf. Jos. Ani. i. 6, 4). Aram comprised (i) the country embraced within the upper course of the Euphrates and its tributary the Chaboras (Habor) (Aram-naharaim) ; (2) the district between the Euphrates and the Orontes, with the country of which Damascus was the centre.^ Of the sons of Aram little is known. It will be observed that there are some inconsistencies in the genealogical tables given above. Thus Sheba, Havilah, and Dedan are represented in Ge7i. X. 7 as descendants of Ham ; but in x. 28, 29, and xxv. 3 as descendants of Shem. The Ludivi, if the same as Lud, are likewise assigned to Ham in X. 13, but to Shem in x. 22. Aram, who, in Gen. x. 22, is the brother of Arpachshad, appears, in Gen. xxii. 20, among the latter's descendants ; whilst Uz, who is the son of Aram in x. 23, is his uncle in xxii. 20. The name of Uz occurs in connection with Edom in Gen. xxxvi. 28, Lam. iv. 21. As has been said, the distribution of the various countries named in Gen. x. between the sons of Noah has been made on geographical rather than ethnological lines. But between the Babylonians, Assyrians, Arameans and the Arabian tribes repre- sented as descended from Joktan there seems to have been actual kinship. Allied also with these were the Canaanites, whose assignment to Ham rather than to Shem is doubtless due to Hebrew sentiment. The centre from which this group of peoples originally dispersed was probably N. Arabia. From this region some moved southward and occupied the S.W. coast of the peninsula. A portion of these appear to have crossed the Red Sea and established themselves in Ethiopia.^ Others ^ Amongst the places occupied by Aram were Zobah {2 Sam. x. 6, 8). Beth-rehob {2 Sam. x. 6), and Maacah (/ Ch. xix. 6). ' The connection between Arabia and Ethiopia finds expression in the relationship, described in Gen. x. 7, of Sheba, Havilah, and Dedan to Cush. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 73 advanced eastward, and settled in Babylonia, which became a starting-point for fresh movements. There the new settlers united with a population of diverse origin, to which the names Sumerian and Accadian have been given, and over which they obtained ascendency about 2300 B.C. A number of cities were built and rose to power, among them being Accad,^ Erech,^ Babel (Babylon), Ur,8 and Larsa (Ellasar).^ The rulers of some of these cities claim, in their inscriptions, to have extended their sway not only over the neighbouring countries of Elam and E. Arabia, but even over Palestine. From Babylonia an advance was made northward, and the cities of Asshur and Nineveh were founded, the surround- ing region receiving its name (Assyria) from the first-mentioned place (cf. Gen. x. 10-12). Corroboration of a Babylonian conquest of Palestine has been furnished by the discovery at Tell el Amarna of a large number of tablets (inscribed with cuneiform writing and dating from the 15th and 14th centuries B.C.) which purport to be letters despatched by Egyptian governors or vassal princes in Canaan to their sovereign. ° The fact that cuneiform writing, which was of Babylonian origin, was the medium of correspondence in Canaan even after it had fallen under Egyptian control points to a long prevalence of Babylonian influence in that country. Another body, starting from Kir, a district supposed to be near the lower Euphrates, and following that river, occupied Aram-naharaim. The connection of this Aramean settlement with Babylonia is indicated by the town of Haran, the name of which is said to be Sumerian, whilst its chief temple was dedicated to Sin, the Babylonian moon-god. A third body likewise followed the Euphrates, and crossing it at its upper course, moved westward until they reached Canaan. The country was perhaps at the time already occupied by the Amorites and Hittites ; whilst remnants of an aboriginal race of great stature, called the A7iakim or Rephawi, existed in various places, surviving even to comparatively late times.^ The Canaanite immigrants, * Conjectured to be Agade, N. of Babylon. ' Its site has been found at Warka. 100 miles S.E. of Babylon. ' Its site is usually identified with El Mugheir, on the right bank of the lower Euphrates, about 125 miles from the mouth of the river. ^ In S. Babylonia, between the Euphrates and the Tigris. ^ See p. 168. • See Gen. xiv. 5, xv. 20, Dent. ii. 10- 11, iii. ii^Josh. xii. 4, xiii. T2. 74 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY as has been shown, settled chiefly on the coast ; and from thence penetrated through the valleys to the gorge of the Jordan. Israel, whose destinies form the subject of the O.T. Scrip- tures, is represented as descended from Arpachshad, as shown in the following table,^ viewed in connection with those previously given. Terah \ i \ 1 Abram Nahor Haran I I I Ishmael Isaac Midian, etc Bethuel 1 1 other sons Lot I 1-^ I r-H . 12 sons Esau Jacob Laban Moab Ben Ammi (Edom) (Israel) (Ammon) From the above table, Israel appears closely allied to Edom, Moab, and Ammon, and also to Ishmael, Midian, and other Arabian tribes. Its history begins with the migration of all these kindred tribes, in the person of their ancestor Terah, from Babylonia. As has been related, Babylonian enterprise had at an early date penetrated to Palestine ; and following the track thus opened up, the allied peoples of Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Israel left the neighbourhood of the city of Ur and entered upon a movement westward. The course taken was by way of Haran in Aram ; ^ and thence presumably to Hamath and Damascus. From the latter city, the route would naturally divide. Of the four peoples named, Edom took possession of Mount Seir (the hilly district lying S. of the Dead Sea and E. of the Arabah), dispossessing therefrom the native Horites; whilst Moab established itself E. of the Dead Sea, and Ammon settled on the E. flank of the Amorite kingdom which extended from the Arnon to the Jabbok {Num. xxi. 24), expelUng the aboriginal Emim and Rephaim, whom the Ammonites called Zamzummim {Deut. ii. 9-22). Israel settled in the country ^ See Gen. xi. 27, xvi. 16, xxi. I-3, xxv. I-4, xxii. 20-24, xxv. 12 foil., 19-26, xxiv. 15, 29, xix. 30 foil. 2 In Gen. xxiv. 4, 10, Deui. xxvi. 5, Aram (Aram-naharaim) is represented as the home of Israel's ancestors ; and by some Ur has been placed in N. Mesopotamia. The description, in Josh. xxiv. 3, of Al>raham's home as beyond the river (Euphrates) is not strictly true of El Mugheir^ which is on the right bank. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 75 W. of the Jordan, the districts with which they are more particularly brought into connection in Genesis being Shechem, Bethel, Kiriath-Arba (Hebron), and Beersheba. Their history during this period is chiefly associated with three patriarchs, Abram (Abraham), Isaac, and Jacob (or Israel), the first of whom appears to have reached Canaan before 2300 B.C. Some two centuries after this date, lower Egypt was conquered and occupied by a body of Asiatics called Hyksos,^ who established themselves at Tanis (Zoan), the authority of the native princes being restricted to Thebes ; and the possession of Egypt by these invaders from Asia naturally attracted others to the country. Some time prior to 1600 B.C. (the date assigned for the eventual expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt) the Israelites, who were now divided into several tribes, finally migrated from Canaan (no doubt in consequence of scarcity of food) to the banks of the Nile, and settled in a district called Goshen, E. of the Delta. The position of this region (which, in Gen. xlvii. 11, is termed "the land of Rameses") seems fixed by the discovery of Pithom, one of the " store-cities," afterwards built by the Israelites for their rulers, which has been found a little to the S.W. of the modern Ismailia.^ Being left there to pursue without molestation their pastoral life, they rapidly increased in numbers and strength. The history of the entry into Egypt is connected particularly with the name of Joseph, who is re- presented as one of the sons of Jacob. The Bible narrative relates that Terah, leaving Ur of the Chalrlees for Canaan, died at Haran, and that Abraham, with his wife Sarai, proceeded thence to their original destination, in obedience to a Divine monition which was accompanied by the assurance that he would have an extensive posterity, and that his good fortune would be such that his name would become current in formulas of blessing.^ The subsequent history of the patriarchs as given in Genesis (xii.-l) is as follows : — (i) Abram, with his wife and his nephew Lot, crossing the Jordan,* advanced, by way of Shechem (where Jehovah appearing to him promised the land to his seed) and Bethel, towards the south part of what was afterwards Judaea. ^ Their racial connections are unknown ; and both a Semitic and a ^v^ Ilittite origin have been assigned to them. An account of them is given by Manetho, preserved in Josephus, c. Ap. i. 14. "^ See Sayce, H. C. M. p. 240. * On Gen. xii. 3 see p. 97, note. ■* Presumably by the fords near Bethshan. ^6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Thence he was driven by fcimine into Egypt, where the beauty of his wife (who at her husband's direction had passed herself off as his sister) ^ attracted the notice of the Pharaoh,^ who took her ; but in consequence of divinely- sent plagues, restored her. Returning to the south of Canaan, he found his substance so increased that at Bethel he was compelled to separate from his nephew, recei%-ing there at the same time a renewal of the promise respecting the future extent of his posterity and its possession of Canaan. Lot settled in Sodom, whilst Abram himself dwelt near Kiriath - Arba (Hebron), entering into an alliance with three Amorite chieftains, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner. Sodom, with four neighbouring cities, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Bela (Zoar) were at this time subject to an Elamite dynasty ruling in Babylonia, which had re-asserted the authority once exercised in Palestine by the native Babylonian princes.^ But a revolt, headed by the king of Sodom, was made against the Elamite rule ; and to suppress it, the Elamite king Chedor-laomer invaded the country in company with his allies Amraphel of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar (Larsa), and Tidal, perhaps of Gutim.* The route followed was through the country E. of Jordan and the Dead Sea as far as El-paran (probably the later Elath), thence N. and W. by En-mishpat (the later Kadesh Barnea) and Haiazon-tamar (Engedi) to the vale of Siddim,^ near Sodom and the marge of the Dead Sea. There a battle was fought, the king of Sodom and his allies were defeated, and Sodom and Gomorrah plundered, Lot being included among the captives. Abram, on hearing of the capture of his relative, armed his trained slaves, numbering 318, and with his Amorite confederates went in chase of the enemy as they retired in the direction of Damascus, and in a night attack near Laish or Leshem (the later Dan), which was followed by a pursuit as far as Hobah (N. of Damascus), succeeded in recovering both the captives and the spoiL On his return he was blessed by Melchizedek the priest-king of Salem (Urusalim or Jerusalem), to whom he gave a tenth of the booty taken, at the same time refusing for himself a share of the spoils, and accepting it only for his Amorite companions. Abram at this period had no son, but he was again assured in a vision that he would have a numerous posterity ; and on his requesting a sign, he was told to offer a sacrifice, and after dividing the victims, to place the several portions opposite each other. Then at sunset Abram fell into a deep sleep, and in the darkness, fire and flame passed between the pieces, and Jehovah made a covenant with him, declaring that his descendants, after a period of enslavement in a foreign land, would eventually possess Canaan. Subse- quently his wife gave to him her handmaid Hagar, an Egyptian, who conceived by him ; but before the child's birth she was harshly treated by Sarai (whose barrainess she now despised) and fled, only returning by command of an angel, who appeared to her by a well afterwards willed * She was in reality his half-sister {^Gen. xx. 12). ' The use of the title in connection with this period is an anachronism, the word not being applied to the king until the iSth dynasty; see Hastings' Diet. Bible, sub voce. ^ See above, p. 73. ^ This is a correction of the received reading Goiim in Gen. xiv. i, which only means " nations." ^ If this was at the S. end of the Dead Sea and was subsequently submerged (see xiv. 3), Hazazon-tamar is probably not Engedi (near the middle of the VV. shore), but Kurnub, a village lying W.S.W. of the lake; see Driver, Gen. ad loc. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 77 Beer-lahai-roi,^ and who foretold the child's destiny. The son whom she bore was named Ishmael. Thirteen years after this, the Divine promises were for the fifth time renewed to Abram, to whom it was declared that his wife should bear a son. The names of both his wife and himself were changed from Abram and Sarai to Abraham and Sarah, ^ and the practice of circumcision' was invested with a religious significance. Subsequently the assurance that Sarah should have a son was repeated by three celestial visitants in human form,^ who also intimated that Sodom and Gomorrah (where Lot still dwelt) would be destroyed for their wickedness, which was too great for Abraham's intercession to avail to save them. The cities were afterwards consumed by fire,^ Lot being led out of Sodom by two angels. On the way, his wife, disobeying the command not to look back, ^ was turned into a pillar of salt.^ Lot took refuge in a cave near Zoar,^ and there unwittingly became by his two daughters the father of two sons, Moab and Ben Ammi, the ancestors of the Moabites and Ammonites. Abraham next journeyed again to the South, and sojourned at Gerar, where the incident which had occurred in Egypt was repeated in connection with the king of Gerar, Abirtuiech, with whom also Abraham had a quarrel respecting certain wells of wat^r, which was brought to a close by a covenant between them at Beershebajj Eventually Sarah became a mother, and bore to her husband a son vh"^ ' was named Isaac. Ishmael, being detected mocking Isaac, was, on ^barah's appeal, expelled with his mother Hagar ; and ultimately made his home in the wilderness of Paran. After this, Abraham, in obedience to a divine command, given to prove him, prepared to sacri- fice his only son Isaac on a mountain in the land of Moriah,' three days' journey from Beersheba ; but when the preparations were completed, he was * i.e. "the well of the Living One, my beholder." ^ Abram (of which Abiram is another form) may mean " the father is exalted" {cLJehoram) ; but the analogy oi Abijah ("Jah is father") suggests that it signifies "Ram (? Ramman) is father." Abraham is probably only a dialectic variation of Abram ; but in Gen. xvii. 5 the latter part of the name is brought into relation with the word hdmdn "multitude," and the appellation is made to signify "father of a multitude of nations." Sarai and Sarah are also probably varieties of a single name, meaning "princess." ' See p. 93. * Jehovah is regarded as speaking through each of the three indifferently, see xviii. 16-17, 22, xix. i, 17-18 (marg.). ^ The neighbourhood abounds in bitumen, which could easily be ignited by lightning. * Parallels to this command to refrain from observing a supernatural act are furnished by Hom. Od. v. 348-350, x. 526-528. ' At the southern extremity of the Dead Sea masses of rock-salt are said to occur, of which some detached block or pillar may have given rise to the story. ^ Zoar was probably at the foot of the mountains of Moab, Gen. xix. 30, cf. Is. XV. 5. * Identified by Josephus {Ant. i. 13, 2, vii. 13, 4) with Mt. Moriah, upon which the Temple was built {2 Ch. iii. i). But the nearness of the city of Jerusalem is an objection to this identification ; and as the LXX. uses the same rendering for Moriah and Moreh {Gen. xii. 6), some have thought Gerizim to be intended, which was near Shechem, where the terebinth of Moreh stood. 78 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY forbidden to harm his son, and substituted instead a ram. In consequence of his trust in Jehovah and his readiness to sacrifice, in accordance with His injunctions, the child upon whom his hojjes rested, the blessings previously assured to him were for the seventh, and last, time^ renewed. Sarah died subsequently to this, and was buried in the cave at Machpelah near Kiriath- Arba (Hebron) which Abraham had purchased. By another wife^ named Keturah Abraham became the progenitor of several sons, Midian, Medan and others. Before his death, he sent his servant to Bethuel, the son of his brother Nahor, who still dwelt in Haran, to arrange a marriage between Isaac and Bethuel's daughter Rebekah. Abraham was 175 years old when he died ; and was buried with his wife at Machpelah. (2) Isaac ^ dwelt principally in the neighbourhood of Beer-lahai-roi and Beersheba. His wife bore him two sons, twins, who struggled even before their birth. The elder, called Esau, who was ruddy and hairy, became a hunter, and was the favourite of his father, whilst the younger, named Jacob, was quiet in character, and the favourite of his mother. Jacob obtained his brother's birthright^ in exchange for a dish. of lentil pottage, when Esau was weary with hunting. The divine baebmises made to Abraham were repeated to Isaac ; whose wife Rebelcah had at Gerar (whither famine had driven them) the same experience", "".s Sarah. Isaac, too, like Abraham, had a dispute about certain wells :d>^h the people of Gerar and their king Abimelech, which was again clostn by a covenant. Removing to Beersheba, he again received a renewal of the promises given to him and his father. A well which his servants digged shortly afterwards was called Shibah (apparently in allusion to the oath (Shebtiah) which had passed between him and Abimelech).^ When old and blind and nearing his death Isaac desired to bless his elder son ; but Jacob, by the suggestion of his mother, personated his brother in his absence, and secured the blessing. To shield him from Esau's anger (or according to another account, to prevent him from marrying, like Esau, Canaanite wives) ^ Jacob was sent away to the home of his mother (variously described as Haran or Paddan-aram). Isaac died at Kiriath-Arba (Hebron) at the age of 180, and was buried by his two sons (who, as will be related, had become reconciled) at Machpelah. ^ ^ The passages relating the Divine promises to Abraham are (i) xii. 2-3, (2) xii. 7, (3) xiii. 14-17, (4) c. xv., (5) c. xvii., (6) c. xviii., (7) xxii. 15 foil. ^ Called a concubine in / Ch. i. 32 ; cf. Gen. xxv. 6. 3 The name, derived from tsahak " to laugh," is variously explained as due to Abraham's laughing in mockery {Gen. xvii. 17, P), to Sarah's laughing in mockery (xviii. 12, J), or to Sarah's laughing in joy (xxi. 6, E). It is perhaps m reality shortened from Isaac-el (cf. Islimael). ■* This carried with it the larger portion of the inheritance {Deut. xxi. 17). ^ With this ihe narrator in xxvi. 33 connects the name of Beersheba; contrast xxi. 31, where Beersheba is connected with sheba, "seven." ^ There is an obvious inconsistency (due to the narrative, as a whole, being derived from two sources) between the account which represents Jacob as sent to Haran to escape his brother's anger, and that which explains that he was sent to Paddan Aram to prevent him from following his brother's example. The former impUes that Isaac was then on his death-bed ; but the latter makes him only 100 (cf. xxv. 26 with xxvi. 34), his death not taking place until he was 180 (xxxv. 28). ' See Gen. xlix. 31. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 79 (3) Jacob,^ while on his way to Aram, saw in a dream, whilst sleeping, a ladder or flight of steps reaching from earth to heaven, and angels ascending and descending on it ; and the promises made to his fathers that his posterity should be numerous, and should possess the land wherein he was, were once more repeated. On awaking, Jacob set up and consecrated with oil the stone on which his head had rested," and called the place, or the stone, Bethel. On reaching Aram, he was received by Laban the brother of Rebekah ; and agreed to serve him seven years for his younger daughter Rachel. On the conclusion of this period, Laban deceived him by substituting (as the custom of veiling the bride enabled him to do) his elder, and less well-favoured, daughter Leah. Jacob, however, agreed to serve another seven years for Rachel ; and with Laban's two daughters he likewise received two hand- maids, Zilpah and Bilhah. By his wives and their handmaids he had, besides a daughter Dinah, twelve sons, as follows : Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun (by Leah) ; Dan, Naphtali (by Bilhah) ; Gad, Asher (by Zilpah) ; Joseph, Benjamin^ (by Rachel). After marrying Laban's two daughters, he served his father-in-law six years longer on condition of receiving all the future offspring of Laban's flocks which were of exceptional colour. He increased the number of these by a device at the time of breeding, and became so wealthy that he excited the envy of Laban's sons ; and by Divine direction he determined to depart secretly with his wives, of whom Rachel, before their departure, stole her father's teraphim.^ Laban, on learning of the flight, pursued and overtook Jacob in Gilead, where after mutual recrimination, they made a covenant with each other. After separat- ing from Laban, Jacob was met on his way by the angels of God, and called the place of the meeting Mahanaivi.^ Fearing his brother's resentment, he sent messengers to the country where he now dwelt (Seir or Edom), with presents to seek his favour, whilst he made arrangements, in the event of an attack, for part of his company to escape. On the way, near Pcnuel,* he wrestled with a supernatural antagonist, who by a touch rendered him lame, but whom he would not release until he blessed him. His antagonist thereupon changed his name to Israel (interpreted to mean "a perseverer with God"),'' and added (according to the LXX.) a promise that he who had power with God should also prevail over men. The subsequent interview with Esau, who came to meet him, proved friendly, and when the latter departed to Seir, Jacob took up his position first at Succoth and then near Shechem, buying a plot of ground there. A proposal for intermarrying, made by Hamor, the prince of the land (whose son, according to one account, ^ The name (from akab) is explained in Gen. xxv. 26 to mean "one that takes by the heel, overreaches," with an allusion to the fact that when he was born, his hand had hold of his twin-brother's heel. But another meaning of akab is "to reward," and the name may be shortened ixom Jacob-el in the sense of "God rewards." ^ For offerings made to boulders or stones cf. 2 Is. Ivii. 6. ^ Benjamin was born in Aram according to xxxv. 24-26, but in Canaan according to xxxv. 16-18. * The teraphim were perhaps figures of tutelary deities, and it has been suggested that Rachel wished to carry with her the fortune of her home. * i.e. two companies. ' The name Penuel means "face of God." ' The real meaning of the name is "God perseveres." Accordinti to xxxv. 10, 15 Jacob's name was changed at Bethel. 8o OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY had seduced Dinah) ^ was met by the sons of Jacob with the demand that the Shechemites should first be circumcised ; but on their consenting, before they had recovered from the operation, they were all attacked and slain by Simeon and Levi, and their city spoiled. Jacob, in consequence, removed from Shechem in fear and went to Bethel, where he again received a renewal of the Divine promises, having previously put away the strange gods {ieraphim) brought from Aram. On his leaving Bethel, Rachel died in giving birth to her second son, whom his mother wished to call Benoni,' but whom his father named Benjamin." Jacob then settled in the south of Judah, at Hebron ; and whilst there, two of his sons committed incest, Reuben with Bilhah, and Judah (unwittingly) with his own daughter-in-law Tamar, who bore him twins named Perez and Zerah. The remainder of Jacob's life is intertwined with that of his son Joseph. (4) Joseph was his father's favourite ; and partly in consequence of this, and partly in consequence of certain dreams which he had, portending future greatness, he was hated by his brethren. When he was sent by his father to Shechem and Dothan to inquire after their welfare, they took the oppor- tunity to plot against him, intending at first to kill him ; but a suggestion made by one of their number saved them from actual blood-guiltiness. According to one account, Reuben^ to save his brother's life, proposed that they should cast him into a pit, from which he purposed to deliver him ; but on subsequently going thither he found himself anticipated by a party of Midianites, who had drawn Joseph out of the pit and carried him off. According to a second account, Judah proposed to sell Joseph to a company of Iskmaelites who passed by, and who purchased him for twenty pieces of silver.* The brothers, to conceal what they had done, dipped in blood a certain garment,^ which Joseph had received from his father as a mark of honour, and bringing it to Jacob, led him to believe that his favourite son was torn in pieces by a wild beast. Joseph, carried into Egypt, was there sold as a slave to an Egyptian, identified in one account with Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh's, with whom he enjoyed great favour, until, refusing the advances of his master's wife, he was charged by her with attempting her honour, and was consequently flung into prison. There his skill in interpreting the dreams of two fellow-prisoners brought him to the notice of the Pharaoh, who also had a dream of which he desired to know the significance. Joseph explained it as portending the approach of seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine, and urged the king to prepare accordingly. Pharaoh, impressed by the wisdom he displayed, then made him governor over the land of Egypt ; and changing his name to Zaphenath-paneah, gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [Heliopolis)^ who bare him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph's measures for 1 Gen. xxxiv. seems to be composite, some verses exhibiting the phraseol(^y of P ; but the analysis of the constituent elements is precarious. ' i.e. "son of my sorrow." * i.e. "son of the right hand," the right hand being the lucky side. * In Gen. xxxvii. 28 as it stands, Joseph's brethren appear as the persons who drew him firom the pit, but that the Midianites are really meant is suggested by the statement in xl. 15, that he was stolen away or kidnapped, which otherwise has no justification. " At a later time a similar garment was worn by the princess Tamar (see 2 Sam. xiii. 18), which Josephus describes as xf'pt^'^T^s ^XPi- t^^ acpvpuv {Aut. vii. 8, i). The garment in ordinary use was short and sleeveless. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 8i storing the corn produced during the seven years of plenty were so success- ful that, when the years of famine came, Egypt was the only land where food was to be had, and Joseph's brethren came thither from Canaan ^ to buy it. Joseph pretended not to know them, and charged them with being spies, retaining one of them, Simeon, as a hostage before giving them corn, and refusing to supply them further unless they brought with them their youngest brother, of whom they had made mention ; but on their departure he secretly restored their money. When they returned to buy corn again, *they brought Benjamin with them (in spite of Jacob's unwillingness to part with him). After being feasted, they left, but on their homeward journey they were overtaken by Joseph's steward who accused them of stealing a silver divining-cup ^ (which by Joseph's orders had been placed in Benjamin's sack). They were accordingly all brought back, and Judah magnanimously offered to remain as bondsman instead of Benjamin ; but Joseph, overcome by his appeal, discovered himself to them, and then sent them away with directions to bring their father into Egypt, where he promised to establish them. This they did ; and Jacob and his sons were allowed by Pharaoh to settle in the land of Goshen^ where there was pasturage for their flocks. Before his death Jacob blessed the two sons of Joseph, reckoning them as his own children, giving Ephraim precedence over Manasseh, and bestowing upon Joseph's posterity a special gift of territory in Canaan ; and he likewise predicted the future destinies of each of his twelve sons.* He charged that his body should be buried at Machpelah ; and died when he was 147 years old. Joseph carried out his father's last charge, and allayed the fears which his brethren entertained that he would avenge himself upon them. By his arrangements during the famine, all the land of the Egyptians (with the exception of that belonging to the priests, who were supported by the king) became crown property, being surrendered in exchange for food. It was then restored to the cultivate) is on the payment of a rental of one fifth of the produce. Before his death, Joseph, asserting his belief that the Hebrews • would finally return to Canaan in accordance with the Divine promises, re- quired that his bones should be taken with them. His age at death was 1 10. In contrast to the dry list of names which occupies Ggn. x., xi., the life- like character of the narratives contained in c. xii. foil, suggests that in such the history recorded is that of real individuals. But these later chapters can- not be separated from those that immediately precede by a hard and fast line. In these what appear to be personal names are blended with appellations * In Egypt the famine would be due to a deficient rise of the Nile, but in Canaan to want of rain. * The cup when used in divination was presumably filled with water. Instances of such hydromancy are adduced both from classical and savage sources. Pausanias (vii. 21) relates that at Patrge there was a spring which was used for divining in cases of sickness, a mirror being let down as far as the surface, which, after prayer had been made to Demeter, showed to the observers the sick person either living or dead; and Mr. Frazer relates that Damascius mentions the case of a "sacred woman" who divined by means of pure water in a crystal goblet, professing to see the future reflected in it. Similarly amongst the Iroquois "if a crystal is placed in a gourd of water, it will render visible the apparition of a person who has bewitched another," Lang, Making of Rdigion, p. 91. ' See above, p. 75. * See p. 97. 82 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY which are obviously as local or collective as any in c. x. and xi.^ Thus Abraham, Hagar, and Keturah seem to be individuals ; but the names of their children Ishmael, Midian, Medan, etc., are those of tribes,'' which are actually represented as engaged in traffic in the lifetime of Abraham's grand- son Jacob {Gen. xxxvii. 25, 28, 36). Similarly, the figures of Lot and Rebekah appear to be those of real personages ; but the names of the former's sons (Moab and Ben-Ammi) and the latter's uncles (Uz, Buz, etc.) are again those of tribes. And this intermixture of personal with tribal appellations is not explicable by the supposition that the several tribes in question were really the descendants of an individual ancestor.^ The origin of tribes and nations cannot with any probability be traced solely to the normal increase of a single family. There are, too, some features in the accounts of the different patriarchs which are unnatural : such are the repetition of the number 12 in connection with the families of Nahor (xxii. 20-24), Ishmael (xxv. 13 foil.) and Jacob; and the longevity ascribed to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, which is intermediate between the length of life attributed to the patriarchs of the pre-historic age and that represented as prevailing in more historic times (see Deut. xxxiv. 7, Josh. xxiv. 29). There are other features which seem to reflect certain circumstances of later history : for instance, Isaac's Blessing of Esau {Gen. xxvii, 39-40) describes with some accuracy both the condition of Edom and its successive fortunes in the time of the Israelite kingdom, culminating in the recovery of its independence in the reign of Jehoram of Judah (see i Sam. xiv. 47, 2 Sam. viii. 14, 2 Kg. viii. 22), and so is probably to be assigned to the 9th century ; whilst Jacob's Blessing of his sons {Gen. xlix.), from its acquaintance with the territory and condition of the several tribes in Canaan (see especially ver. 13) must have been composed after the occupation of that country, and from its attributing to Judah the possession of sovereignty (see ver. 10) is probably in part at least to be dated from the time of David. Other statements, again, are inconsistent with the historic situation : for example, both Abraham and Isaac are recorded to have come in contact with the Philistines at Gerar, whereas the Philistine immigration into Canaan took place only a short time before that of Israel under Joshua.* It is therefore difficult to regard the patriarchal records, taken as a whole, as completely trustworthy. Neverthe- less, many of the figures in them are probably real characters : in particular, it is difficult to explain away Abraham and Isaac, in addition to Jacob (Israel), as eponymous ancestors of the Israelite people. The account presumably rests upon traditions relating to historical personages, which, originally fluctuating,** have been systematised and in some measure coloured in accordance with later ideas and fancies. One, at least, of the incidents ^ In I Ch. ii. 42-55 individuals (such as Caleb) are described as the fathers of cities and localities. ' Greek history furnishes parallels in Hellen, iEolus, Dorus, etc. ' That actual descent was not always connoted by the term father appears from Gen. iv. 20, 21, where members of a craft or profession are referred to a common ancestor. 4 Cf. p. 169. ^ The strong resemblance between certain incidents which are related both of Abraham, at different times of his life, and also of his son Isaac (compare Gen. xii. 10-20 with xx. 1-18 and xxvi. 6-1 1, xvi. 4-14 with xxi. 8-21, xxi. 22-34 with xxvi. 26-33) suggests that the parallel accounts are severally duplicate versions of a single tradition. THE PATRIARCHAL HISTORY 83 related fits in with what is known from other sources. Of the four kings who attacked Sodom in the time of Abraham, the names of two (Amraphel, Arioch), if not of the others (Tidal, Chedorlaomer), occur in the Assyrian inscriptions, and the king of Elam's precedence over the king of Shinar (Babylonia) and his alleged authority over Sodom and its sister cities agree with the supremacy which Elam appears to have exercised over Babylon and Palestine about 2300 B.C. ; so that the narrative in Gen. xiv. is consistent with the conditions of the period, although the monuments furnish no actual corroboration of the occurrences related.^ But if Abraham was really a contemporary of a king of this date, the period which the patriarchal history is made to cover is much in excess of the three or four generations to which it is ostensibly confined. According to Ex. xii. 40 (cf. Gen. xv. 13), the sojourn of Israel in Egypt lasted 430 years. If this can be trusted, and the date of the Exodus be fixed at about 1250 B.C., the entry into Egypt must have taken place shortly after 1700 B.C., so that the interval between Abraham's campaign and this event amounts to more than 6cx) years. '^ ^ To which of the constituent sources of the Hexateuch Gen. xiv. should be assigned is questionable. ' On the other hand, some authorities {e.g. Hommel) place the Babylonian king (Khammurabi), who is identified with the Amraphel of Gen. xiv. i, about 1900 B.C., or even 1750 B.C., so that the interval between Abraham and the entry into Egypt is greatly reduced. CHAPTER III RELIGION IN THE PATRIARCHAL AGE A MONO the Semitic peoples with which the Hebrews were J~\_ connected, religion appears to have originated in nature worship. It was primarily a deification of the powers, produc- tive and destructive, of the physical world. The universe was believed to be pervaded by a number of divine beings whose potency was manifested in everything notable in nature or human fortune. In particular, the elements (the earth, sky, and sea), the storm-clouds, and the heavenly bodies (the sun and moon), were regarded as controlled by powerful spirits. To their bounty were ascribed the fruits of the soil, and the increase of the family; and their anger was displayed in disease, disaster, and death. The deep impression made upon the Semitic mind by the power of these supernatural beings was reflected in the names employed to designate godhead. These conveyed such ideas as those of strength (E/, IT),^ lordship (Adon), possession {Baal), rule {Melech, Mokch), or the awe which such attributes produce {Elohim). The Semitic religions, however, were not prevailingly inspired by fear. On the contrary, the gods were looked upon as friendly powers, and were even held to be akin to their wor- shippers. Of them their people considered themselves to be sons and daughters (cf. Num. xxi. 29, Jer. ii. 27) — ultimately, no doubt, in a figurative or ethical sense, but perhaps originally in a physical one (cf. Gen. vi. 4).2 Such close and kindly rela- 1 There are, however, said to be phonetic difl&culties in the way of deriving Elkom the root meaning "to be strong." » So the Trojans traced their descent through Dardanus to Zeus (Horn. //. XX. 215) ; and the Romans, through the Trojan ^Eneas, attributed their origin to the same divine source (Verg. A. vii. 220-1). S4 RELIGION IN THE PATRIARCHAL AGE 85 tions between the peoples and their deities were reflected in such personal names as El-hanan (God is merciful) and Baal- hanan. Similarly the term Melech (king) doubtless designated the god in his capacity as the director of his people in war, and the source (through his ministers) of law and judgment. Besides the general titles just explained, the gods who presided over the various provinces of nature received individual appellations, the occurrence of the same divine names amongst the Babylonians, Assyrians, Canaanites, and Arameans confirming the common ancestry of these nations. Such (to enumerate those of the Babylonians) were Ami} the god of the sky (of which the Assyrian Asshur is said to be originally a variation), Ea^ the god of the waters, Shamash (Canaanite S/iemesh), the god of the sun, Sin (or Nantiar), the god of the moon, Ra77unan (Aramean Rimmon),'^ the god of the storm, Bel,^ (presumably the same as Baal^ but used as a proper name), the god of the earth and mankind, Nergal,^ Merodach^ Nebo,^ Ninib^ AdarJ In addi- tion to these male deities there were several female, such as Anat (Canaanite Anath), the wife of Anu, Damkina, the wife of Ea, Ai^ the wife of Shamash, Biiit (perhaps the Mylitta of Herod, i. 131), and Ishtar (Can. Ashtoreth).^ This distinction of sex was found in connection with the titles of Baal and Melech^ to which the feminine Baalah and Malcah corresponded. But more commonly the proper names Ishtar (Ashtoreth) and Anath were employed as generic terms; whence arose the plural Ash- taroth and Anathoth (the latter a place-name). Among the Babylonians a considerable mythology existed in connection with some of the gods mentioned. Ea was believed to be the son, and Merodach, Nergal and Ishtar the grandchildren, of ^ Probably intended by the Anamvielech of 2 Kg. xvii. 31. » Cf. 2 Kg. V. 18. 3 Cf./^r. 1. 2, 2 Is. xlvi. I. * Cf. 2 Kg. xvii. 30. » (Zi.Jcr. 1. 2. « Cf. 2 Is. xlvi. i. '' Probably referred to under the title Adraj?tmelech (2 Kg. xvii. 31). Other ancient gods mentioned in the Babylonian Creation-story were Lakhmu and Lakkamu, with one of whom the name of Bethlehe?7i has been supposed to be connected. ^ The LXX. represents Ashtoreth by KardprTj, which suggests that the original was Ashtart or Ashtereih, but was changed to Ashtoreth in order that the name might contain the vowels of the word bosheth, "shame," which was actually substituted for the allied name Baal in the word Ishbosheth (.for Eshbaal). 86 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Bel.^ There was also a kind of hierarchy among the deities, Anu, Bel and Ea constituting a primary triad, and Sin, Shamash, and Ramman a secondary triad. But in spite of the belief in the existence of a plurality of deities, there was a tendency on the part of the several city- states, into which both Babylonia and Canaan were at first divided, for each to pay special veneration to one god, after whom the city was often named. Thus in Babylonia Anu was the god of Uruk, Bel of Nippur, Ea of Eridu, and Nergal of Cuthah (cf. 2 Kg. xvii. 30), and similarly among the Canaanite cities, Ir-shemesh (or Beth-shemesh) was presumably devoted to the worship of Shemesh, and Beth-Anath to that of Anath. There was a Baal of Peor, a Baal of Hermon, and a Baal of Tyre; and similarly there was a Baalah of Gebal and an Ash- toreth of Zidon. In consequence of this connection between a deity and a particular people or locality,^ there was in time of war a conflict of spiritual as well as of human forces (cf. i Kg, XX. 23) ; and when one nation conquered another, the gods of the vanquished were humiliated as well as their people (see 2 Is. xlvi. I, 2, Jer. xlviii. 7, xlix. 3, 1. 2). Perhaps such was the origin of the use of the plural Elohim to designate a single god, in whom the powers of his rivals were merged, or upon whom they attended as subordinate ministers.^ When in later times a number of smaller states were fused into a larger one, the latter doubtless paid honour to all the gods worshipped by the different communities that had become united. But even in such a case one deity occupied a position of pre-eminence over the rest, Asshur, for instance, being the supreme protecting power of the empire of Assyria; whilst Merodach presided over the destinies of Babylon. The chief god of Moab was Chemosh ;*' ^ Merodach, however, was sometimes identified with Bel. * For the connection popularly held to exist between a god and a people or land cf. Ruth i. 15, 16, / Sam. xxvi. 19, 2 Kg. xvii. 27. Israel was Jehovah's land {Hos. ix. 3), and in order to worship Jehovah on Israelite soil Naaman desired to carry into Syria two mules' burden of earth {2 Kg. v. 17). ' But see p. 46, note. * On the Moabite stone mention is made of a deity Asktar-Chemosh, Ashtar being a mascuUne form corresponding to the feminine Ashtoreth. Whether Ashtar-Chemosh was distinct from Chemosh is uncertain ; possibly the compound name represents the fusion of two different divinities into one. RELIGION IN THE PATRIARCHAL AGE 2>7 that of Edom is not certainly known (it may possibly have been Edom} other deities were Hadadzxi^ Kaush'^) \ whilst the people of Ammon appear to have called their national deity by the name of Milcom^ which was perhaps a title Uke Molech.^ The Arameans of Damascus paid special honour to Hadad,* though Rimmon is also known to have been worshipped there {2 Kg. V. 18). The character of their religious faith resulted, among the leading Semitic peoples, in corresponding institutions and rites of worship. The veneration of the moon-god,^ for instance, led not only to the beginning of the lunar month being religiously observed, but the establishment of a sabbath every seven days, whilst the eventual identification of several of the other deities, just named, with the planets (as of Merodach with Jupiter, Nergal with Mars and Ishtar with Venus) issued in the adoration of " the host of heaven." The attribution of the products of the soil to the bounty of the gods had its natural consequence in the holding of festivals at the time of the vintage ^ and harvest, at which offerings were made of the first- fruits of the vineyard and cornfield, together with the firstlings of the flock and the herd. Fountains of water and groves of trees,'' as being endowed with growth or motion,^ and affording grateful refreshment in a parched country like Canaan (cf. Hos. iv. 13) were regarded with great veneration, and invested with peculiar sanctity. Both alike, together (probably) with the animals that frequented them, were, at an early stage of thought, ^ This is suggested by the personal name Obed-edom (the servant of Edom); cf. Obadiah (the servant of Jah). ' This name occurs in the appellation of the Edomite king Kausk-melech (cf. Chemosh-meieck, Malchiah). ^ \xijud. xi. 12-28 it is implied that Chemosh was the god of Ammon as well as of Moab, but see p. 207. * It appears in the personal name Hadadezer (cf. Eliezer). The compound name Hadad-rimmon also occurs {Zech. xii. ii). * The Canaanite Ashtoreth was a moon-goddess (cf. the place-name Ashteroth-JCaruaifn, Ashtaroth of the two horns) ; but the Babylonian Ishtar was associated with the planet Venus. « Ci.Jud. ix. 27. ' Cf. the association of trees with deities in Greek and Roman religion (e.g. Verg. G. iii. 332, magna lovis antiquo robore quercus). " By the Hebrews, flowing water was termed "living water," 8S OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY held to be the embodiment or dwelling-place of some animating spirit. Hence they were frequently the scene of worship {Deuf. xii. 2), the seat of justice {En-mishpat^ Gen. xiv. 7, cf. Jud. iv. 5), or the abode of an oracle (the terebinth of Moreh or " the teacher," Gen. xii. 6, Deut. xi. 30; ci. Jud. ix. 37). Originally, no doubt, the offerings which were intended to be conveyed to the divinities inhabiting such streams or woods were deposited in them. ^ When a locality, not naturally distinguished by spring or tree, became associated, from some reason or other, with the presence of a deity, it was marked by a stone pillar or a wooden pole {Hos. iv. 12, cf. Gen. xxviii. 18, xxxv. 14). At first, such pillars or poles (it would seem) were thought to be the abode of the deity (Beth-el), and the offerings made to the indwelling divinity were placed or poured upon them. But subsequently an earthen or stone altar was erected near them to receive the sacrifices, and the pillar or pole became the symbol, and perhaps eventually an image, of the god These pillars and poles (the latter called Asherim or AsherotJi) are frequently mentioned in connection with Canaanite temples and altars {Ex. xxxiv. 13, Jud. vi. 25, 2 Kg. x. 2^^^ 27) i^ and pillars were at first set up even beside the altar of Israel's God, though the practice was ultimately forbidden {Ex. xxiv. 4, cf. 2 Kg. xiii. 4-6). Another common site of worship was the summit of a hilL Both the Canaanites and Moabites resorted to such (see, for the first, Deut. xii. 2, Num. xxxiii. 52, and for the second, Nu7n. xxii. 41, Is. xv. 2, xvi. 12);^ and many of the sanctuaries of the God of Israel were Hkewise erected on the tops of mountains (see 2 Sam. xv. 30, 32, i Kg. xviii. 19, 30, and cf. I Sam. vii. i). The devotion which the peoples showed to their gods was reciprocated by the help and guidance which the latter were ^ Cf. Horn. //. xxi. 1 3 1-2 (TTora/ids) y 5?; br}da, ToX^as Upevere ravpovSf Zojous 5' iy divrjai Kadiere fiu)vvxo.i tTnrovs. 2 In some passages in the O.T. the term Asherah seems used to describe the deity (perhaps Ashtoreth) of whom it was ordinarily only the emblem ; stejtid. iii. 7 ("they serv'ed the Baalim and the Asheroth"), i Kg. xviii. 19 (prophets of the Asherah), i Kg. xv. 13, a Kg. xxi. 7 (images of Asherah), xxiii. 4, 7 (vessels and hangings made for the Asherah). ' Mesha, king of Moab, in his inscription, speaks of "making a high place for Chemosh." RELIGION IN THE PATRIARCHAL AGE 89 believed to afford to their worshippers in all important affairs of life. The mind of the deity was discovered, and his purposes communicated, through an extensive system of divination. This took four principal forms. The divine will might be manifested through the sights and sounds of physical nature, such as the waving or rustling of trees (cf. 2 Sam. v. 24) ^ and the move- ments of clouds (Jud. ix. 37 Heb.). Or it might be declared through the condition of the entrails of victims offered in sacrifice (Ezek. xxi. 21). Or again appeal might be made to the fall of lots, with which the Hebrew Urim and Thummim were probably connected, and the arrows, and perhaps the teraphim^ alluded to in Ezek. xxi. 21. Or finally the god might impart his counsel to his votaries directly instead of indirectly. In the Semitic, as in the Greek, religions, the deities were sometimes represented as appearing in bodily form, and openly conversing with ordinary 2 men. But more usually they disclosed their wishes or decisions secretly to certain chosen ministers who became their spokesmen or prophets. The communications were made in various ways. Sometimes the prophet was a dreamer of dreams (cf. Num. xii. 6, 2 Sam. vii. 4, 17); at other times he became inspired through the influence of music {2 Kg, iii. 15) or possibly through eating certain food.^ Information, however, was not sought exclusively from the gods. The spirits of the dead were frequently consulted {Deut. xviii. 11, z Sam. xxviii. 11); and for this purpose persons used to lie among the tombs {2 Is. Ixv. 4) (like the Nasamonians mentioned by Herodotus, iv. 172). It was probably the dead with whom those who had familiar spirits professed to hold intercourse; at least the "chirping" and "muttering" spoken of by Is. viii. 19 resembles the "squeaking" and "gibbering" elsewhere attributed to ghosts. * The abode of the spirits of the dead was underground, a land of darkness and dust; and though in it ^ Cf. the oak of Dodona, Horn. Od. xiv. 327, 6'ptians followed the fugitives across the sea (see Ex. xiv. 24, and cf. Ps. Ixxvii. 17-20).'^ Such an occurrence, coupled with the belief that the host was providentially guided by Jehovah (Who was thought to manifest His presence more particularly by fire), might readily, amongst a religious and imaginative people, give rise to the tradition. The number of the Israelites who left Eg}'pt is given in Ex. xii. 37 as 6oo,cxxD men, beside women and children. Approximately the same figures are recorded in connection with a census taken in the following year (Num. i. 46, Ex. xxxviii. 26, cf. also Num. xi. 21), and again at the close of the wanderings {Num. xxvi. 51), where only men of twenty years old and upwards are included. This number has been calculated to imply a total of 2,000,000 persons, which appears far too large a body to have crossed the Red Sea as easily and as rapidly as is represented, or to have found support in a desert country now occupied by a few thousand people (even if, as has been thought probable, the Sinaitic peninsula was more fertile formerly than it is now). There are, besides, several passages which are at variance with the statement that there were among the Israehtes at this time half a million fighting men ; see Ex. xxiii. 29-30, Nztm. xiii. 31. Only one reference to the Hebrews has been produced from Egyptian sources of this age, and this can hardly relate to the Exodus (see p. 12 1). In Manetho, preserved by Josephus {c. Ap. i. 26, 27), there occurs what is possibly a distorted account of the departure of the IsraeUtes. This states that Memptah (Amenophis) was directed to clear the land of a number of lepers. These, amounting to 80,000, were collected and placed by him on the E. of the Nile and compelled to work in quarries. They were sub- sequently allowed to occupy a city called Avaris, where they rose in rebellion under a priest called Osarsiph, who changed his name to Moses, and pro- hibited the worship of the Egyptian gods. The rebels were aided by the descendants of the Hyksos, who had occupied Jerusalem, and with these became masters of Egypt for thirteen years. Memptah retired to Ethiopia ; but he eventually returned, and the invaders were then defeated and expelled from the country. * According to Ex. xiv. 19, 20, the pillar of cloud which went before the Israelite host removed and stood behind them, between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel ; and the obscure words "there was the cloud and the darkness, yet gave it light by night," are generally supposed to mean that the cloud gave light to Israel in front, but showed dark to the enemy behind. The LXX., however, has Ka.\ tyhero axdros Kal yv6(pos Kal dirfKOev rj v6^. ' Cf. Jos. Afti. ii. 16, 3, 6fi^poi T€ cLTOvpavov Kare^aivov Kal ^poyrcU (TKXrjpal rpoce^aTTOfUvrjs iaTpairTjs Kal K^pavvol 5e Karriv^dr^aav. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS in The northern portion of the peninsula of Sinai is a high, monotonous, and barren table-land (called El-Tifi)^ edged by a narrow and comparatively level coast-track; whereas the southern angle is occupied by a group of peaks, clothed to some extent with vegetation, and separated by a number of narrow valleys, in which springs occur. One or two similar valleys or wddies lead from the plateau in the centre to the sea; and it was at the streams that watered these that the Israelites hoped to find refreshment as they pressed towards the south. Leaving the spot where they had crossed the Red Sea, they advanced through the desert of Shur {Ex. xv. 22) or Etham, in the direction of the narrow track already alluded to, which skirts the shore. Reaching after three days' march a spring named Marah (probably the modern Ayiin MUsa^ near Suez), they found it to be so bitter and nauseous that it was undrinkable. Moses, however, rendered it sweet by casting into it the branches of a certain tree, a device said to be still employed by the Arabs. ^ They next passed through an oasis called Elim, near the coast {Num. xxxiii. 9), described as consisting of twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees (and identified by some with the Wddy Ghurundel), where (according to the chronology of Ex.^) they stayed a month; and then proceeding along the coast {Num. xxxiii. 10) they entered the wilderness of Sin. This has been identified with a plain, four or five miles broad, into which the coast-track expands, called El Markka. In it the two places named in the Itinerary {Num. xxxiii. 12-13) Dophkah and Alush were presumably situated, the first of which has been identified with the Wddy Magkara. It was in this desert region that they first began to experience privation from lack of sufficient sustenance; for though they possessed flocks and herds, they, like the Arabs in general, were seemingly not accustomed to treat them as ordinary articles of food. In their distress they ^ This identification assumes that the Israelites crossed the sea near Lake Timsah. If the passage was effected near Suez, Marah must be placed further south (to allow for the three days), probably at Ain Hawara. ^ F. de Lesseps, VIsthme de Suez, cited by Maspero, Struggle of the Nations^ p. 445 ; cf. the somewhat similar act ascribed to Elisha {s Kg. iL 19-22). ' Cf. Ex. xvi. I with xii. 1-4 112 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY broke into loud murmurings against their leaders, and expressed their bitter regret at having left Egypt, where they had not known scarcity. They obtained some relief, however, by falling in with flights of quails (Ex. xvi. 13), birds which Josephus {Anf. iii. i, 5) describes as more plentiful on the Arabian gulf than anywhere else,^ and which are still numerous in the penin- sula and the neighbouring countries of Palestine and Syria. In their need they also became acquainted with, and utilised as food, Manna, a substance hitherto strange to them, which exudes from the branches of the tamarisk and a few other shrubs when punctured by insects. ^ From the wilderness of Sin Moses now led his people in the direction of the sacred Mount of Horeb or Sinai (following what is now the IVddy Ert'rdn) to a place called Rephidim {£x. xvii. i, 6). Here^ they again suffered from want of water, and their murmurs against Moses and Aaron were renewed. Their wants were eventually supplied; but the memory of the people's discontent was preserved by the names Massah (Proving) and Mtribah (Strife) given to the scenes of their outbreak. The providential character of the supply of manna (which, in reality, is found in comparatively small quantities) is, in Ex. xvi. and elsewhere, heightened by its being represented as forming the staple food of the people for forty years {ci,Josh. v. 12), and as occurring only on six days of the week, the amount procured on the sixth sufficing for the following Sabbath. The narrative (which comes in part from the Priestly source) adds that the manna gathered by each man, whether much or little, exactly satisfied his needs (ver. 18). The water with which the people's wants were suppHed at Massah and Meribah is described in Ex. xvii. 6 (cf. Deut. viii. 15) as being produced from the rock in Horeb by a stroke of Moses' rod : but this may arise from a poetical account of a more ordinary, though not less providential, incident (cf. Num, xxi. 16-18). ^ Or than anything else {rpitpu tovto rb Sppeov wj oi/d^i/ irepov b Apd^ioi KbXTTOS). ' The name manna is explained as arising from the question of the Israelites on first seeing it, M&n hu\ "what is it?" In some passages it is regarded as falling from heaven with the dew {Num. xi. 9), a belief resembling that which prevailed amongst the Greeks and Romans respecting honey (cf. Verg. E, iv. 30, roscida mella). It is described as resembling, in size, flakes of hoar-frost or grains of coriander seed, and in appearance, bdellium (a resinous gum) ; its taste is variously said to have been like that of wafers mixed with honey, or cakes baked with oil {Ex. xvi. 14, 31, Num. xi. 7-8). "^ In Ex. xvii. 6 the incident is placed at Horeb, but a comparison of xvii. i with xix, I implies that the people had only reached Rephidim. Neverthe- less Rephidim must have been near Horeb. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 113 The approach to the holy ground of Horeb was not effected without molestation. A formidable attack was made upon them by a body of Amalekites, who partly resented the intrusion of Israel upon ground which they regarded as their own, and partly sought to gratify their desire for plunder. The Amalekites first directed their assault upon the rear and the stragglers {Deut. xxv. 18), and then gathered their forces for a general engagement. The fighting men among the Israelites were placed in charge of Hoshea or Joshua, an Ephraimite ; and an engagement ensued in which the Amalekites were worsted. Moses, who, with the rod of God uplifted in his hand, watched the fight, supported by Aaron and Hur (the latter said by Josephus to have been the husband of Miriam), erected an altar to commemorate the deliverance, which he called Jehovah nissi (Jehovah is my banner).! If Josephus {Ant. iii. 2, 4) is to be followed, the Israelites acquired considerable spoil as the fruits of the victory ; but the unprovoked attack produced such a feeling of resentment among them that a record of the injury was made with a view to subsequent retaliation. At length arrived at Horeb or Sinai, the people camped before the mount; and as this implies the existence, at its foot, of open ground, the circumstance is in favour of the identification of it with the modern Gebel Musa rather than with Serial (see p. 102, note). Gebel Musa over- looks a plain (called Er Rahah) of considerable extent, offering sufficient room for a large encampment; and the approach to it is much more easily traversed than is the case with the rival peak. 2 Moses, after he had taken up a position there, was joined by his father-in-law Jethro, who brought with him Moses' wife, and his two sons Gershom and Eliezer. Jethro, as was natural, shared in the rejoicings which the escape from Egypt and the successful march just accomplished occasioned ; and he, together with Aaron and the elders of Israel, offered sacrifices to Jehovah, and partook of the accompanying feast. By his advice Moses now proceeded to organise a judicial system more adequate for the needs of the people than had hitherto prevailed. ^ For the bestowal of such a name upon an altar cf. Gen. xxxiii. 20, Jtid. vi. 24. * See Harper, The Bible and Modern Discoveries ^ pp. 105, 1 1 1. 1 114 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Over the various tribal and family divisions a certain amount of authority was exercised (as had been the case from the earhest times) by their respective elders; but all cases of controversy were brought to Moses, whose decisions were accepted as those of the Deity Himself {Ex. xviii. 15-16, cf Deut. i. 17). The work, however, had grown beyond one man's strength to perform ; and Jethro before departing {Ex. xviii. 27) to his own people, recommended his son-in-law to delegate some of his duties to others, who might deal with the smaller disputes, whilst the more important ones were still reserved for himself to determine. The counsel thus offered was followed ; '' rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens"^ were invested with judicial authority; and Moses was thus enabled to apply himself more effectively to the reformation and develop- ment of the prevailing social, moral, and religious ideas of his people. Deut. i. 6-18 is at variance with Ex. xviii., which is here followed, in implying that the appointment of the judges was not made until shortly be- iore the departure of the camp from Horeb. Deiit. further differs from Ex. in ignoring Jethro and in representing Moses as bidding the people select their heads for themselves, though he conferred upon them, when selected, the needful authority. Of the circumstances under which the legislation attributed to Moses was promulgated a perfectly satisfactory account is im- possible, partly in consequence of the confusion prevailing amongst the records, and partly in consequence of the dramatic character of their descriptions. There appear to be portions of no less than three narratives (corresponding to the three sources of which the first four books of the Pentateuch are composed), which differ considerably alike in the contents of the legislation and in the incidents attending it. They agree generally, however, in representing that a body of legal enactments was given to Israel at Sinai by Moses, who received them by personal com- munication from the Deity, amid the awe-inspiring accompani ments of a theophany ; that some of these laws were inscribed upon two tables of stone; that during Moses' absence on the mountain, the people made and worshipped a calf of gold as ^ In later times these appellations described military officers ; see / Sam. viii. 12, xxii. 7, 2 Kg. i. 9. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 115 a visible symbol of Jehovah; that Moses on returning and hearing of what had been done, cast down, in his indignation, the tables of stone and broke them, and then destroyed and ground to powder the idolatrous image; that the broken tables were replaced by a second pair, which, as embodying a covenant made between Jehovah and Israel, were placed in an Ark of acacia wood, which was thenceforward called the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah (see Deut. x. 1-5,^ Num. x. 33, xiv. 44) ; and that the Ark was kept in a Tent or Tabernacle,^ to which all who sought the presence of Jehovah used to resort, and which was consequently known as the Tent of Meeting. The scenic character of the description of Jehovah's descent upon Sinai and His converse with Moses, finds a parallel in many rhetorical passages of the Psalms and Prophets,^ and is doubtless to be explained similarly. In these any signal event in which the hand of God is discerned is depicted as accompanied by disturbances in the elements and by convulsions of nature. In the light of such, it seems reasonable to regard the narratives recounting the delivery of the Law at Sinai as a dramatic picture, the details of which are not to be pressed. The Divine communications made to Moses were presumably internal rather than external; and were imparted through the avenues of reflection and conscience rather than by the outward hearing. Yet it is not impossible that in the locality where the events are placed there may really have occurred natural phenomena which are reflected in the narrative. To the race, and in the age, to which Moses be- longed, all that was startling or exceptional in nature unmistak- ably manifested Divine power; and lightning and tempest, '■'-^ particular, were associated by the Hebrews with Jehovah'b presence. Consequently the storms that occasionally burst round the top of Sinai may easily have impressed the spirit of ^ This passage in Deut, is doubtless based on JE, though no mention of the construction of the Ark appears in the sections of the latter document that have been preserved in Exodus. ' The mention of this in Ex. xxxiii. 7 (JE) is abrupt, no account of its construction having been previously given. A subsequent account of it occurs in XXXV. foil. (P), but the conception of it in the Priestly code differs widely from that in JE (cf. p. 141). • See Ps. xviii. 7 foil., Mic. i. 3, 4, Hob. iii. 3-6. ii6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the Israelite leader with a sense of God's nearness; whilst the thunder may have been to him something more than a mere symbol of the Divine voice (cf. Fs. xxix. 3-9).^ But though Sinai must have been the scene of a portion of Moses' legislation, it is not likely to have been the scene of all that he actually initiated, still less of all that he is credited with. On the one hand the narrative, just repeated, recording the appointment of judges to assist Moses suggests that the successive oral decisions of such judges were among the sources of Hebrew law, and could only accumulate gradually. And on the other hand, a review of all the legislation ascribed to Moses in the Pentateuch exhibits discrepancies so serious that it is difficult to regard it as pro- ceeding from one individual or even from one age. The number of distinct codes, partly duplicating and partly contradicting each other, and the many divergences which, as will be seen, are dis- cernible between their enactments as a whole and the usage of the times immediately succeeding, combine to render it probable that the legislation of the complete Pentateuch is Mosaic in inception and germ rather than in its ultimate shape. Further consideration, however, of this question must be reserved till later. The details with which the general outline given above is filled in present many repetitions and divergences. Thus, (i) according to the main tenor of Ex. xix., xx., it was God's purpose to deliver all His commands in the audience of the people assembled to meet Him at the foot of Sinai (xix. 9, 17, XX. 22) ; but the people, after hearing the Decalogue, in their fear prayed that the Divine communications should only be made to them through Moses (xx. 19, cf. xxiv. 3, Deut. v. 4-5, 22-31). On the other hand xix. 12-13 states that the people in general were forbidden on pain of death to ascend the mount, or even to touch it, but certain persons [they in ver. 13 is emphatic), who in ver. 22, 24 appear to be Moses, Aaron, and other priests, were summoned into the mount as intermediaries between God and the people ; and it is in accord with this latter representation that in xxiv. I, 9-1 1 Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders accompany Moses up the mount, behold God, and eat and drink there. (2) In xix. 19, xx. 18 a trumpet is heard and the people tremble; but in xix. 13 (marg.) a ranCi horn is the signal for coining up into the mount. (3) In xxiv. 12-14, Moses, accompanied by Joshua, ascends into the mountain to obtain the tables of stone and the law (written by God) which he is to teach the people (ver. 12), whilst Aaron is left in the camp (ver. 14) ; and agreeably with this in xxxii. i foil. Aaron is the maker of the Golden Calf, whilst Joshua (ver. 17) calls Moses' attention to the noise in the camp, and in the issue (ver. 35), Jehovah, rejecting Moses' appeal (ver. 32), smites the people ^ Travellers relate that the presence of strange noises is a feature of these mountains, sounds being carried to a great distance (Stanley, S. andP.^ p. 13) THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 117 because of the calf. On the other hand, in xxxii. 7-14 Jehovah Himself apprises Moses of the people's sin, whilst at the latter's intercession He repents of the evil which He said He would do to them, and the offenders are punished by Moses who summons the sons of Levi (which does not harmonise well with the previous representation that Aaron had been among the guilty) to slay the idolaters (ver. 26-28).^ These differences point to the existence of two versions of the incidents in question, from E and J respectively, which have been united together. ^ In the subsequent narrative the second tables which are substituted for those broken by Moses, are described as like unto the first (xxxiv. i, cf. Deut. x. 2-4) ; but the Hebrew phrases used of them differ,^ as also do the commandments in- scribed upon them (contrast xx. 2-17 with xxxiv. 14-26). It is probable, therefore, that whilst the account of the first tables comes from one source (E), that of the second comes from the other (J). Again, in Ex. xxv.-xxxi. and XXXV. -xL, together with the book of Leviticus and a part of Numbers^ a multitude of ritual and other directions are given, which differ largely in matter but to a still greater extent in spirit from the legislation (viewed as a whole) which is included in Ex. xx.-xxiii. and c. xxxiv. These must, therefore, be derived from a third source, which, as already stated, has been termed the Priestly Code. The discrepancies between the requirements of this and the other codes, as well as Deuteronomy y will be examined in detail in the following chapter. The time spent at Sinai seems to have been something less than a year {Ex. xix. i, compared with Nu7n. x. 11). Before breaking up the encampment Moses requested Hobab (if he can be regarded as distinct from Jethro, who had already left, according to Ex. xviii. 27) to accompany the people and share their fortunes ; but the latter expressed a desire to return to his own kindred {Num. x. 29-30). Moses then urged that from his knowledge of the wilderness he could be of great service as a guide; and a subsequent notice suggests that he finally consented {/ud. i. 16, iv. 11). When the departure from Sinai was begun, the march of the people was preceded by the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, which went before them three days in advance to determine the next station, its starting and halting being saluted with the words of a chant {Num. x. 33-36). The first movement was made in a northerly direction towards the wilderness of Paran. The latter was the barren region of El-Tih lying south of Canaan and west of Edom, and seems ^ Cf. Deut. x. 8 (where at that time refers to the sojourn at Horeb, ver. I-5, not to the verses immediately preceding), xxxiii, 9. ^ In Deut. ix. the combined account has been followed, with certain omissions. * In xxiv. 12 they are styled tables of stone, but in xxxiv. i, 4 tables of stones. In the recapitulation in Deut, v. 22 (Heb. 19), x. i, this difference is ignored. Ii8 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY to have been approached by the shore of the Gulf of Akaba. This appears from the fact that the Israelites are represented, shortly after leaving Sinai, as being in the neighbourhood of the sea {Num. xi. 22, 31), but the stations mentioned as being on the route cannot be positively identified. These stations are Taberah {Nu?n. xi. 3),^ Kibroth Hattaavah,^ and Hazeroth. The first two are described as owing their names to certain incidents which occurred near them. At Taberah ("Burning") the people murmured, and in consequence the fire of Jehovah burnt among them. At Kibroth Hattaavah (" the graves of lust "), the people lamented the want of flesh to eat, contrasting the manna upon which they now subsisted with the dainties they enjoyed in Egypt These repeated complaints so distressed Moses that he pleaded that the burden laid upon him was too heavy for him. He was accordingly led to associate seventy elders with him to share his responsibilities ; ^ upon whom when gathered at the Tent of Meeting outside the camp the Divine spirit was bestowed, and they prophesied.* Two others, named Eldad and Medad, who were not among the seventy, were at the same time endowed with the spirit of prophecy whilst remaining in the camp; whereupon Joshua on hearing of it, in his zeal for his master's pre-eminence, which seemed imperilled, urged Moses to forbid them, but the high-souled leader only expressed his wish that Jehovah would put His spirit upon all His people. The desires of the multitude for flesh food were afterwards gratified by the providential appearance (seemingly for the second time) of flights of quails, which were driven from the sea towards the camp. But reckless indulgence, after long abstinence, brought disease in its train; and great mortahty ensued among the people.^ Hazeroth, the third of the places named, merely means ^ This is not mentioned in the list of stations enumerated in Num. xxxiii. ' In Dent, ix- 22 Massah is named between Taberah and Kibroth Hattaavah. ' This incident appears to be quite distinct from the somewhat similar one o{ Ex. xviii. (p. 114). * Though the appointment of the seventy elders stands in close relation to Moses' complaint of his weight of responsibility, the story of their prophesying has little bearing upon the people's demand for flesh. * The expression in Num. xi 33 can scarcely be taken literally (contrast ver. 19, 20). THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 119 " encampments " : it has been identified by some with the Wddy Huderah. Here Miriam and Aaron murmured against their brother, partly (it would seem) because he had married a Cushite woman,^ and partly from jealousy of his position, contending that they, like him, were recipients of Divine revelations. Moses' authority, however, was vindicated by Miriam being attacked by leprosy, in consequence of which she had for a time to be separated from the camp. On entering the wilderness of Paran, the people established themselves at Kadesh (distant eleven days' journey from Horeb, according to Deut. i. 2). This place is usually identified with Ain Kadis^ some fifty miles south of Beersheba. From this place an entry into Canaan was contemplated ; and with this in view, a party of twelve spies ^ were sent to explore the country and its defences. They reached Hebron, and, as it was late summer {Num. xiii. 20), they gathered in the neighbouring valley of Eshcol specimens of the products of the district, grapes, pome- granates, and figs, to exhibit to their countrymen as evidence of its fertility. But the sight of the inhabitants, who belonged to the gigantic race of the Anakim, so impressed them that on their return, though they spoke most eulogistically of the country, they represented that its conquest was impracticable owing to the strength of the towns and the formidable character of its people. One spy alone, named Caleb,^ was confident of success, and urged an immediate attack. But his voice was unheeded amid the general dismay produced by the report of his com- panions. So disconcerted were the people by what they heard that they even proposed to choose a captain who would lead them back to Egypt. This suggested abandonment of what was regarded as a divinely-promoted undertaking brought at once upon its advocates a sentence of punishment. Moses sought ^ If Num. xii. i is to be reconciled with Ex. ii. 21, it seems simplest to regard this as a second marriage, Zipporah being now dead. But it is possible that this is another version (from E) of his marriage with Zipporah (related in Ex. ii. 21, from J). Cushite usually means "Ethiopian"; but there were certain Arabian tribes whose descent was traced to Gush (see Gen. X. 7), and in Hab. iii. 7 Cushan is connected with Midian. ^ This number is given not only in Num. xiii. 1-17 (P), but in Deut. i. 23. ' Caleb, though described in Num. xiii. 6 as a Judahite, was possibly of Edomite origin; see p. 174, note. 120 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY forgiveness for the people from Jehovah (Who is represented as desiring to smite them with a pestilence, and to make of Moses a chosen people), pleading that their destruction would discredit Jehovah's power in the sight of neighbouring nations ; and he thus obtained their pardon. But speaking afterwards to the multitude in the name of Jehovah, he declared that of that generation none but Caleb should see the land which had been promised to their race : they themselves should die in the wilderness, and only their children should enter the country which, from motives of fear, had been rejected. A revulsion of feeling immediately seized the people, and acknowledging their error, they professed themselves eager to set about the conquest without delay. Moses asserted that disaster awaited them if they persisted; but they could not be restrained. In spite of their leader's protest, and without being accompanied by the Ark, they advanced to the attack ; but Moses' words were verified, and they were defeated by the Canaanites and Amalekites (in Deut. i. 44, called Amorites) at Zephath (subsequently named Hormah,y>/^. i. 17), a place some twenty-five miles N. of Kadesh (now Sebaitd). In the narrative of the espial of Canaan contained in Num. xiii. and xir. two accounts are blended, of which one is adopted in the text. The other, differing from this, recites (i) that the spies, despatched from the wilder- ness of Paran, surveyed the whole land throughout its entire length fiom the wilderness of Zin (cf. Nmn. xx. I, xxxiii. 36) to Rehob (either the place of that name in the territory of Asher {Josh. xix. 28) or Beth-rehob, near the town of Dan, Jud. xviii. 28), forty days being spent in the work ; (2) that they represented that the land was impoverished (with Num. xiii. 32, cf. Lev. xxvi. 38, Ezek. xxxvi. 13) ; (3) \}[i^t Joshua (who was one of them), as well as Caleb, brought back a true account, and was with Caleb excepted from the sentence of exclusion pronounced upon the rest, who died by a plague {Num. xiv. 37). The review in Deut. i. 22 foil, agrees with the account contained in the text above, and ignores the other version. The defeat at Zephath (Hormah) {Num. xiv. 45, Deut. i. 44) appears the same with one related in the isolated section. Num. xxi. 1-3, as having been sustained at the hand of the king of Arad. Arad was some twenty miles E. of Beersheba, so that its king must have marched southward to meet the Israelites. The retribution inflicted by Israel, as described in Num. xxi. 3, is doubtless anticipatory of that recorded va. Jud. i. 17 (see p. 175), and does not refer to Moses' time ; if it did, the omission of the Israelites to repeat the attempt to enter Canaan from the south would be unaccountable. Of the period which followed the abortive attempt to enter Canaan, the history is obscure in the extreme. The length of time that elapsed between the Exodus and the final invasion THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 121 of Canaan is conventionally represented as forty years {Num. xiv. 34, cf. xxxiii. 38), which is presumably regarded as the equivalent of a generation. In the narrative which has been preserved two or more records appear to be fused together, and a consistent account is practically impossible. It seems probable, on the whole, that Kadesh was the centre round which their move- ments turned. The place was, as its name indicates, a sanctuary, and possessed a supply of water; and though doubtless the people left it from time to time in search of pasture for their flocks, they remained in its neighbourhood. It is possible that whilst here they came, for the first time since the Exodus, into contact with the Egyptians. An inscription of the Pharaoh Mernptah has been found recently,^ the close of which relates the conquest by the Egyptians of the land of Canaan and Ashkelon; and then adds, "The Israelites are spoiled, so that they have no seed ; the land of Khar (perhaps the land of the Horites, i.e. Edom) is become hke the widows of Egypt." Of the circumstances alluded to nothing positive is known ; but the situation of the Israelites implied in the inscription is in or near S. Palestine, and as the fuller records of later date show no trace of any relations between Israel and Egypt until the time of Solomon, the sojourn at Kadesh seems to be the only occasion that will suit the conditions.^ The duration of the sojourn in Kadesh is nowhere definitely stated, and the various passages relating to it point to different conclusions. After the discontent which followed upon the report of the spies, the people were bidden to turn to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, i.e. to the Gulf of Akaba {Num. xiv. 25) ; and in Deut. i. 46 it is said that after "many days" had been spent at Kadesh they wandered for thirty-eight years around the border of Edom (ii. i, 14). On the other hand, it is affirmed in Num. xx. I, 14, 22, that Kadesh, at the close of the forty years' wanderings, was the starting point for the final march into Canaan ; and this appears the most plausible of the conflicting representations. For the view implied in Nfu?n. xxxiii. see p. 125. Only a few noteworthy events are related in the Pentateuch as occurring within the years spent at, or near, Kadesh. Among these was a revolt against the secular authority of Moses, organised ^ See Sayce, Early Hist. ofHeb., p. 159. * On the assumption that the Exodus took place in the reign of Mernptah, the only alternative to the view in the text is to regard the inscription as a boastful account of the Exodus itself, considered as an expulsion of the Israelites. 122 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY by three Reubenites, Dathan, Abiram, and On, who contended that Moses had brought the people out of a bountiful land into the wilderness under false pretences, and was endeavouring to make himself a king over them. Moses vehemently protested his innocence of any act of oppression, and bade the people separate themselves from the mutineers, appealing to the doom that he asserted would befall them, to vindicate his claims and his position. The narrative relates that his anticipations were verified, and that Dathan and Abiram, with their families, were swallowed up by an earthquake as they stood at the door of their tents (Num. c. xvi.). The revolt of Dathan and Abiram is confused in Num. xvi. with a movement amongst a number of Levites which was headed by Korah ; but only the former appears to belong to JE, and is alluded to in Dent. (xi. 6). Korah's rebellion (the account of which comes from P) was directed against the superior religious authority enjoyed by Moses and Aaron together over other Levites. He and his partisans (250 men) were challenged by Moses to approach the Tabernacle and offer incense, it being left to Jehovah to decide whether they or Aaron should be His chosen ministers. They did so, and were destroyed by fire.^ The censers which they used were made into plates for covering the altar, to serve as a reminder that none but members of the house of Aaron might bum incense before Jehovah {Num. xvi. 40). On the morrow, however, the people charged Moses and Aaron with causing the death of their fellow-countrymen ; whereupon a plague broke out in which 14,700 persons perished, and was only stayed by Aaron standing with a censer of incense between the dead and the Living to make atonement {Num. xvi. 41-50). After this, to still such complaints for the future, Moses was bidden to lay up in the Tent of Meeting twelve rods, each inscribed with the name of one of the tribes, Aaron's name being written on the rod of Levi. The next morning Aaron's rod was found to have borne almonds ; and as a token of Jehovah's choice, his rod was preserved before the Testimony {Num. xvii.). It will be seen that the selection (in c. x\4i.) of LevVs rod from among those of the twelve tribes has little bearing upon the protest of the Levite Korah against the exclusive privileges of Aaron and his house, so that this part of the narrative (c. xvii.), though derived from P, is not quite homo- geneous with the rest. Probably it belongs to a version of the story which represented Korah as championing against the religious privileges of Levi the claims of the other tribes (cf. the phrase in xvi. 3 all the congregation are holy^ and see also Num. xxvii. 1-3). At Kadesh Miriam died, and was buried there. At the same place another outbreak of discontent on the part of the people was produced by want of water {Nu7n. xx. 2 foil.). Their needs * Korah's sons did not perish with their father {Num. xxvi. ii), and in the succeeding history descendants of his obtain mention, Samuel being amongst them, according to / Ch. vi. 22 foil. But see pp. 283-4. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 123 were again providentially supplied; but in his impatience with the murmurers, Moses, together with his brother, did not show proper faith in the God Whose servants they were, and (accord- ing to one account) to this distrust was due the fact that they were not in the end permitted to enter the Promised Land (cf. Deut. xxxii. 51). From the account as it stands, it would appear that the offence of Moses and Aaron consisted in the lack of faith in Jehovah's power revealed by the former striking the rock twice in order to procure water (for there is no emphasis on we in Moses' speech, ver. lo), but the allusion in ver. 24 (cf. Num. xxvii. 14) suggests something of a more directly rebellious character. To the waters which were forthcoming to supply the wants of the discontented people the name Meribah was given, which is identical with that bestowed on the scene of the similar incident in Ex. xvii. 1-7 ; and it is possible that tradition has preserved two versions of one event. ^ If the occurrence took place at Kadesh, identified in Gen. xiv. 7 with Ett-mishpat {^' the Spring of Judgment ") the absence of water is curious. Another explanation of Moses' exclusion from the land of Promise is given in Deut. i. 37 (cf iii. 26, iv. 21), where it is brought into connection with the incident of the spies, the leader suffering with the people for the offence of the latter {for your sakes\ and Joshua being appointed as his successor to effect the conquest. The disastrous issue of the invasion of Canaan from the south seems to have left a deep impression upon the people; so that even when the second generation had grown up, and were prepared to renew the attempt to settle themselves in Canaan, it was from the east and not from the south that they determined to approach it. But between them and the east bank of the Jordan lay the countries of Edom and Moab. To the king of Edom application was made from Kadesh for leave to pass through his territory. It was, however, refused; and consequently, as the Israelites were not disposed to force a passage against armed opposition, they had to compass Edom. If the narrative (which is composite) is to be followed as it stands, Israel before receiving the hostile answer of the Edomite king, had approached Mt. Hor, which has been identified with a hill called Modcrah on the W. border of Edom some thirty or forty miles N.E. of Kadesh, and directly E. of Zephath.2 There Moses lost his \ Possibly there may be a third version, alluded to in Deut. xxxiii. 8, in which God is represented as striving with, and proving, Levi at Massah and Meribah, whereas in Ex. xvii. and Num. xx. the whole people are described as striving with, and proving, God. * Josephus {Ant. iv. 4, 7) places Mt. Hor near Petra ; but this was E. 124 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY brother Aaron, who is said to have been 123 years old at his death, and who was mourned by the people for thirty days. His wife, whose name was Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, had borne him four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, of whom the two eldest are related to have perished in the wilderness of Sinai for offering "strange fire"^ before Jehovah {Lev. x. 1-3, Num. iii. 4) ; and it was the third, Eleazar, who succeeded his father in the priestly office. Aaron, before his death, was taken to the top of Mt. Hor, and there divested of his priestly robes, and Eleazar formally arrayed in them. From Mt. Hor Israel proceeded southward towards the Gulf of Akaba in order to skirt the Edomite territory by Elath and Ezion-geber {Deut. ii. 8). The length of the march and the want of water and of an adequate supply of food again produced discouragement, which found expression in sullen murmurs. The malcontents were terrified into a more submissive frame of mind by being attacked by serpents whose bite caused a burning pain.^ On their repenting, Moses prayed for them, and by Divine direction he made a serpent of brass which he raised aloft on a pole, towards which those who were bitten were bidden to gaze, in order to prove their faith in Jehovah, whilst recalling their sin. Those who obeyed were healed of the poison. The remainder of the march was without noteworthy incident They were allowed, when they eventually turned northward, to traverse part of the territory of Edom {Deut. ii. 4); and then proceeded to compass Moab {Deut. ii. 9). The E. border of this country was reached at lye-abarim {Num. xxi. 11), and they appear to have crossed a portion of it (as they had previously done of Edom), its inhabitants, though not forward in offering provisions (Deut. xxiii. 3, 4), nevertheless selling them what they needed {Deut. ii. 29). After camping at lye-abarim the Israehtes crossed the Zered (either the IVddy Kerak, which enters the Dead Sea, or the Seil es Saideh, an affluent of the Arnon) ; and finally of the Arabah and of Edom, if not actually \\'ithin the latter country. Both Num. XX., which calls the scene of Aaron's death Mi. Hor^ and Deut. x. 6-7 (compared with Num. xxxiii. 31-35), which calls it Moserahy imply that it was on the road to Ezion-geber, W. of the Arabah and of Edom (see p. 125). 1 See Ex. xxx. 9. ■ Such serpents are represented in Deut. viii, 15 as abounding in the desert. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 125 arrived at the Arnon itself (the modern Wddy Mojib)^ the river which formed the boundary between Moab and the Amorites; and here they began to enter upon their inheritance. The route followed by the Israelites from Kadesh to the border of Moab is difficult to trace, not only from the impossibility of identifying with cer- tainty the places named, but also from the contradictory character of the accounts given, the several lists of the stations mentioned between Sinai and Moab being as follows: — /x. ii-xiii. 26. '''Ixx. 22-xxi. II. Num. xxxiii. Deut. X. 6-7. Sinai Sinai Taberah Kibroth-hattaavah Kibroth-hattaavah Hazeroth Hazeroth Rithmah Rimmon-perez Libnah Rissah Kehalathah Mt. Shepher Haradah Makheloth Tahath Terah Mithkah Kadesh Hashmonah Moseroth Beeroth-bene-jaakan Mt. Hor (Aaron died) Bene-jaakan Moserah (Aaron died) Hor-haggidgad Gudgodah Jotbathah Jotbathah (Journey to the Red Sea, Abronah at Ezion-geber, to com- Ezion-geber pass Edom) Zin (Kadesh) Mt. Hor (Aaron died) Zalmonah Punon Oboth Oboth lye-abarim (border of lye-abarim (border of Moab) Moab) It will be observed that (i) the places in Deut. correspond (with a slight difference in order) to certain localities named in Nufn. xxxiii. as on the road to Ezion-geber, and that Deut. therefore agrees with Num. xx. 23-xxi. 4 in dating Aaron's death before the arrival at Ezion-geber, though it gives a different name to the scene of it ; (2) Num. xxxiii. mentions Kadesh and Aaron's death at Mt. Hor after Ezion-geber. It has been attempted to reconcile the discrepancy either by assuming that Ezion-geber and the places named before it in Num. xxxiii. and Deut. x. were visited twice (the mention of them in Num. xxxiii. relating to the first occasion, and that in Deut. x. to the second), or (which seems preferable) by considering the reference, in Num. xxxiii. 36b-4ia, to Zin (Kadesh) and Mt. Hor as interpolated or misplaced. The Amorites on the E. of Jordan were divided at this time 126 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY into two kingdoms, the southernmost, under Sihon, being in- cluded between the Jabbok and the Arnon and having its capital at Heshbon, whilst the other, whose ruler was Og, comprised the district called Bashan (reaching from the Jabbok to the slopes of Hermon). Sihon had acquired his territory at the cost of the Moabites (who had previously expelled an aboriginal race called the Emim {Dent. ii. lo) ),the Moabite possessions now being confined to the region south of the Arnon. His country the Israelites now sought to traverse, with a view to reaching the Jordan.^ They accordingly made, from the wilderness of Kede- moth {Dcut. ii. 26), the same application to him which they had previously made to the king of Edom, and met with the same refusal. But the obstacle thus presented could not be turned as was done on the earlier occasion; and between themselves and the Amorites there were none of the ties of blood which had doubtless made themselves felt in the case of Edom. Conse- quently it was sought to effect a passage through the enemy by force ; and Sihon was defeated at Jahaz. The victory thus gained was improved upon. Heshbon and some other towns were cap- tured ; the population expelled or exterminated ;2 and the whole district between the Arnon and the Jabbok stretching eastward as far as Jazer,^ was placed at the mercy of the invaders.* The ^ The stations reached after lye-abarim are given differently in Num. xxi. 12-20 and xxxiii. 45-47, and are as follows: — Num. xxL Num. xxxiiL Zered Arnon Beer Dibon-gad Mattanah Almon-diblathaim Nahaliel Bamoth Pisgah Nebo The places in Num. xxi. following the mention of the Arnon, and all the places named in Num. xxxiii. 45-47, were in Amorite territory, and the occurrence of them in their present position in the former chapter anticipates the conquest of Sihon related subsequently. In Num. xxi, 19, in place of from the wilderness to Mattanah should be read (after the LJOL) from Beer to Mattanah. ' See Num. xxi. 32, Deut. ii. 34. ' This was the border of the chDdren of Ammon, see LXX. of Num, xxi. 24 (end). * In the song, quoted in Num. xxi. 27-30, in celebration of the victory over Sihon and the Amorites, whose chief city, Heshbon, is described as THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 127 attractiveness of its extensive pastures appealed strongly to a people which had spent so many years in the desert, and two of the tribes, Reuben and Gad, which were richest in cattle and flocks,^ applied to Moses for leave to occupy it instead of seeking other possessions on the W. of Jordan. The Israelite leader consented on condition that they armed themselves to accompany their brother-tribesmen when they should cross the river ; and these terms the Reubenites and Gadites undertook to fulfil i^Num, xxxii.). In Num. xxi. 33-35, Deut. iH. I-I5> xxix. 7-8, xxxi. 4 (cf. Num. xxxii. 33-42), Og the king of Bashan^ is also said to have been defeated by the Israelites at Edrei (E. of the sea of Chinnereth), and his country (comprising sixty fortified cities) is related to have been occupied at this time, a share of it falling to half the tribe of Manasseh. If Israel had actually penetrated so far to the north on this occasion, it is scarcely probable that the passage of the Jordan would have been effected at no other place than the fords of Jericho; and m/ud. xi. 19-22 only the defeat of Sihon is alluded to, and the borders of the territory taken from him (called in ver. 21 all the land of the Amoriies) is described as extending from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. It will be seen subsequently that there are indications that the country north of the Jabbok was really occupied by Israel at a much later date (cf. Jttd. x. 3-4). The Moabites must have followed with friendly eyes the war waged against their enemies the Amorites by Israel; but the retention by the latter of the territory taken from Sihon doubtless brought about a change of attitude. The Israelites, however, who, powerful already by their numbers, had been rendered still more formidable by their recent success, appeared too dangerous a foe to meet with purely human weapons, and Balak the king of Moab accordingly sent for a soothsayer {Josh. xiii. ^) or enchanter named Balaam, from Pethor^ near the Euphrates overthrown and needing to be rebuilt (ver. 27, 30), there is incorporated in mockery an Amorite triumph song (ver. 28, 29), which records how in previous times the flame of war had been carried by the Amorites from Heshbon into Moab, as far south as Ar. For that aggression Sihon's present defeat was a fitting retribution. ^ The neighbouring Moabites also possessed large numbers of sheep, see 2 Kg. iii. 4. '^ In Deut. iii. 11 his bedstead, "a bedstead of iron," nine cubits long and four cubits broad, is stated to have been preserved at Rabbah in Ammon. It has been suggested that this was a sarcophagus of basalt, specimens of which have been found in the country E. of the Jordan. 3 Pethor has been identified with Pitru on the W. bank of the Euphrates. In Num. xxii. 5 for the children of his people the Vulgate reads the 128 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (cf. Deut. xxiii. 4), who was a worshipper of Jehovah {Num. xxil 18), to cripple his enemies by pronouncing a curse upon them.^ Balaam, after some opposition, was brought to Ar, the capital of Moab {Num. xxii. 36, cf. xxi. 15), and there shown from certain commanding heights the extent of the people he was required to curse. But after directing Balak to erect altars and offer sacrifice upon them, he was led by Divine inspiration to pronounce upon Israel, not a curse but a series of blessings. He subsequently returned home, and Balak was left to encounter his foes with Httle hope of success. The accounts of the sequel are conflicting. According to Num. xxv. 1-5 the Israelites and the Moabites fraternised, and the former were corrupted by the women of Moab, and seduced to join in the worship of the Baal of Peor (probably Chemosh).^ To avenge the crime the chief offenders were hung or impaled (cf. Deut. iv. 3). On the other hand, according to Josh. xxiv. 9-10, Balak's warlike intentions towards Israel were carried out (contrary to Jud. xi. 25) ; but no details are given, though it is indicated that the result of the war was as disastrous to the Moabites as that of the previous campaign had been to the Amorites. Of Balaam and his connection with Israelite history, tradition has pre- served more than one account. Even the version which is followed above (from JE) is not homogeneous ; for in the narrative of Num. xxii. there are obvious repetitions (cf. 3a beside 3b) and inconsistencies {^e.g, in ver. 20, 21 Balaam goes with the princes of Moab according to the Divine direction ; whereas in ver. 22 foil, he goes with two servants alone, in defiance of the Divine will, for he is intercepted by an angel and only saved from being slain through the intelligence of his ass, which is endowed with articulate utterance, and addresses its master).^ With regard to Balaam's prophecies, it is question- able whether in their present form they all date from the Mosaic period : the reference to an Israelite king and kingdom (xxiv. 7, 17) points to the time of the Monarchy, in which case the allusions to the overthrow of Edom and Moab (ver. 17, 18) may have in view the disasters which those countries sus- tained in the reign of David. The section xxiv. 20-24 seems to be of later origin still, for Assyria (ver. 22) did not come within the political horizon of Israel until the 9th century at the earliest. The predicted captivity of the Kenites by the Assyrians may have been an incident in the deportation, by Tiglath Pileser, of N. Israel (where the Kenites are placed in Jud. iv. 17), children of Amnion, pointing, perhaps, to another tradition of Balaam's origin, which one of the constituent sources of JE may have followed. 1 For the effect attributed to a curse cf. Josh. vi. 26, / Kg. xvi. 34, 2 Kg. ii. 24, Zech. v. 1-4. 2 Cf. Hos. ix. 10. • For the endowment of an animal with speech cf. Hom. //. xix. 404 folL THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 129 but the prophecy has as little reference to Israel as it has to Moab. The affliction of Assyria by ships from Kittim (Cyprus), foretold in ver. 24, is quite obscure. Another account of Balaam (derived from P) represents him as in league, not with the Moabites but the Midianites, and counselling them to seduce the Israelites from their allegiance to Jehovah by means of their women {Num. XXV. 6 foil., xxxi. 16). The guilty Israelites were punished not by a judgment inflicted by human agents (as in xxv. 4-5) but by a plague, which destroyed 24,cxx). Phinehas, tke son of Eleazar the high priest, distinguished himself by killing with his own hand one of the most shameless offenders, a Simeonite called Zimri, together with the woman (Cozbi the daughter of a Midianite prince) with whom he was sinning. The Divine wrath being by this means turned away, Phinehas, for the zeal he had displayed for the honour of Jehovah, had the priesthood secured to him in perpetuity.^ It is due to an attempt to harmonise these two accounts of Balaam that "the elders of Moab" are combined with "the elders of Midian" in Num. xxii. 4, 7). A sequel to this second account {Num. c. xxxi.) relates that in consequence of the evil done to Israel by the Midianites, war was directed to be made upon them. A body of 12,000 men with Phinehas at their head, bearing the vessels of the sanctuary, was sent against them, and slew the five kings of Midian, and all the males (Balaam being amongst the slain), burnt their cities and encampments, and took captive all their women and children, with their flocks, herds, and other possessions, without losing a single man {Num. xxxi. 49). When the army returned to the camp, Moses was wroth at the indiscriminate sparing of the women and children, and directed that all the male children and all the married women should be put to death, only the unmarried girls being spared. He further required that the Israelite soldiers should purify themselves from the defilement they had contracted from the slain on the battlefield ; and enacted that the spoil should be equally divided between those who went out to battle and those who remained behind, and that sh^ of the share of the former should be given to the priests, and -5^0 of the share of the latter should go to the Levites. The narrative, which, like the one immediately preceding, comes from P, has many improbable features; and the wholesale destruction of Midian is inconsistent with the power possessed by the nation in the time of the Judges {/ud. vi.). It has been sug- gested that one of the objects of the narrative is to give an historical setting (seemingly imaginary) to certain laws relating to (i) purification after contact with the dead, (2) the distribution of booty taken in war.^ The time at last came for an attempt to be made to pass the Jordan and invade its western bank. Moses himself was too old to conduct the people on this new and arduous campaign, and consequently another leader had to be appointed. It was clear that for the work now to be accomplished a soldier was needed ; and the choice fell upon Moses' minister Joshua, who had shown * Yet at a subsequent date Eli, of the house of Ithamar, was high priest (see Josephus, An/, viii. i, 3). ^ The principle, here laid down, of an equal division of the spoil between those who went to battle and those who stayed in the camp is the same as that related to have been established by David after his defeat of the Amale- kites who had sacked Ziklag (/ Sam. xxx. 24) ; see p. 239. K 130 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY his military capacity in the engagement with Amalek at Rephidim {Ex. xvii. 9). He was accordingly taken to the Tent of Meeting, and was there formally commissioned, and invested with the authority hitherto possessed by Moses (see Deuf. xxxi. 14 foil, JVum xxvii. 15 foil). According to the idealising representation of P {Num. c. xxvi. and xxxiv. ), at this time not only was the commander chosen, who was to lead the host to the conquest of Canaan, but a census was taken of the people with a view to the allotment of the land, the boundaries of the territory to be divided were determined, and a body of commissioners was appointed to conduct the division between the tribes. The numbers of the people above twenty years of age are represented as 601,730, Judah being the most numerous tribe and Simeon the smallest.^ The land to be distributed is described as extending from Kadesh-barnea to the "entering in" of Hamath (probably the gorge between the Lebanons {Num. xxxiv. 8)),' and from Jordan to the sea ; and within these frontiers the position of the tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the half of Manasseh being excluded) was to be decided by lot, though the extent of their divisions was to depend on their respective numbers {Num. xxxiii. 54), Moses now had death in contemplation ; but before departing, he addressed to the people, whom he had so successfully led, a final exhortation, in which he reiterated the terms of the covenant subsisting between them and Jehovah {Deut. xxix. i foil, xxxi. 24 foil.), reviewed the past mercies they had received, and foretold the future which would be theirs, according as they were faithful or unfaithful to their God. He then ascended from the plains of Moab to the top of one of the heights of Abarim {Num. xxvil 12), variously called Nebo {Deut. xxxii. 49) or Pisgah (iii. 27), which overlooked the Jordan valley, and from which he could view the country beyond on which he was not allowed to set his foot. After having thus seen the promised land, he died ; and was buried {Deut. xxxiv. 6 marg., and LXX.) in the land of Moab, though the place of his burial soon passed from memory, and was unknown in the time of the historian {Deut. xxxiv. 6). He is said to have been 120 years old at the time of his death, retaining his natural vigour to the last. For him, as for Aaron, whom he followed to the grave within a year, the Israelites mourned for thirty days. 1 In the census which, according to Num. i., was taken in the second year after the Exodus the number of men over twenty is given as 603, 500, Judah being the most numerous tribe and Manasseh the least numerous. ^ The "Mount Hor" here mentioned must be quite distinct from that alluded to in Num. xxxiii. 37-38; and is conjectured by some to mean Hermon. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 131 Of Moses' farewell address to his people in the plains of Moab ^ the book of Detiterotiomy purports to be an account (i. 1-5, xxix. i). The historical situation presented in it is intrinsically a probable one, and there seems no reason for doubting that an address of such a tenor was actually delivered, and the memory of it preserved. The book itself, however (as distinct from the law it contains), does not claim to be actually written by Moses ; and reasons have been previously given for regarding it as the production of an age considerably later than the Mosaic' But if composed at the later date suggested in the Introduction, it nevertheless includes matter derived from much earlier, and possibly Mosaic, times. Not only does it explicitly mention a book written by Moses, but many of the laws contained in it are a repetition of those embraced within the Book of the Covenant (attributed to him in Ex. xxiv. 7) ; and injunctions and allusions occur (such as those which relate to the future treatment of the Canaanites and Amalekites (vii. 1-5, XX. 16-18, XXV. 17-19) or imply a vivid knowledge of Egypt (xi. 10)), which in a composition of the date assigned are explicable only on the supposition that they are recapitulated from some writing of early origin (such as that referred to in Ex. xvii. 14). Such early materials, however, are not, for the most part, reproduced verbatim, but are re-cast, and appear with all the characteristic phrases of the writer of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy contains two poetical compositions which are both attributed to Moses, but neither of which is likely to be his : viz. the Song of c. xxxii., and the Blessing of c. xxxiii. (i) The Song implies that the events re- viewed (the journey through the wilderness and the entry into a fertile land (xxxii. 10-14), which were followed by apostasy on the part of the people (15 foil., 21)), were those of a distant past (ver. 7) ; and the religious ideas prevailing in it are most consonant with the teaching of the later prophets.^ (2) The Blessing, besides mentioning Moses in the third person (xxxiii. 4), refers to the conquest as past (ver. 27) ; and its probable date seems to be shortly after that event (perhaps the time of the Judges), when allusion to the local position of the tribes (19, 23) would be most natural, when Judah and Simeon (the latter not here mentioned) were severed from the rest of the nation (ver. 7), and when the tribe of Joseph was eminent (13-17),* the last two features pointing to the northern tribes as the place of its origin. The prominence given to the priestly character of the tribe of Levi is against ^ Though the land of Moab is generally represented as the scene of the discourse (see Deut. i. 5, xxiv. i), it is noteworthy that of the localities men- tioned in i. I as those in the neighbourhood of which Moses delivered it Paran, Hazeroth, and Laban (if this can be identified with Libnah, Num. xxxiii. 20) are places named in connection with the earlier journeys (see Num. X. 12, xi. 35, xxxiii. 20) ; and with this the expression in the wilderness {Deut. i. i) agrees. It is possible therefore that two distinct subjects have been fused into one, viz. a review of the legislation of the wilderness ^ and an account of Moses' parting address in the valley of the Arabah. ^ See Introd. p. 7. It has been pointed out that the incidental references in xxviii. 58, xxix. 20, 27, xxx. 10 to this book before the mention, in xxxi. 9, 24, of its composition is, of itself, an indication that the account is not contemporary with the events recorded. \ e-g' ver. 21, 27, and see pp. 454-5 ; with ver. 39 cf. 2 Is. xli. 4, xliii. 10, xlviii. 12. * The reference to a sanctuary in Benjamin (xxxiii. 12) perhaps has in vie\< Bethel or Mizpah. The king in ver. 5 is probably Jehovah (cf. Num. xxiii. 21, /ud. viii. 23, Zeph. iii. 15). 132 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY its having originated in the northern kingdom, in the reign of Jeroboam I., a period to which it is sometimes referred (see / Kg. xii. 31), and accordingly some scholars assign it to the time of Jeroboam II. Moses was the first, and in some respects the greatest, of the series of illustrious characters which adorn Hebrew history. Israel perhaps more than any other nation owes its distinction to a few individuals. Poorly endowed as a people with the qualities which lead to national success, being gifted with tenacity and retentiveness rather than power of initiation, it has been indebted for its position amongst mankind to a few commanding personaHties. Among these Moses occupies a foremost place. A multitude of dispirited serfs he transformed into a conquering host. Into a people who had fallen away from the religion of their forefathers he instilled renewed faith in a righteous and holy God, a faith which in after-times, in spite of numerous corruptions and frequent declensions, was never wholly quenched. An undisciplined rabble he accustomed to habits of law and order; and laid for it the foundations of a system of civil and religious jurisprudence with which his name became indelibly associated, however small may be the part of the existing structure which was really completed by him. When this process of training and organisation was sufficiently advanced to make his countrymen capable warriors, he started them on a career of conquest, and himself saw a section of them pass from the condition of landless nomads into that of settlers and occupiers. And this work he accomplished in face of great opposition. He had to contend with the cowardice and dis- content of the people he led, with the antagonism of tribal leaders like Dathan and Abiram, and with the jealousy of his own kinsfolk Aaron and Miriam. Besides the trials inseparable from the desert character of the country in which the wanderings were spent, and the impatience which they produced in the mass of the people, he had to confront more than one crisis connected with the religious polity he was engaged in instituting. But he rose superior to all difficulties, all discouragements, and lived to bring his countrymen to the confines of the Promised Land, and to commit them to a leader whom he had trained to continue and crown his work. THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS 133 The nature of Moses' religious mission will be considered elsewhere. It only remains to notice here the various traits of character and temperament which are brought to light in the course of his career. Throughout his history there appear in him qualities of humility, unselfishness, and single-hearted patriotism which are by no means invariable accompaniments of extraordinary ability. His first entry upon the task of de- livering Israel from the power of Pharaoh was marked by deep self-distrust (Ex. iii. 11, iv. 10). At Sinai, when the people provoked the Divine anger by worshipping the golden calf, and Jehovah is represented as wishing to destroy them, that He might make of Moses a great nation, Moses interceded for the offenders, and prayed that his own name might be blotted out of Jehovah's book if his countrymen could not be forgiven (Ex. xxxii. 9 foil, JVum. xiv. 12 foll.).^ And again when his minister Joshua, in his jealousy for his master's honour, wished him to forbid two men who, not being of the seventy elders chosen by Moses, were nevertheless prophesying in the camp, he expressed a desire that all Jehovah's people might be prophets and endowed with the Divine spirit like himself. Nor was he any more ambitious for his children than for himself. Whilst Aaron was succeeded in the priesthood by his son Eleazar, Moses' successor was Joshua, an Ephraimite ; and his posterity was never distinguished in Israel.2 As has been seen, even the site of his tomb was forgotten. His only memorial was the people whose future greatness he rendered possible, and of whose religious and social life he determined the direction for centuries to come. ^ Passages like these may be regarded as expressing doubts which arose in Moses' mind as to the expediency of seeking any longer to tr.iin the Israelite community as a whole in the service of Jehovah, instead of gathering round him an independent body of followers better calculated to secure the result he desired (cf. Bennett in Hastings' Dt'ci. Bib. , iii. 446). ^ ScQ/ud. xviii. 30, i Ch. xxiii. 16, 17, xxiv. 24, xxvi. 25-28. CHAPTER V RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE OF the Mosaic legislation four accounts are preserved. The first two, which are contained in Ex. xx.-xxiii. and xxxiv. 11-26 respectively, are substantially one, and ought to agree even more closely than they do, for the latter, professing to give what was WTitten upon the second tables of stone after the inci- dent of the Golden Calf (see xxxiv. i), might be expected to repeat the ten " words " of the first pair of tables contained in £x. XX. 1-17. But in reality only the first two and the fourth "words" of the earlier tables are reproduced (xxxiv. 14, 17, 21), the rest of the injunctions in c. xxxiv. being nearly identical with certain of the ceremonial laws comprised in c. xx.-xxiii. The third account is contained in Deuterono?ny, and purports to be a review and repetition, at the close of the Wanderings, of the laws enacted at the beginning. This, in the main, is an ex- pansion of the legislation of Ex, xx,-xxiii., but includes many important departures from it, some of these being, however, prima facie explicable as due to the difi"erence in the situation of the people, who were then about to enter the Promised Land. The fourth account is that which extends over the greater part of the books of Exodus^ Leviticus, and Numbers (more exactly, Ex. xxv.-xxxi., XXXV. -xl. — which describe the execution of the directions given in the preceding section — Leviticus, Num. i. i- x. 28, XV., xvii.-xix., xxvi.-xxxi., xxxiii.-xxxvi.), and is derived from P. This, besides containing much that has no place in the others, diverges from them in a large number of particulars ; and in general presents the religious organisation of the Mosaic age in a very different light from that in which it appears in Ex. xx.- xxiii. or xxxiv. Unlike Deuteronomy the bulk of this body of 134 RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 135 laws is represented as belonging to the same period as the legisla- tion of Ex. xx.-xxiii., so that the differences observable cannot easily be explained as due to corrections and modifications suggested by Moses' own experience. It is therefore necessary in attempting an account of the legislation of Moses to make a choice between these discrepant codes; and as agreeing best with the conditions of the time, that of Ex. xx.-xxiii. (termed in xxiv. 7, " the book of the covenant "), which, as has been said, is in part duplicated in Ex. xxxiv. 11-26 (both being from JE),^ seems to have the most claim to be considered earliest in date, and probably in substance of Mosaic origin. This conclusion is, for the most part, confirmed by the testimony furnished by the period immediately following the age of Moses, the practice of which (so far as is recorded) agrees generally with the group of laws here mentioned. In the history of the Judges and the early Kings the regulations of P (as has been stated in the Introduc- tion) are ignored under circumstances which suggest that they were unknown. The inference in the abstract is, it is true, some- what precarious. Neither silence respecting some regulations nor the recorded violation of others necessarily involves their non- existence; for, on the one hand, reasons for noticing them may not have arisen, and on the other hand, the infraction of known laws is a familiar occurrence.^ But the argument has a force, when used in corroboration of another, which it may not possess if urged by itself, and where discrepancies subsist between different codes of laws, the negative evidence of later history is of con- siderable weight. The laws, however, which are contained in Ex. xx.-xxiii. and xxxiv. 11-26 are not exhaustive, and many questions must have required for their determination ordinances similar to, if not identical with, those included in the books of Leviticus and Numbers, but which find no place in the chapters of Exodus just named. Such questions, for instance, as those relating to marriage and the practice of sacrifice are likely to have occupied much attention in early times. In regard to sacrificial laws, indeed, it has been argued that prophets like ^ More precisely, Ex, xx.-xxiii. is assigned to E, xxxiv. I-28 to J. 2 For instance, cf. Neh. x. 31 with Ex. xxiii. 10-13, yijr. xxxiv. 11 with Ex. xxi. 2. 136 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Amos (v. 25) and Jeremiah (vii. 22) imply that there was little sacrifice in the wilderness; but their language is obviously rhetorical rather than historical,^ and many of the ceremonial enactments of Leviticus bear their early character upon their face. It is nevertheless impossible to decide positively how large a part of them go back to Mosaic times ; and there is room for un- certainty even in regard to the laws of Ex. xx.-xxiii. Portions of this code (as will be seen) are scarcely appropriate to the circumstances under which it is described as being enacted, for though, no doubt, an early advance upon Canaan was in con- templation, directions are included implying settled abodes (xxi. 6) and agricultural operations (xxii. 5-6, xxiii. 10), without any indication that they are intended to meet future and not immediate needs. Part of what is related to have been enjoined when Israel was at the foot of Mt Sinai leaves the impression of having been laid down on later occasions;'^ but all is here brought under review at a single coup cTcEiL And this arrange- ment, by which there have been included in the Sinaitic legisla- tion laws which, by their discrepancies with the (presumably) genuine enactments of Moses, appear to be the product of much later times, is, though historically defective, yet not without a certain justification. The work of Moses lay at the root of all Hebrew legislation; and it is intelligible that ordinances subse- quently established should have been, for the purpose of a general survey, amalgamated with previous provisions without any distinction being drawn between what proceeded from Moses himself and what was a later development of his principles. Such a fusion would be furthered, if not rendered almost in. evitable, by the process whereby a system of law actually came into existence amongst the eariy Israelites. In Ex. xviii. 13 foil., one of the sources of the statutes and the laws taught by Moses to his people is shown to be the oral decisions given by Moses in settlement of causes brought from time to time before him. Such decisions would doubtless come to form a body of pre- cedents which were followed more or less closely by priests and 1 Cf. pp. 425-6. 2 Tlie law regulating the division of booty, which in Num. xxxi. 25 foil, is ascribed to Moses, is in / Sam. xxx. 24 foil, actually attributed to David ; see p. 239, and cf. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile, p. 32. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 137 judges at subsequent periods. In this way a nucleus of Mosaic legislation would become expanded, the accretions no less than the core passing current under the name of the great lawgiver.^ As will have been gathered from what has just been said, there was at first no separation between the legislative and judicial organs. The judges not only laid down the principles of justice but determined questions of fact {Ex. xxii. 8). Nor was there any regularly constituted executive body; and what means the judges had of enforcing their decisions are unknown. In cases of homicide much was left to the initiative of the kinsmen of the individual wronged (see 2 Sam. xiv. 7), and presumably in other instances the community carried out the sentence (see Deut. xvii. 7). The legislation of Ex. xx.-xxiii. opens with the Decalogue. Of the X. " words " of which it consists, i.-iv. relate to religious, and v.-x. to social, duties. The injunctions comprise : — i. The exclusive service of Jehovah. ii. The prohibition of the use of images in worship, iii. The prohibition of a " vain " use of Jehovah's name, iv. The observance of the Sabbath as holy. V. The honouring of parents, vi. The prohibition of murder, vii. The prohibition of adultery, viii. The prohibition of theft. ix. The prohibition of false-witness. X. The prohibition of covetousness. In Deut. V. 7 foil, the Decalogue is repeated, but in the fourth "word" the motive for observing it (ver. 15) is different from that given in Ex. xx. ii. In the latter, the injunction to rest on the Sabbath is based on what is re- corded of God at the Creation; but in the former it is brought into connection M'ith Israel's sojourn in Egypt and deliverance from its bondage, the servitude undergone there being a reason for allowing to all servants a day of rest. This variation in the reason annexed, together with the absence of reasons in the case of the majority of the other "words," has suggested that ii., iii., iv., and v. originally existed in a briefer form than they do at present. As has been already observed, c. xxxiv. also contains a Decalogue (see ver. 28), but its provisions admit of being arranged in more than one way. The following seems the simplest : — ^ It is not improbable that the body of legislation ascribed to Solon and Lycurgus came into existence by a parallel process. 138 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY i. The exclusive worship of Jehovah. ii. The prohibition of molten images. iii. The observance of the feast of Unleavened Bread, iv. The dedication to Jehovah of the firstborn male of men and cattle. V. The observance of the Sabbath. vi. The observance of the Feast of First-fruits or Weeks, vii. The observance of the Feast of Ingathering. viii. The prohibition of the use of leavened bread with the blood of the sacrifice (the Passover), and of the keeping of the sacrifice till the morning. ix. The dedication to Jehovah of the first-fruits of the soil. X. The prohibition of the practice of seething a kid in its mother's milk.* By some it has been claimed that this Decalogue is of a more archaic character than the preceding and better-known one — partly on the ground that the tenth "word" of the latter, with its prohibition, not of an outward act but of an inward disposition, belongs to a higher stage of ethical con- sciousness than is likely to have prevailed in the Mosaic age. On the other hand, the relative positions in this tenth "word" of the "house" and the "wife" points to a primitive phase of thought.^ It is noticeable that both Decalogues direct the exclusive worship of Jehovah, prohibit the use of images, and enjoin the observance of the Sabbath. The commandments of the Decalogue are supplemented by a number of more precise enactments, which may be most con- veniently considered under various heads, arranged in two divisions, according as they relate to I. Religious, II. Social requirements. Those contained in the Book of the Covenant form the basis of the following accounts, the additions and modifications furnished by the other two codes being subjoined after each paragraph for the purpose of comparison. I. The laws regulating religious observances determine (i.) the object, (ii.) the manner, of worship. (i.) The first "word" of the Decalogue requires, as has been seen, the exclusive service of Jehovah (cf. Ex. xxiii. 13, xxiv. 14) and this is enforced by the command to " devote " any one who sacrifices to another god {Ex. xxii. 20, cf. Deut. xiii. 12-18). A special caution is added against serving the gods of the Canaanites, whose images are to be utterly overthrown, their pillars broken in pieces, and their Asherim cut down (xxiii. 24, xxxiv. 12, cf. Deut. vii. 5, xii. 3); and to guard against the temptation to idolatry which intercourse with these nations might present, the making of all covenants with them is strictly forbidden {Ex, xxiii. 32, xxxiv. 12-16, cf. Deut. vii. 2-3). * See note on p. 158. ' Contrast Deut. v. 21. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 139 Sorcery, which was the art of acquiring knowledge or power through illicit supernatural means, was a breach of the spirit of the injunction here considered ; and accordingly a sorceress was to be put to death {I!x. xxii. 18, cf. Zfv. xx. 27). The command, contained in the third "word" of the Deca- logue, against taking Jehovah's name " in vain " probably relates, in the first place, to false swearing (cf. Lev. xix. 12 and Jos, An/. i"- 5> 5)} but it also has in view irreverent and blasphemous language (cf. Zev. xxiv. 10-23). As judges and rulers were regarded as the representatives of the Deity {Ex. xviii. 15, xxii. 8-9), insults to such were also prohibited (Ex. xxii. 28). The prohibition against the worship of other gods than Jehovah is especi- ally emphasised in Deui. (see vi. 14, viii. 19, xi. 16-17) 5 and with a view further to safeguard the nation against the seductions of foreign rites of worship, express directions are given to "devote" the Canaanites (vii. 1-3, XX. 16-18). The practice of "devoting" to a deity the worshippers of a rival deity was followed by several Semitic races. The expression is put into the mouth of an Assyrian in 2 Kg. xix. 1 1 ; and Mesha, king of Moab, like- wise speaks of "devoting" the inhabitants of the Israelite town of Nebo to Ashtar Chemosh (see App. B). In strictness "to devote" meant to sepa- rate from common, and consecrate to Divine, use (see Lev. xxvii. 28) ; but in practice a "devoted" person was put to death (see ver. 29). The devotion of a city or district involved the total destruction of all the human beings ; but XhQ property, though sometimes destroyed [Deut. xiii. 16, Josh. vi. 21, I Sam. XV. 3) was, at other times, appropriated as spoil {Deui. ii. 34-35, Josh, viiL 2, 27). (ii.) In the conduct of the worship of Jehovah all use of material images (as has been seen) was forbidden; but this prohibition was not held to be inconsistent with an outward symbol of Jehovah's presence. This was the Ark^ of the Covenant containing the two tables of the Decalogue. When it was carried in front of, or brought back to, the camp, Jehovah was thought to advance before, or return to. His people {Num. x. 35-36, cf. 2 Sam. vi. 14-16); and under ordinary circumstances it accompanied the host to battle {Num. xiv. 44, cf. i Sam. iv. 3 foil., and perhaps 2 Sam. xi. ii).^ It seems to have been a chest adorned with figures of c/urubim^ upon or between which Jehovah ^ The same term is used of the chest or coffin in which the bones of Joseph v.ere placed {Gen. 1. 26), and of the box made to receive contributions for the : epair of the Temple in the reign of Joash {2 Kg. xii. 10). The word employed for Noah's Ark is different. ^ Similarly the Philistines took into battle the images of their gods (2 Sam. V. 21). 140 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY was believed to sit (/ Sam. iv. 4, 2 Sam. vi. 2). Similar chests or coffers are said to have had a place in Babylonian worship; and the cherubim (as has been previously pointed out) have their analogues in Babylonian sculptures. The usual situation of the Ark was in a tent or tabernacle pitched outside the camp, in charge of Joshua, Moses' minister. To this tent Moses withdrew whenever he sought the presence of Jehovah ; and hence it was termed the Tent of Meeting {Ex. xxxiii. 7-1 1 ). At its entrance the pillar of cloud, ^ which was believed to symbolise the visible descent of Jehovah to hold converse with His people, is related to have stood whenever God spake with Moses {Ex. xxxiii. 9, Num. xi. 25, xii. 5). It may therefore be presumed that near it sacrifice was offered during the period spent in the wilderness. But though on the march the place where the Tabernacle was successively pitched would naturally be the sole seat of worship for the encampment, the earliest direction regulating the places of worship {Ex. xx. 24) does not appear to restrict them to the successive sites of the Tabernacle. The words " In every place where I record my name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee" do not seem to have in view the movements of the Ark and its Tent, but such places as had become associated with Jehovah's name in consequence of some manifestation of Divine power. This view is confirmed by the subsequent history. In the books of Joshua and Samuel numerous localities are men- tioned where altars were erected and worship conducted, in addition to that in which the Tabernacle was situated, and which was, no doubt, the principal centre of the nation's devotions.^ Altars were to be erected of earth, or, if stone were used, it was to be unhewn, and without steps. The first two conditions probably reflect ancient habits of thought Earth or stone taken just as it was from the soil where the Deity had revealed His presence was not unnaturally counted most suitable to be used in His worship (cf. 2 Kg. v. 17); whilst the prohibition of the ^ In Ex. xiii. 21, Num. xiv. 14 the pillar of cloud is represented as going before the people on their march ; in Ex. xL 36, Num. ix. 15-23 (P) its resting upon, or removal from, the Tabernacle (regarded as in the middle of the camp) is the signal for ending or beginning a journey. 2 See p. 281. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 141 use of iron possibly goes back to the time when gods were believed to dwell in natural boulders, and might be injured or offended if any tool were used to shape them (of. i Kg. vi. 7). The employment of steps as an approach to the altar was dis- allowed in order to prevent the exposure of the lower limbs of the officiating priest. Nothing is expressly stated respecting the lawfulness or unlawfulness of Asherim, or pillars, beside Jehovah's altars ; but it may be concluded that they were not at this time illegitimate, since in Ex. xxiv. 4 it is related that pillars were erected near the altar built at the foot of Horeb by Moses himself. In Deut. it is likewise directed that altars are to be built of unhewn stone (xxvii. 5, 6), and it seems to be implied (xii. 8) that worship in the Wilderness was unrestricted as regards locality (this probably reflecting the uniform usage from the age of Moses to the writer's own time). But it is enjoined that as soon as Canaan is occupied, a single sanctuary alone is to be recognised, to which the whole nation is to resort (xii. 5), and at which all religious feasts are to be held and all offerings made (ver. 6-18, xiv. 22-26, xvi. 16). Asherim and pillars are explicitly prohibited in the neighbourhood of Jehovah's altars (xvi. 21, 22). The Priestly code, however, professedly legislating for the camp-life of the people, directs all sacrifice during this period to be offered at the Tent of Meeting {Lev. xvii. 1-9), which is regarded as situated in the middle of the encampment {Ntim. ii. 17). Of the structure and contents of the Tent (the pattern of which is said to have been shown to Moses by God Himself, Ex. XXV. 9) a detailed description is furnished. It consisted of a Tabernacle (the front of which faced eastward) made of acacia wood, 30 cubits long, probably 10 cubits broad, and 10 cubits high {Ex xxvi. 15-30), protected by (i) embroidered Unen curtains, (2) above these, curtains of goats' hair, (3) over all, a covering of rams' skins (dyed red) and seals' skins (ver. I-I4). It was divided into a Most Holy Place (10 x 10 x 10 cubits) and a Holy Place (20 X 10 X 10 cubits), separated by a veil (xxvi. 31-33) ; and was surrounded by an uncovered court (100x50 cubits), the sides of which were formed by linen curtains hanging from brazen pillars 5 cubits high (xxvii. 9-19). The Most Holy Place (which was only entered by the High Priest once a year),^ -- 'Htained the Ark (described as made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, <\\y.\\ cubits ; with a mercy-seat, or lid of pure gold, above which, and ming part of it, were the two golden cherubim, facing each other with xpanded wings) (xxv. 10-22). In the Holy Place were situated (i) a candle- ick or lamp-stand of gold, with six branches parting from a central shaft, le seven lamps of which were continually lighted, (2) a table of acacia wood, overlaid with gold (2x1x1^ cubits), on which Shewbread was arranged every successive Sabbath {Lev. xxiv. 8), (3) an altar of acacia wood, like- wise overlaid with gold (1x1x2 cubits) for burning incense ^ {Ex. xxv. 23-40, * See p. 149. * The expression before the ark in Ex. xl. 5 must mean "before the veil** {Ex. XXX. 6, xl. 26). The altar of incense is not mentioned among the contents of the Holy Place in Ex. xxvi. 35. 142 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY XXX. i-io). In the outer court were placed (i) an altar of acacia wood, cased with brass (5x5x3 cubits), for burnt offerings,^ (2) a brazen laver, for the use of the sacrificers (xxvii, 1-8, xxx. 17-21). From this account it will be seen that the Priestly code recognised two altars, the materials of neither corre- sponding to those mentioned in Ex. xx. 24, 25. The construction of the Tabernacle and all its belongings is related to have been committed to two men, Bezalel of the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan (xxxi. i-ii), the materials being furnished partly out of free-will offerings, and partly out of the proceeds of a tax of half a shekel levied on every man above the age of twenty. The description of the Tabernacle here given is no doubt much exaggerated, and in this respect unhistorical ; but that costly materials may have been employed on it and its furniture is not impossible in view of the possession by the Israelites of golden ornaments {Ex. xxxii. 3, xxxiii. 4-6) and other valuables {Ex. xii. 35). Similar treasures were found amongst wandering Ishmaelites at a subsequent period {Jud. viii. 24). The charge of the Altar and its service was committed to Priests. The existence of priests is recognised in Ex. xix. 22 foil. ; but in the earhest code there are no explicit directions as to the class from which they were to be chosen. When the covenant between Jehovah and Israel was made at the foot of Sinai, " young men of the children of Israel " indiscriminately are related to have been sent by Moses to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings {Ex. xxiv. 5) ; but it seems to be implied in Ex. xxxii. 26-29 (cf. Deut. x. 8, xxxiii. 9-10) that on the occasion of the idolatry of the Golden Calf shortly afterwards, the tribe of Levi won for itself special privileges in connection with Jehovah's service.^ Both Moses and Aaron were Levites; at Sinai Moses took part in the sacrifice, alluded to above {Ex. xxiv. 6-8); Aaron, and after him, his son Eleazar, ministered before the Ark {Deut. x. 6) ; and in the subsequent history not only are Levites generally found to be preferred for the priest- hood {Jud. xvii. 7-13), but descendants of Aaron discharged the office at the principal sanctuaries. But the priesthood does not appear to have been at once restricted to Levites; and in any case there was no exclusion of non-Levites from the Tent of 1 The altar was hollow within, and was perhaps intended to be filled with earth. 2 On the other hand, in / Sam. ii. 27-28, it seems to be implied that the selection of Levi for the priesthood goes back to the time of the sojourn in Egypt ; and if the suggestion (mentioned on p. 284) be correct that the term Levite had come to be used in a merely professional sense as early as the second generation after Moses (see Jud. xvii. 7, xviii. 30), the sacerdotal character of the tribe must go back to a pre-Mosaic date. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 143 Meeting, where Moses' constant attendant was Joshua, an Ephraimite {Ex. xxxiii. 11). Of the earliest ceremonies connected with the consecration of priests, nothing is known. It has been argued from Jud. xvii. 10-12, xviii. 4 that the phrase "to consecrate," which is Uterally "to fill the hand," originally referred to the payment of money by which the priest's services were hired ; but such an explana- tion does not suit cases of j^^consecration {Ex. xxxii. 29, I Ch. xxix. 5). The expression may possibly have arisen from the priest, at his initiation, receiving or taking into his hand certain of the objects associated with his office (cf. Lev. viii. 22, 27). The usual priestly robe was a linen ephod (cf. i Sam. ii. 28, xxii. 18). Attendance at the altar was not the only duty required of priests. Recourse was had to them for the settlement of judicial questions (Eli the high priest was Judge, i Saf?t. iv. 18, cf. also Deut. xxxiii. 10 of the Levites), and for the ascertain- ment of the Divine will. For the latter purpose use was made of the Urim and Thummim (see i Sam. xxviii. 6, cf. Nu7ti. xxvii. 21 (P)), the nature of which is obscure. The reading of the LXX. in i Sam. xiv. 41 suggests that they were lots (perhaps precious stones) which were contained in a pocket of the ephod worn by the principal priest,^ and that the response to inquiries varied according as one or other came to light when the pocket was shaken. In Deut. X. 8, xxi. 5 (cf. xxxiii. 10) the tribe of Levi is expressly declared to have been separated from the rest of Israel to bear the Ark of the Covenant, to minister before Jehovah, to bless in His name, and to decide matters of controversy (cf. xvii. 9) ; and the priests throughout are identified with the Levites. But since Deuteronomy enjoins the establishment, when Israel should occupy Canaan, of a single sanctuary, it follows that in the view of the writer, the numerous Levites in the country districts, though potentially priests, could only properly exercise their functions when they visited the central seat of worship ; see Deut. xviii. 6-8 and cf. 2 Kg. xxiii. 9. In the laws contained in Leviticus and Numbers, derived from P, the priesthood is explicitly confined to the sons of Aaron, who alone were to serve at the altar and within the veil of the Tabernacle {Num. xviii. 5, 7) and to bless the people {Num. vi. 23 foil. ). Among them there was to be a High Priest, who was consecrated to his office by special rites and sacrifices {Ex. xxix. 1-37, Lev. viii., ix.), and anointed with specially prepared oil * Unless, as some passages in the historical books suggest, the ephod used in consulting Jehovah was an image ; see p. 282. 144 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (Ex. XXX. 22-33, Lrv. viii. 12). He was invested with holy garments — including linen drawers, a coat of chequer work (girt with a girdle), a robe of blue, an embroidered ephod (bearing a breast-plate, doubled so as to form a pocket, ornamented with twelve jewels, in which were put the Urtm and Thiimmirn), and a linen mitre or turban (upon which was a plate of gold, with the inscription Holy to Jehovah)— Al being of beautiful workmanship and costly materials {Ex. xxviii.). He alone might enter the Most Holy Place, and that, only once a year {Lev. xvi. 2 foil.). The inferior priests were also anointed,^ and wore a dress similar, but inferior, to that of the High Priest : they ministered in the Holy Place, but were not permitted to pass the veil into the Most Holy. Every one of the priestly race who was admitted to discharge the priestly office was required to be sound and perfect in body {Lev. xxi. 17-24). The Levites^ as distinct from the family of Aaron, discharged subordinate functions, ministering to the priests {Num. iii. 6, 9, viii. 19, xviii. 6) and having the care of the furniture of the Tent, when covered up for removal {Num. iv. 4 foil, cf. iii. 8, 25 foil.), but being excluded from offering sacrifice {Num. xvi. 40, cf. xviii, 3). The limits of age within which they were required to serve are differently stated as 30-50 {Nttm. iv. 3 foil., cf. / Ch. xxiii. 3) and 25-50 {Num. viii. 24-25), and eventually appear to have been 20 50 (/ Ch. xxiii. 24, Ez. iii. 8). The Levites, in being devoted to the service of Jehovah, are represented as substitutes for the firstborn of the people {Num. iii. ii foil., cf. viii. II, 16 foil); and their consecration, in which anointing had no place, was accompanied by certain sacrificial ceremonies. They were divided into three families (named after the three sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath and Merari), to each of which particular duties in connection with the Tabernacle were assigned. Sacrifice among the Hebrews was intended to serve one of three purposes, (i) to pay honour to the Deity, (2) to bring about communion with Him, (3) to make atonement for sin : and in general the treatment of the offering varied according to the object contemplated. (i) Offerings made to the Deity in acknowledgment of His goodness and bounty were both cereal (the produce of the corn- field and vineyard) and animal (taken from the flock or the herd). Among the former were the firstfruits which in Ex. xxiii. 19 (cf. xxii. 29) are directed to be brought into the house of Jehovah; and it was especially in connection with the three agricultural festivals named below that offerings indicative of homage were enjoined {Ex. xxiii. 15). An offering of a similar kind was the Shewbread which was placed before Jehovah, ^ doubtless in the Tent of Meeting (as described in Ex. xxv. 30 1 So stated in Ex. xxx. 30, xl. 15, xxviii. 41 (cf. also Lev. vii. 36, Num. iii. 3), but Lev. vi. 22, xvi. 32, xxi. 10 imply that there was only one anointed priest. >» Cf. the lectisUmia of the Romans; see also Hdt. i. 181, 183. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 145 from P), and which, though not mentioned in Ex. xx.-xxiii., is proved by i Sam. xxi. 6 to be an early institution in Israel. How these offerings were disposed of is not explicitly stated in the earliest code; but they were probably consumed by the priests (as the Divine representatives), or even by any person who was technically "clean" (see i Sam. xxi. 4). In the case of animal sacrifices the whole victim was burnt (with the ex- ception, perhaps, of the skin) and thereby conveyed in the form of smoke and savour to the Deity {Num, xxiii. 4, 6^Jud. vi. 26, xiii. 16, z Sam. vii. 9, I Kg. iii. 4). On the other hand, offerings of liquids (wine or water) were poured upon the earth (see I Sam. vii. 6, 2 Sam. xxiii. 16). (2) Sacrifices offered for the purpose of effecting communion with the Deity were meals at which the Deity was believed to be present. Participation of the same food was a recognised bond amongst men (see Josh. ix. 14), the making of a covenant being often followed by a sacrificial feast {Gen. xxxi. 44-54); and the like principle obtained in the intercourse between man and God. Amongst the Hebrews the sharers of these sacrificial feasts were said to eat and drink before Jehovah (Ex. xviii. 12, cf. xxiv. 11); and the prevalent idea amongst the surrounding nations generally was that the Deity himself was a partaker with them in such covenant - meals {Deut. xxxii. 38).^ The sacred meal consisted principally of flesh, accompanied perhaps by bread and wine. To form it the firstlings of all domestic animals that were clean were slaughtered {Ex. xxii. 30), sub- stitutes being offered for such as were unclean {Ex. xiii. 13, xxxiv. 20). The blood was probably the portion consecrated to the Deity, the drinking of it being forbidden (as appears from I Sam. xiv. 34) ;2 and this doubtless lies behind the prohibition against eating flesh torn by beasts, from which the blood had not ^ Cf. Horn. //. ix. 535 Oeol daivwd* Uarbfi^ai. It is possible that sacrifices of communion were originally connected with totemisnt, the flesh of the totetn animal being shared by all his reputed kinsmen, who thereby renewed their union with their god. If so, the deity at first provided, rather than shared, the feast. 2 The prohibition against drinking the blood, which is strongly emphasized both in Deut. and Lev. , was probably in part directed against heathen usages (see 'Zech. ix. 7). The connection in which it appears in Lev. xix. 26 suggests that blood was drunk by heathen diviners in order to become inspired (a practice followed at Argos and some other places in Greece, see Frazer, L 146 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY been properly drained {Ex. xxii. 31). To this class of sacrifices (which are the Peace-ofiferings of Ex. xx. 24, xxiv. 5, xxxii. 6, cf Deut xxvii. 7) probably the Passover belonged. (3) The early history of Atoning sacrifices is obscure. Offer- ings made for the purpose of atonement are mentioned in I Sam. iii. 14, xxvi. 19; and it is probable that they consisted generally, though not exclusively, of animal victims, which were either burnt {2 Sam. xxiv. 25, cf. Mic. vi. 6-7, Job i. 5), or else left to the priests to consume. The passages just adduced seem to favour the belief that the idea underlying atoning sacrifices was the rendering of material satisfaction for the wrong done, or the mulcting of the offender in a fine (see especially 2 Sam. xxiv. 24), rather than the substitution of a beast's life for a forfeited human life (but see below). In the Priestly code the sacrificial system was very elaborate. The materials were (i) animal, (2) non-animal. Animal victims were required to be " clean, "^ without blemish,' and usually of the male sex: in practice, they consisted of oxen, sheep, goats, and doves or pigeons. The non- animal materials used were meal (or flour), salt, oil, wine, and frankincense. The sacrifices were of four kinds : (i) Bur7it -offerings ; (2) Peace-offerings^ (which included thanksgi\'ing, votive, and freewill offerings, see Lev. vii. II-16); (3) Sin-offerings; (4) Guilt - offerings. Ordinarily these were animal sacrifices, the victim being slaughtered by the offerer (who was required to place his hands upon it), but the rest of the ritual acts being performed by the priest.* The method of disposing of the blood and the flesh varied in each class. (i) \xi Burnt-offerings'^ the blood was dashed on the altar of burnt-offering, and the flesh entirely burnt {Lev, i., Ex. xxix. 15-18). Golden Bought i. p. 34). Deut. which, like Ex. xxii. 31, forbids flesh torn by beasts to be eaten by Hebrews, allows it to be given to a stranger or sold to a foreigner {Deut. xiv. 21). In Lev, xvii. 15 the chance eating of such flesh involves ceremonial uncleanness in the case of a Hebrew and a stranger alike ; whilst according to ver. IQ-12 he who drinks the blood, whether Hebrew or stranger, is to ^ cut off. ^ "Clean" animals (which might be eaten) were (i) quadrupeds that parted the hoof and chewed the cud, (2) all birds, with certain specified ex- ceptions (chiefly birds of prey and sea fowl), (3) fishes that possessed fins and scales, (4) certain insects like the locust and its congeners {Lev. xi. 2-23, Deut. xiv. 4-20). "^ See Deut. xv. 21, xvii. i. Lev. xx. 21-25 (for ver. 24 c£ Hom. IL xxiiL, 147 ft'opxtt . . . M^V Upeuciiv). ' A Peace-offering was required whenever an animal was slaughtered (presumably) for food ; see Lev. xvii. 1-7. * A Carthaginian inscription of the 4th or 5th century B.C., preserved at Marseilles, contains certain parallels to the Hebrew sacrificial laws, including the terms peace-offering and whole burnt -offering {i Sam. vii. 9). ' In the Priestly code, Burnt-offerings, besides being appointed for vahoas RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 147 (2) In Peace-offerings the blood was dashed on the altar of burnt-offering, the fat, kidneys, caul of the liver, and fat tail were burnt, part of the flesh was given to the priests (see below, p. 151), and the rest eaten by the offerer and his friends.^ (3) In Sin-offerings (a) for an ordinary individual (whether a ruler or not), part of the blood was put upon the horns of the altar of burnt-offering, and part poured at its base, the fat was burnt, and the flesh given to the priests i^Lev. iv. 22-31, vi. 26, 29); {b) for the High Priest or the whole congregation, part of the blood was sprinkled seven times before the veil, part put on the horns of the altar of incense, ^ and the rest poured at the base of the altar of burnt-offering, the fat and other portions named above were burnt on the altar, and the flesh was burnt without the camp i^Lev. iv. 1-21, Ex. xxix. 10-14). (4) In Guilt -offerings'^ part of the blood was sprinkled on the altar and part poured at its base, the fat and other portions were burnt, and the flesh became the property of the priests {Lev. vii. 1-7). In the case of animal sacrifices neither the fat nor the blood might be eaten (see Lev. iii. 17, vii. 22-27, xvii. 10-14; cf. Deut. xii. 16, 23-25, XV. 23. Offerings of meal and other non-animal materials were usually the accom- paniments, in various proportions, of flesh sacrifices, especially Peace- offerings (see Num. xv. 1-16). When a meal-offering was made separately, a portion (unleavened and seasoned with salt) was burnt on the altar, and the rest given to the priests {Lev. c. ii., vi. 14-18). A meal-offering might serve as a sin-offering, if the offender was too poor to afford an animal victim {Lev. v. 11-13) — a fact which suggests that the sacrifice was not vicarial (a life for a life) but propitiatory (cf. Num. xvi. 46-47), though on the other hand see Lev. xvii. 1 1. In the earliest code five Sacred Days or Seasons are directed to be observed, a weekly Sabbath and four or (since the first two were practically inseparable) three Annual feasts — Passover, Unleavened Bread, Harvest, and Ingathering. At each of these three festivals all males were required to appear before Jehovah. (i) The institution of the Sabbath appears to go back to Babylonian times, and was presumably connected with the phases special occasions, were required to be made regularly every day, morning and evening {Ex. xxix. 38-42, Num. xxviii. 1-8). This was a comparatively late usage, for in 2 Kg. xvi. 15 the specific mention of the morning burnt -offering and the evening meal-offering indicates that in the time of Ahaz the evening burnt-offering had not yet been adopted. ^ The flesh of Peace-offerings had to be eaten on the same day or on the morrow at the latest {Lev. xix. 5-6). If the Passo\er was a Peace-offering a similar rule was directed (in the earliest legislation) to be observed in regard to it {Ex. xxiii. 18, xxxiv. 25). 2 In Ex. xxix. 12 the blood is put on the horns of the altar of burnt-offering (cf. Lev. ix. 9). ' Guilt-offerings were made when reparation for an injury was required, and were accompanied by a fine (a fifth) paid to the individual injured, or his kinsman, or failing these, to the priest. 148 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY of the moon, the week having arisen from the natural division of the lunar month into four quarters. Nothing is said in Ex. xx.-xxiii. respecting the manner of observing it, beyond the injunction to suspend all work upon it, the motive assigned for keeping it being purely humanitarian in Ex. xxiii. 12, though a religious reason is attached to the fourth "word" of the Decalogue in Ex. xx. 11. (2) The feast of the Passover {Ex. xxxiv. 25) took place in the month Abib (March-April), and was a pastoral festival, the origin of which may go back to pre-Mosaic times. It was possibly the feast contemplated when the Israelites in Egypt first made their appeal to Pharaoh to be allowed to go and sacrifice to Jehovah {Ex. x. 9); but it subsequently became peculiarly associated with the memories of the Exodus {Ex. xii. 21-28). The other feasts were agricultural in character, and were pro- bably first kept in Canaan, where there existed parallel institutions among the native inhabitants. (3) The feast of Unleavened Breads which lasted seven days {Ex. xxiii. 15), marked the beginning of barley harvest, and derived its name from the fact that on it the new barley as it came from the field was made into bread without any admixture of leaven. It was celebrated in Abib (the month of corn ears), and followed immediately upon the Passover; and as this com- memorated the deliverance from Egypt {Ex. xii. 21-27, xiii. 11-16), the same associations became attached to the succeeding feast {Ex. xxiii. 15 end, cf. xiii. 3, xxxiv. 18, Deut. xvi. 1-8), and the two were blended into one festival. (4) The feast of Harvest {i.e. wheat harvest), which was also known as the feast of Firstfruits or Weeks {Ex. xxxiv. 22) was kept, according to Deut. xvi. 9, seven weeks from the time when the sickle was first put into the corn, and probably lasted one day. (5) The feast of Ingathering (of grapes and other fruits) fell at the end of the agricultural year and lasted seven days {Deut. xvi. 13). It was also known as the feast of Tabernacles {Deut. xvi. 13), a name derived from the booths erected in vineyards by those engaged in gathering the grapes (cf. Is. i. 8) ; RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 149 and on it the people took up their abode in tents (see Hos. xii. 9, cf. 2i\soJud. xxi. 19-21). In Deut. the same four (or three) annual feasts are recognised, but they are required to be kept at the one sanctuary which that code regards as legitimate (see xvi. I-I7). They are thus transformed from local festivals into pilgrimages. In the Priestly code the character of the Sacred Days and Seasons is further changed, and their number increased. The Sabbath is invested with an exclusively religious significance ; whilst the mode of observing the agricul- tural festivals is very precisely regulated. Three additional holy-days are appointed ; and on all of them special sacrifices are directed to be offered. The full list is as follows : — 1. The Sabbat hy which is represented as a mark of distinction between Israel and other nations, and as holy unto Jehovah, death being the punishment for working upon it {Ex. xxxi. 12-17, xxxv. 2-3 ; cf. Num. XV. 32 f. ). 2. The New Moon, marking the beginning of each month {Num. x. 10, xxviii. 11-15). 3. The Passover {Ex. xii. 43-49, Lev. xxiii. 5), kept on the fourteenth day of the First month. The Passover victim, which, according to Deui. xvi. 2, might be taken from the flock or the herd, and was to be boiled (ver. 7, marg.), is, in Ex. xii. 3-9, restricted to a lamb or a kid, and directed to be roasted. A supplementary Passover was appointed for the fourteenth day of the Second Month for those who had been prevented by ceremonial uncleanness, or absence, from attending at the ordinary time {Num. ix. 9 foil. ). 4. The feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning on the morrow after the Passover, and lasting seven days {Ex. xiii. 3-10, Lev. xxiii. 6-8). On the morrow "after the Sabbath" (presumably the Sabbath faUing within the seven days of the feast) a sheaf of the first fruits of the barley harvest was presented before Jehovah {Lev. xxiii. 11). 5. The feast of Weeks, kept seven weeks from the morrow "after the Sabbath," on which the sheaf of new barley was presented. On it two leavened loaves were offered to Jehovah, made from the new wheat {Lev, xxiii. 15-20). 6. The feast of Trumpets, on the first day of the Seventh month (which in earlier times was the First month). It obtained its name from the Silver Trumpets which, though blown to mark many religious occasions (see Num. X. 10), were on this day blown continuously {Lev. xxiii. 24). 7. The day of Atofiement on the tenth day of the Seventh month, which ditTered from all the others in being a universal fast.^ This was marked by two exceptional ceremonies, (i.) The High Priest, divested of his more splendid robes, and clad in linen garments, entered, for the only time in the year, into the Holy of Holies, where he offered incense before Jehovah. (ii. ) Two goats were set apart, one for Jehovah and one for Azazel, the latter a supernatural power beheved to haunt the desert.'^ The goat assigned for Jehovah was then sacrificed by the High Priest as a sin-offering for the ^ The general fast and the public confession of sins, which are prescribed in connection with the day of Atonement, were characteristic of a late period in Jewish religious history; see for the former 2 Is. Iviii. 3, Zech. vii. 1-7, and for the latter Neh. ix. 2 foil. ^ In the book of Enoch, Azazel is represented as the leader of the Angels who formed unions with the daughters of men {Gen. vi. 2-4), and for his 150 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY people, and the blood of this, together with the blood of a bullock, slain as a sin-offering for himself, he sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, as well as seven times before it. The object of this was to make atonement for the Most Holy Place ; and in a similar manner atonement was next made for the Holy Place (probably by sprinkling the blood upon the altar of incense, cf. Ex. XXX. lo), and for the altar of burnt-offering (see Lev. xvi. 16-20). After this the second goat, over which a public confession of the people's sins was made, was sent away into the wilderness, to carry the people's iniquities into a solitary land.^ After this, the High Priest resumed his gorgeous robes, and offered certain stated burnt-offerings for himself and the people. 8. The feast of Tabernacles, on the fifteenth day of the Seventh month. To the seven days previously observed, during which the people were expressly directed to dwell in booths, an eighth day was added, on which a solemn assembly was kept {Lev. xxiii. 36). For the sacrifices offered at these various festivals see Num. xxviii. and xxix. In Ex. XX. -xxiii. the Priestly dues from the sacrifices and offerings are nowhere definitely stated ; but it is reasonable to suppose that the First-fruits were appropriated by the priests, and it is clear from i Sam. ii. 13 foil, that they also had a share of the flesh offerings. About their other means of support the record in Exodus is equally silent. In Deut. it is laid down that in the allotment of Canaanite territory the Levitical priests shall have no share, but shall dwell amongst the other tribes (xii. 12, xiv. 27), and receive, when discharging their priestly office, certain portions of the offerings (xviii. i). These are {a) the firstfruits of corn, oil, wine, and wool ; {b) the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw, of the animals sacrificed in Peace-offerings (xviii. 3-4). Apart from these per- quisites, their only means of support was the provision made for the friendless and poor, viz., a triennial tithe of the produce of the field. For two out of every tliree years a tithe of the corn, wine, and oil, together with the first- lings of the flocks and herds (cf. xv. 19-20), was consumed by each house- holder at a religious feast, his servants and dependants (including the Levites within his gates) partaking of it with him (xiv. 22-27). But in the third year the whole of the tithe was stored for the support of the Levites and the poor (xiv. 28, 29 ; cf. xxvi. 12-13). In the Priestly code, on the other hand, it is directed that out of the cities occupied by Israel in Canaan, forty-eight, with their respective suburbs or pasture-lands, are to be reserved for the Levites generally, thirteen of which are assigned to the Priests, the sons of Aaron {Num. x:x.xv.y/osA. xxi.) ;^ and to wickedness was bound under rough and jagged rocks in the desert until the Judgment (see Driver in Hastings' £>u^. Bib., i. p. 207). ^ Parallel practices embodying the belief that sins or moral impurities can be physically removed have existed at different times in various parts of the world. At Athens, for instance, on the occasion of the Thargelia, two victims were led out of the city as Kaddpaia, one for the men and the other for the women. ^ This provision does not seem to be contemplated in Num. xviii. 20. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 151 the Levites in addition there is granted regularly a tithe not only of the pro- ducts of the soil, but also of all flocks and herds {Num. xviii. 21, Lev. xxvii. 30-33). But of this tithe the Priests, the sons of Aaron, are to have a tenth {Num. xviii. 26), and to receive, besides, the skin of burnt-offerings {Lev. vii. 8) the "wave" breast and "heave" thigh (or leg)^ of the Peace-offerings {Lev. vii. 31-34, x. 14-15), such parts of other offerings (sin, guilt, and meal offerings) as were not burnt {Lev. vii. 6-7, x. 12-13, Num. xviii. 9), the shewbread {Lev. xxiv. 9), the firstfruits of the corn, wine, oil, and fruit, the firstlings of the cattle {Num. xviii. 12-13, i7-i8), all "devoted" things (ver. 14), and the redemption money paid for each firstborn of men (5 shekels) and unclean beasts (ver. 15-16). Temporary exclusion from social converse and a fortiori from participation in religious ceremonies or from contact with holy things was imposed upon all who were unclean. What com- municated uncleanness is not stated in the earliest legislative code : but it may be concluded from incidental references else- where that such a condition was produced by disease (such as leprosy, Num. xii. 14), connubial intercourse {Ex. xix. 15, cfo I Sam. xxi. 4), and probably child-birth, contact with a corpse, and some other circumstances. Nothing is known of the means employed for removing the uncleanness, beyond what may be inferred from the practice of later times. In P elaborate directions are given for effecting purification after child- birth, leprosy, certain discharges, eating the carcase of beasts that have died or been torn, and contact with a human corpse or grave (see Lev. xi.-xv.. Num. xix,, xxxi. 19-24). In the case of leprosy, in addition to certain pre- scribed sacrifices, two birds were taken, with cedar-wood, scarlet, and hyssop ; and after one bird had been slain over running water, the other, with the cedar wood, the scarlet, and the hyssop, was dipped in its blood and then allowed to depart, probably to carry the taint of the plague away.^ The blood of the slain bird was also sprinkled seven times (probably with the hyssop)^ on the man, who was required to bathe himself and shave all his hair {Lev. xiv.) ^ The wave breast was so called because it was waved to and fro before the altar to symbolise its presentation to the Deity {L^v. vii. 30) ; but the heave thigh obtained its name from its being "lifted off" the rest of the carcase for a particular purpose, the term heave offering being apphcable to anything taken from a larger mass and specially reserved, see Ex. xxv. 2 marg. , Num. xxxi. 41 (cf. Driver and White, Lev. p. 69). ^ Parallels to this rite (which bears an obvious resemblance to one of the ceremonies performed on the Day of Atonement) are found elsewhere. In Arabia a widow before re-marriage is said to let a bird fly away with the uncleanness of her widowhood ; and among a certain tribe in the island of Sumatra "when a woman is childless, a sacrifice is offered, and a bird is set free with a prayer that the curse of barrenness may be upon the bird and fly away with it" (Frazer, Golden Bough., ii. p. 151). ' Cf. Ex. xii. 22, Ps. li. 7. A sprig of olive is used for a Uke lustration in Verg. A, vi. 23. 152 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY The pollution attaching to a person who had touched a corpse was removed by his being sprinkled with water with which the ashes of a red heifer, slain outside the camp, and burnt with cedar-wood, scarlet and hyssop, had been mingled {Num. c. xix. ) Regulations regarding vows have no place in the earliest code of the Pentateuch, though instances of vows occur in the history of the succeeding period (see/ud. xi. 30, / Sam. i. 11). In DeuL xxiii. 21-23 remissness in the performance of a vow is con- demned, but the subject is not further dealt with. In P a number of precise directions relating to vows are given ; see Lev. vii. 16-17, xxii. iSfoll,, xxvii. i foil., Num. vi. I foil., xxx. i foil. Those regulating the vow of a Nazirite {Num. vi.), which involved abstinence from {a) intoxicants, {b) shaving the head, and (c) contact with the dead, required, after the expiration of the period for which the vow was taken, the shaving and burning of the hair as an offering on the altar. The rules prohibiting, during the vow, the use of the razor, or contact with the dead, reflect the primitive beliefs that the hair (probably in consequence of its rapid growth) was in a special degree the seat of life, and that dead bodies were highly charged with supernatural influences ; whilst the prohibition of the use of intoxicants or of the fruit of the vine was probably a survival of the oppo- sition felt to vine-culture by those accustomed to a nomadic life. The Nazirites were thus at first men who clung to, and championed, the old religious convictions and customs of Israel in the face of innovations, especially such as were learnt from the Canaanites. The regulations of the Priestly code differ in some respects from the practice observed in the historic instances of Samson and Samuel, notably in the fact that in these two cases the vow was life-long, whereas temporary vows are contemplated in Num. vL^ II. The principal subjects which the laws regulating civil and social conduct have in view are (i.) Personal injuries ; (ii.) Injuries to property; (iii.) Marriage; (iv.) Inheritance; (v.) the Tenure of Land; (vi.) Slavery. (i.) The deliberate homicide was punishable by death, a money compensation not being permitted {Ex. xxi. 12, 23, cf. Lev, xxiv. 17, Num. XXXV. 31). But for the rash homicide the right of asylum which sanctuaries in general possessed in the ancient world 2 was available. The sanctity attaching to a holy place was believed to be communicated to anyone who came in contact with it; and the unintentional murderer was protected if he succeeded in escaping to Jehovah's altar {Ex. xxi. 13-14, cf. I Kg. i. 50, ii. 28). In both Deuteronomy and the Priestly code there is substituted, for the asylum offered by the altar of Jehovah, a certain number of cities of Refuge, the elders of which (according io/osh. xx. 4) decided whether the homicide ^ See also p. 286. " Cf. (for instance) Tac. Ann. iii. 60. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 153 who had fled thither could justly claim protection. If he could, he was safe so long as he remained within the walls ; but if caught outside his blood was on his own head. In Dtut. iv. 41-43 three cities are appointed for this pur- pose by Moses on the E. of Jordan (Bezer, Ramoth Gilead, and Golan) ; and in xix. I foil, three cities are to be designated with the same object on the W. of Jordan, and a further triad is to be added in the event of an increase of territory (ver. 8-9). In Num. xxxv. 9 foil, (from P), the cities are to be six — three on either side of Jordan, included among the Levitical cities — and it is directed that the unintentional homicide shall stay in the city to which he has fled until the death of the High Priest, when he is to be free to return home. In Josh. xx. 7 the names of the cities of Refuge on the E. of Jordan are identical with those given in Deuteronomy, with the addition (on the W. of Jordan) of Kedesh, Shechem, and Kiriath-arba or Hebron, but all are (apparently) appointed by Joshua. The substitution of certain cities as places of Refuge instead of the altar of Jehovah would be first rendered necessary when the national worship was restricted to one spot. In Deut. xxi. 1-9 it is directed that if the perpetrator of a murder cannot be detected, atonement for the guilt that has fallen on the land is to be made by the sacrifice of a heifer in an unploughed valley near a running stream, in the water of which the sacrificing priests are to wash their hands. A master who in chastising a slave, caused his death, was only liable to punishment if the victim died under his hand : otherwise he went scatheless {Ex. xxi. 20-21). If an ox, known to be dangerous, gored a free-man to death, the owner either forfeited his life or was allowed to redeem it by a money fine, according (presumably) as the judges might deter- mine ; but if the victim were a slave, he made good the loss by the payment of 30 shekels of silver (xxi. 28-32). The kidnapping of a fellow-Hebrew for the purpose of selling him as a slave was punished by death {Ex. xxi. 16, cf. Deut. xxiv. 7). For minor injuries to the person the penalties imposed were based generally upon the principle of exact retaliation {Ex. xxi. 23-24, cf. Lev. xxiv. 19-20), though in some cases a money fine might be inflicted at the discretion of the judges (xxi. 22). A slave, if he suffered the loss of an eye or a tooth from his master's ill-treatment, thereby obtained his hberty (xxi. 26-27). Injury or insult to a parent, such as smiting or cursing him, was punishable by death (see Ex. xxi. 15, 17, cf. Deut. xxvii. 16, Lev. XX. 9). In Deut. xxi. 18-20 a son who is irredeemably stubborn and rebellious towards his parents is required to be stoned. Special injunctions were directed against bearing false witness, 154 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY and taking up a false report {Ex. xx. i6, xxiii. i); and according to Deuteronomy (xix. 16-21) a false witness was to be punished by the iex ialionis, " ye shall do unto him as he thought to do unto his brother." (ii.) Misappropriation of property seems generally to have been punished by restitution ; and culpable damage was required to be made good {Ex. xxi. 33-34, xxii. 5-6, 14-15). In certain cases of theft the restitution exacted was considerably in excess of the loss sustained, but the precise amount varied. Thus if an ox was stolen and then killed, the restitution required was five- fold ; if a sheep, it was four-fold ; but if either was found alive in the thief's possession, he only paid the owner double. The slaying of a house-breaker at night did not involve blood-guilti- ness, but did so if it occurred in the daytime {Ex. xxii. 1-4). In Deuteronomy specific warnings are directed against the use of light weights and short measures, and the removal of a neighbour's land-mark (xxv. 13-16 (cf. Lev. xix. 35-36), xix. 14). In Lev. vi. 1-7 theft is atoned for by restitution, together with one-fifth of the value of the property stolen. (iii.) Marriages were generally arranged by the parents of the contracting parties {see/ud. xiv. 2). Children, especially females, being in a great measure regarded as the property of their fathers, a girl at marriage was to all intents and purposes bought by her husband, who gave for her to her parents gifts of value, like the Homeric eSva^ {Gen. xxiv. 53, xxxiv. 12, cf. i Sam. xviii. 25). The practice of both pre-Mosaic and post-Mosaic times indicates that polygamy was usual, the desire of a family being deeply rooted among the Hebrews as among other Semitic races. From the usage of later times it may be concluded that there was for long no absolute bar to intermarriage between children of the same father by different mothers (see 2 Sam. xiii. 13, and cf. Gen. XX. 12); but such unions came to be forbidden by the Levitical code {Lev. xviii. 6 foil.). Intermarriage between Hebrews and the inhabitants of Canaan was prohibited {Ex. xxxiv. 15-16, cf. Deut. vii. 3, 4), but the prohibition was not regarded (until quite late times) as applying to alliances with other neighbouring nations (cf /uif. xiv. 3, J^u/k i. 4, JVum. xii. i, 2 Sam. iii. 3). * Horn. Od. xi. 283, yiifiey eoy 5tcl koXKos, ivel irope fivpla ^8va j cf. xvi. 390, RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 155 In Deut. marriage between persons intimately connected by kindred or aRlnity is forbidden (xxii. 30, xxvii. 20, 22), and Lev. xviii. 6-18 contains a table of relationships within which union is prohibited. By the custom of Levirate marriage (a usage which prevails in many parts of the globe) if a man died childless, his brother married his widow, and the eldest child born of the union in- herited the name and property of the deceased (see Ge7i. xxviii. 8, DeuL XXV. 5 f.).^ According to Deut. xxv. 5-10, if a man refused to undertake the duty of raising up seed to his dead brother, the widow, in the presence of the elders, was required to loose his shoe and spit in his face.' For Adultery (expHcitly prohibited in Ex. xx. 14) no penalty is assigned in Ex. xx.-xxiii., but it was no doubt that which is laid down in Deut. xxii. 22, Lev. xx. 10, viz. death, probably by stoning (cf. Deut. xxii. 24, Ezek. xvi. 38-40). The seduction of a betrothed free-woman was probably treated as adultery (cf. Deut. xxii. 23-24), but that of an unbetrothed girl could be compensated for by the payment to her father of the usual purchase-money^ {Ex. xxii. 16-17). According to Num. v. 11-31 a married woman suspected of unfaithfulness, might be subjected to an ordeal. Dust from the floor of the Tabernacle was mingled by the priest with water, and the woman was made to drink it, whilst a curse was imprecated on her, to which she was required to assent, if she had been false to her husband, which curse the water, in the event of her guilt, was believed to be the means of bringing about, causing her belly to swell and her thigh to fall away.* It is probable that a husband possessed from early times the power to divorce his wife ; but in Deuteronomy his power is restricted in two respects : {a) he is required to give his wife a bill of divorcement ; {b) he is forbidden, ^ The custom has been explained as arising in a state of society in which a wife passed, with the rest of a man's possessions, to his successor (cf. 2 Sam. xii. 8, xvi. 21, I Kg. ii. 22). The fiction that the offspring of a Levirate marriage was the son of the deceased brother was probably invented and maintained in consequence of a feeUng in Israel against the disappearance of a name and a family from among the community (cf. Num. xxvii. 4). ^ The transference of a shoe (which if cast upon a portion of land, marked possession, Ps. Ix. 8) was the recognised form for effecting the cession of a right or of property {Ruth iv. 7) ; and the forcible removal of it in this case symbolised the withdrawal from the man of what should have been deemed an honourable privilege. ' Fixed in Deut. xxii. 29 at fifty pieces (shekels ?) of silver. In Lev. xix. 20-22 the seduction of a betrothed slave-girl is not punishable with death. * A similar ordeal by water was practised at Tyana, where the water of a neighbouring lake, if drunk by a perjurer, was believed to produce dropsy and wasting (Robertson Smith, Rel. Sem., p. 180). 156 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY in the event of his wife having married again, and been again divorced, to take her back (xxiv. 1-4). Bestiality was punished with death {Ex. xxii. 19, cf. Deut xxvii. 21, Lev. xviii. 22-23). (iv.) The law of Inheritance seems to have been based on the principle of equal division amongst the sons, except in the case of the eldest son. From very early times the eldest son possessed a certain birthright {Gen. xxv. 31); and in Diut. xxi. 17 this right is stated to be a double portion of the patrimony, i.e. a share twice as large as that which fell to each of his brothers. It would appear that daughters did not share with their brothers; but their right to inherit in the absence of a male heir is laid down in Num. xxvii., and it is further directed, in order to prevent the property from passing at their marriage into another tribe, that they should be sJlowed to marry only within the limits of their own tribe {Num. xxxvi.). (v.) The occupation of land by individuals was recognised; but the rights of the community were asserted at intervals by the requirement that the land should be left untilled and un- dressed every seventh year, in order that the poor of the people, together with the beast of the field, might have the produce (Ex. xxiii. lo-ii). In Deut. XV. 1-6 the exaction of all loans made to a fellow-Hebrew is like- wise to be suspended every seventh year. In Lev. XXV. 1-7 (P) the law requiring the land to be left fallow once in seven years has not only a philanthropic, but also a religious, aspect: the seventh year is "a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath unto Jehovah." In the Priestly code {Lev. xxv. 8 foil.), in addition to the Sabbatical year, 2i Jubilee year at the expiration of every period of forty-nine years is commanded to be observed, during which not only are all fields to be left untilled, but all land, sold or mortgaged, is to return to its original possessor ; so that it could not be parted with in perpetuity. On the other hand, if a house in a walled city was sold and not redeemed within a year, it became the permanent possession of the purchaser, and did not return to its original owner at the Jubilee. This exception, however, did not apply to the houses of the Levitical cities. These, if sold and not redeemed (ver. 33 marg.), returned to the Levites at the Jubilee. (vi.) Slaves might be either foreigners (obtained by capture or purchase), or fellow-Hebrews, who had been sold by their parents, or had sold themselves, to meet a debt; but the treatment of these two classes was different. Foreign slaves were retained in absolute ownership, females frequently being concubines. Their condition, however, was far from intolerable ; and to judge from the instances of Abraham's Damascene servant Eliezei: they RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 157 might even inherit their master's property, if he was otherwise without an heir {Gen. xv. 2-3). But a Hebrew man-slave was required to be manumitted after six years of service, unless he elected to remain with his master. If he did so, he was brought before the judges, his ear was bored through by his master, and his bondage became permanent. If he was married when he became a bondman, his wife went out with him; if he were given a wife in the course of his bondage, his wife and her children remained the property of her master. A Hebrew bondwoman, on the other hand, was only allowed to be manu- mitted in the event of her master espousing her either to himself or his son, and then failing to treat her as a wife or a daughter. At the same time, the power of her master to sell her was re- stricted ; she could not be sold to a foreigner, but only redeemed by a kinsman (Ex, xxi. 2-1 1). In Dent. xv. 12 foil. Hebrew bond-servants of both sexes are treated alike; it is further enjoined that a present shall be given to the liberated slave ; and it is not demanded that the ceremony of boring the ear shall take place publicly. In Lev. XXV. 39 foil. (P) Hebrew servants are emancipated in the year of Jubilee, but bondmen and bondwomen of foreign nationality may be bought on the same terms (presumably) as other chattels (ver. 44). The legislation of Ex. xx.-xxiii. (as well as of the other codes) does not confine itself to precise legal enactments, but embraces exhortations to upright dealing and kindly conduct, under pain of the Divine displeasure. In the tenth " word " of the Decalogue covetous desires, the usual source of dishonest acts, are for- bidden (xx. 17). Special stress is laid upon truth and equity in the administration of justice (xxiii. 1-3, 6-8) and upon mercy and compassion towards the needy and helpless. Usury in the case of loans to fellow-countrymen is prohibited; and if a garment is taken in pledge, it is to be returned before the evening (xxii. 25-27). Emphatic warnings are uttered against the oppression or ill-treatment of the widow, the fatherless, or the stranger (xxii. 21-24, xxiii. 9). Kindness is to be shown even to a personal enemy, whose ox or ass, if found straying, is to be brought back to him, or if lying under a burden, is to be relieved (xxiii. 4-5, cf. Deut. xxii. 1-4). Even the offence caused to natural sentiment by seething a kid in its mother's 158 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY milk is disallowed (xxiii. 19, xxxiv. 26)^ (just as in Lrv. xxii. 28, Deut. xxii. 6-7 it is forbidden to kill a cow (or ewe) and her young on the same day, or to take from a nest a bird and its young together.) The history and legislation of the Mosaic period, as described in the preceding pages, show that there was much in Hebrew belief and Hebrew usage which belonged to a primitive stage of civilisation. Religion, for instance, was not yet monotheistic. The language of Miriam's song {Ex. xv. 11) implies, indeed, that there was no comparison between Jehovah and other gods, and the " holiness " there predicated of Him seems intended to express His unapproachable pre-eminence; but the existence of other gods appears to be taken for granted. With this agrees the tenor of the first "word" of the Decalogue, which requires exclusive devotion to Jehovah, but in its terms, at least, assumes that there were other deities to whom it was feared allegiance might be transferred. The subsequent history confirms the view that the people were not familiar, until a much later period, with the idea that the gods worshipped by their neighbours were unrealities ; otherwise the continual desertion of Jehovah for them would be incomprehensible (cf. also Ruth i. 16, 7 Sajn. xxvi. 19). That sensuous conceptions entered into the idea which the Hebrews formed of their national God appears from the fact that His presence was believed to be manifested by such phenomena as flame and fire and cloud {Ex. iii. 2, xiii. 21, xxxiii. 9; cf. xvi. lo, xl. 34-38 P). From such a belief it resulted as a corollary that His activity was especially associated with particular localities; and places where tokens of His power were thought to have been displayed became subsequently centres of worship. By the Israelites when on the march Jehovah's guidance and protection were held to be intimately connected with the Ark, which was His seat and symbol ; and it is possible that the peculiar sacred- ness attaching to it was in part due to the fact that the stones it contained came from Sinai, the mount of God. Jehovah had a claim upon the Hfe of the firstborn of man as well as of animals ^ But some scholars hold that the prohibition was occasioned by milk thus prepared being used as a superstitious charm for the purpose of rendering fields and trees fruitful. RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 159 (though in practice the former were redeemed (xxii. 29-30)); and upon His altar the blood of victims was sprinkled {Ex. xxiv. 6). No clear distinction was drawn between ethical and ceremonial requirements; and the purity demanded as a con- dition for approaching the Deity was physical rather than moral. ^ There was no effective consciousness amongst the Hebrews at this time of a future life (a fact which is in striking contrast to Egyptian habits of thought) ; and there is no indication of any advance upon the primitive conception of Sheol. The present world was believed to be the only sphere of moral govern- ment ; and the rewards promised by Jehovah for faithfulness to His commands were specifically temporal {Ex. xxiii. 25-26; cf. XX. 12, xxii. 23-24, Deut. vii. 12 foil., xxviii. 8 foil., Lev, xxvi. 3 foil.). Equally defective with some of the prevalent religious ideas were certain of the principles regulating the civil life of the people. Wives and children were not considered to possess individual rights of their own, but to be the property of their husbands and parents, and hence were liable to be put to death for the offences of the latter (see Josh. vii. 24). A wrong done to a daughter might be expiated by a money payment to her father {Ex. xxii. 16-17). The solidarity thus assumed to exist between a man and his offspring entered into the belief entertained of the Divine judgment; and the fear of retribution falling upon the third and fourth generation is a motive to which appeal is made in the second "word" of the Decalogue {Ex. xx. 5-6). Slavery was an established institution; and the enslavement not of foreigners only but of fellow-Hebrews was permitted. The bondage of women -slaves was life-long. The administration of justice was of a very crude character. Voluntary and involuntary crimes were only imperfectly dis- criminated ; the pains and penalties appointed in cases of wilful bodily injury were determined by the simple rule of exact retribution, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth"; and in cases of homicide the barbarous custom of the blood -feud prosecuted by the kindred of the murdered man seems to have been recognised. It is thus apparent that the early Hebrews in ^ This appears even in the (late) Priestly code, see Lev. vii. 20-21, xxiL 1-9. i6o OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY many respects stood on the same plane of life and thought as their heathen neighbours; and the parallels adduced from Semitic and even Hellenic sources in connection with their customs, as described or implied in the Mosaic law, show that the resemblance between them and other nations extended even to details. But the Decalogue and other parts of what has been taken to be the earliest of the Legislative codes comprised in the Pen- tateuch make it clear that the Mosaic religion contained the germs of spiritual and moral progress in a degree beyond the religions of the neighbouring peoples. Though Jehovah was represented not as the only existing God, but as the only God that Israel might worship, yet the ideas entertained of His nature and requirements, in spite of the crudities already noted, were such as in the long-run led to the recognition of His sole God- head. His activity, though associated with some locaUties more than others, was not thought to be exclusively restricted to any particular region, and His power was as manifest in Egypt as by the holy mount of Sinai (cf. also Gen, xxviii. 15, xlvi. 3). What- ever may have been the origin of the sacredness attributed to the Ark and its contents, the earliest existing accounts of it bring it into connection with a series of religious and moral ordinances, one of which expressly forbids the worship of any image; and from the Mosaic period onwards the religious leaders of the people generally protested against the construction of any symbol of Jehovah for the purposes of adoration. This aversion to a visible representation of the national God was not, indeed, shared by the whole community; and even in Moses' lifetime, Aaron (according to one account) offered to his countrymen a Golden Calf 1 with the words " This is thy god, O Israel, that brought thee * The reason which led to the choice of such an emblem has been disputed. The fact that a living bull was worshipped in Egypt as the embodiment of the god Osiris has suggested that the idea of the Golden Calf was derived from that country. It is difficult, however, to suppose that the Israelites at this time consciously borrowed from the Egyptians when they sought to represent visibly the God who delivered them from their hands. It is more probable that as a symbol of Jehovah a calf or young bull was chosen as being, to a people that did not yet possess horses, a natural emblem of strength and vigour (see Deut. xxxiii. 17). That the goA^ts^ Ashtoreth was Ukewise some- times represented under an animal shape is suggested by the term Ashtoreths of thejlock, used to describe the young of sheep {Deut. vii. 13, Heb.). RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE i6i up out of the land of Egypt.** But the anger with which the Calf was regarded by Moses supplements, if corroboration is needed, the evidence supplied by the Second commandment of the Deca- logue that his own conception of religious worship did not include the use of images. Animal sacrifices, though probably originat- ing in a very material conception of the Divine nature, could be, and no doubt were, made the medium of spiritual devotion. The sexual licence so prominent in the religion of Canaan re- ceived no countenance from that of Israel (cf. Deut, xxiii. 17). And though the Israelites, in common with other peoples, had the sanction of religion for the sanguinary extermination of their enemies, the corrupt character of the nations they destroyed gives them more justification at the bar of history than their rivals can command (cf. Lev. xviii. 24 foil., xx. 23, Deut. ix. 5). And as in the religious beliefs of the Mosaic period the naif ideas of a primitive age were refined and purified though not as yet out- grown, so in the social laws governing their internal relations rude and barbarous usages, without being altogether relinquished, were brought into closer conformity with the requirements of justice and mercy. The unintentional homicide was to some extent protected from the avengers of blood. The harshness of slavery was mitigated by the enactment which directed the liberation of the Hebrew man-slave after six years' service. The regulations respecting the Sabbath secured a time of rest and refreshment both for the labouring man and the labouring beast ; whilst those relating to the Sabbatical year had in view the needs of the poor. Compassion and consideration were enjoined not only towards the unfortunate and helpless, but even towards personal enemies {Ex. xxiii. 4, 5). Religion in Israel was thus, in general, a humanising and civilising influence, promoting the development and progress of morality instead of lagging behind it, as was frequently the rule elsewhere. Jehovah was conceived to possess an ethical character which was lacking to the gods of Canaan, and which made ethical demands upon the nation that wor- shipped Him. Implicit in the "jealousy," with which He was represented as regarding any declension from the exclusive fidelity and obedience which He claimed from His people, was the in- dignation inspired by the abandonment of a higher, for a lower, M i62 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY moral ideal. And whilst the standard of conduct was at first rudimentary enough, and was replaced by a more advanced one only in course of time, the growth of the ethical ideal of the Hebrews was wont to present itself in the form of a fuller appre- hension of, and a deeper acquaintance with, the Divine nature. The Hebrew prophets arraigned and condemned men in the name of God ; they never, Hke the Greek philosopher Xenophanes, arraigned Divinity in the name of offended human morals. The religion of Jehovah doubtless had its roots in the pre- historic past which preceded the sojourn in Egypt. Moses, as has been related, appealed to his countrymen in the name of the God of their fathers ; and the records of the patriarchal age, so far as they can be trusted, not only indicate that the Deity worshipped by the early ancestors of Israel bore that name, but suggest that some advance had already been made in the direction of a moral and spiritual faith. The period of enslavement in Egypt was not in itself likely to enlarge and develop such ; but followed, as it was, by the deliverance of the Exodus, it indirectly contributed to mould Israel's conception of its God, and has left its mark upon the Sinaitic legislation. The repeated plagues which broke down the obstinacy of Pharaoh, and the signal dis- comfiture which his pursuing host sustained at the passage of the Red Sea were strikingly calculated to impress Israel with the greatness and power of Jehovah (cf. Detit, iv. 34) ; and in after- times the tie between Jehovah and Israel was actually dated from the Exodus (see Hos. xii. 9, xiii. 4). But the mere overthrow of the enemy could, for Israel as for other nations, only establish the superiority of its God over the gods of the baffled foe ; and whilst giving to Jehovah a claim upon the gratitude cf those whom He had aided, would not, of itself, have any further moral effect It is in the triumph of the Exodus as the sequel of the cruel bondage previously endured in Egypt that the deepening of Israel's belief in Jehovah as a God of mercy and compassion must, at least in part, be sought. The connection between the oppression, from which they themselves had suffered and been saved, and the conduct which they were required to pursue towards others appears, for instance, in the appeal made for the considerate treatment of strangers, on the ground that they them- RELIGION IN THE MOSAIC AGE 163 selves had been strangers in the land of Egypt (Ex. xxii. 21, xxiii. 9). From the answer made to their cry under the pressure of evil they had learnt not only Jehovah's power, but His charac- ter; and the knowledge of it became the means of elevating their own. The history of the Wilderness had been a further revelation. They had been mutinous and unfaithful, and had come to understand the extent of the Divine patience, fidelity, and forgivingness (cf. jEx. xxxiv. 6-7). The graciousness which had been displayed to them they might therefore be expected to exhibit in turn ; and what they had experienced prepared them to respond to the injunctions put forth in Jehovah's name. But Israel's experiences alone scarcely account for all the facts that require to be explained. In all communities the general advance is mainly due to the initiative of individuals ; and the religious and spiritual progress of Israel was principally the work of its prophets, of whom Moses was one of the chief (cf. Hos. xii. 13). The idea involved in the name prophet (practically, if not etymologically) was not that of foretelling the future, but of speaking on behalf of, or by the commission of, another; and the term could be applied to any person who acted as the spokesman of someone else, Aaron in Ex. vii. I being styled the prophet of Moses, just as in iv. 16 he is termed his mouth. It was, however, of the human interpreter of a Divine being that the word was, in strictness, used. The prophet was a mediator between God and mankind,^ conveying the Divine mandates to the people (cf Jer. XV. 19, Am. iii. 7, Hag. i. 13), and interceding for the people with the Deity (see Gen. xx. 7, i Sam. xii. 23). And that in a pre-eminent sense Moses was such a mediator appears on the surface of the history. The knowledge of the moral and spiritual nature of God which, from his time onward, in spite of occasional aberrations, characterised Israel came not from any racial qualities (for the kindred peoples of Moab and Edom did not attain it), nor altogether from the impression made by events upon the nation as a whole (for the multitude is dull of per- ception), but through the intellectual insight and the moral ^ So among the Greeks Teiresias and Apollo were represented as the prophets of Zeus (Find. Nem. i. 91, ^Esch. Eum. 19). i64 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY elevation of their first leader. With him God is represented to have communicated, not as with the rest of the prophets, through dreams and visions, but face to face, "as a man speaketh to his friend" {Num. xii. 8, Ex. xxxiii. ii, 17, cf. Nutn. vii. 89). Into the secret of such communings with the Deity it is, of course, impossible to penetrate. But the expression describes suggestively the principal feature of the Mosaic teaching, so far as it can be recovered — its precise and practical directness, and the lofty and pure spirit which animates it. Whatever the pro- cess by which Moses became possessed of the principles embodied in the Law, they may justly be regarded as derived from God if such a derivation can be claimed for anything. The best warrant for the Divine commission with which he pro- fessed to be invested is the character of the work wliich he accompUshed. 36 II CANAAN / / THE CONQUEST f o ^^"^ / Scale of M.ies e, T" N u ,H^t>u^._.MOAe 4^- ^^ ^^-^^"/^^-^\tem ^ ^ 5i— /* •■ ^'' *4Aizii 7 ) A.3 / * Ac>u,Kafih. j J r^^'¥^y -^ f '' AdffxjlL. ^ii^i««^) o 5 5 < ■^^'y* ^^~-~V» " ' **«sM»i> 7 ^1 ^'Y^ QZfe&iT. / /^y^t^i^T^^^''^^ \^ ''^^.x^ \ ^y-\j « f ( SIMEON C^-^'~^ 1 (X ' ^^-—-^ (Q^ — . 3.— /\ ^V — jt -^ / C D M \ ___ __.J MeOiuen S Co CHAPTER VI THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN Sova:ces—/os/iua, Jud. i. i-iii. 6, xviL-xviiL THE name Canaan in a general sense denotes the country which stretches from the Lebanons to the mountains of Edom and from the Mediterranean to the Syrian desert. But in a narrower signification the term is appHed to the region W. of the Jordan, which, within the Hmits marked by the towns of Dan in the north and Beersheba in the south, was about 140 miles long, with an average breadth of less than 50,^ its surface covering about 6,000 square miles.^ As has been previously explained, Canaan proper consists, in the main, of a range of hills, dividing a long and narrow strip of flat coastland from the deep gorge of the Jordan. The range is cut by an irregular series of valleys, which in one place alone broaden into a com- paratively extensive plain about nine miles broad (the Plain oi/ezreel or Esdraelon). In the south, the western flanks of this central range in O.T. times received a distinct name, the Shep- helah or Lowland. The country is poorly watered, for though springs are numerous (cf. Deut, viii. 7, xi. 11), there are scarcely any rivers of size, the most notable being the Kishon, flowing through the plain of Jezreel, and the Kanah, which enters the sea near Joppa, and is almost dry in summer. As may easily be inferred from what has been said, the physical features are very varied. The snow-clad peaks of Lebanon (nearly 10,000 feet above sea-level) contrast strikingly with the tropical heat of the * The breadth at Beersheba is 90 miles, at Jerusalem 55, at the sea of Galilee 40, and at the extreme north, 25 (Henderson, Palestine, p. 13). '■^ With the district E. of the Jordan included, the area of Canaan would be about io,ooo sq. miles. 165 i66 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Jordan valley (which, at the Dead Sea, is almost 1,300 feet below the Mediterranean). The steep and stony hills of the centre, whose ledges and terraces at the period now under con- sideration afforded here and there room for vineyards and olive- yards, looked down upon the fertile corn lands of the maritime plain and Esdraelon. To the south the hills merged into a rolling pasture land (the Neg(b or South),^ and this again dis- appeared into the desert ; whilst around the marge of the Dead Sea the shores were impregnated with salt and bitumen. The products of the country were equally diversified. The sides of Lebanon were covered with forests of cedars ; numerous oaks, sycamores, and terebinths were found on the central hills and in the intervening valleys ; whilst palms grew in the gorge of the Jordan. Grapes, olives, figs, and pomegranates were cultivated (Deut. viii. 8, cf. Num. xiii. 23) ; and rich harvests were obtain- able in the plains. At the same time, the country was not, on the whole, a grain-producing land : the soil, except in a few places, was poor, and the water-supply scant ; and in consequence, scarcity was by no means unknown {2 Sam. xxi. i, i Kg. xvii., xviii.). Among the wild animals that abounded were lions, bears, wolves, jackals, and serpents; and the vegetation frequently suffered from the attacks of locusts. Hemmed in by sea, desert, and mountains, Canaan by the character of its frontiers was, in a measure, secluded from the world. But its geographical position prevented it from enjopng the tranquillity which might otherwise have been secured to it. It was situated upon the trade-routes between the great empires on the Euphrates and on the Nile, and between these and the cities of Phoenicia ; ^ and the principal roads connecting them ran through it or along its borders. There were four trunk lines traversing the country from north to south. One from Eg>'pt ran along the maritime plain across the ridge of Carmel to Acco, Tyre, and Phoenicia. A second passed through the centre of the country from Jerusalem to Esdraelon, where the preceding formed a junction with it by connections through Megiddo and Dothan, and whence, crossing the Jordan either at Bethshan or between the lakes of Chinnereth and Merom, » QL Gen, xiL 9. =» Cf. Esek. xxvi. 2. THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 167 it proceeded to Damascus and Hamath. A third kept along the Jordan from Jericho to Bethshan. Finally, a fourth, from Elath and the Red Sea, passed E. of the Dead Sea, through the territories of Moab and Ammon, and thence to Damascus. Of these the first and last were the most important, the other two crossing difficult ground, and serving a more limited area. In consequence of its situation Canaan was traversed not only by the caravans of merchantmen but by the armies of warring sovereigns ; and the possession of it was coveted less on account of its intrinsic value than of its commanding position. But in spite of the facilities for communication thus afforded, the general features of the country tended to isolate from one another the various communities which occupied it. The trend of the valleys being from E. to W., and their outlets opening upon the sea or the Jordan, the inhabitants were divided by natural barriers into small bodies which did not readily unite to compose a nation. The sea which is so often a medium of intercourse did not in this case promote it, for the shores of Palestine are singularly destitute of harbours. The ports of Tyre and Sidon were outside the Hmits of Canaan proper, and the only haven within them seems to have been Joppa. By the physical character of Canaan the history of its peoples was largely moulded. The independence, the intractableness, the love of country, the political disunion, which marked the race of those who were its most notable possessors are qualities which a region of mountains, valleys, and rocky fastnesses has often produced alike in ancient and in modern times. The varied experiences and chequered fortunes to which Canaan from its situation was inevitably exposed began early. As has been already related, during the period which the Patriarchal history professes to cover, the Elamites, following in the steps of the Babylonians, included Palestine within their dominions ; and when the Elamite power was overthrown, Babylonian kings again claimed supremacy over the country. Babylonian influence in Palestine seems to have been something more than transitory; for in the 15th century B.C. correspond- ence between that country and its neighbours was conducted in the cuneiform character, which must have been introduced. i68 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY with other arts of civilisation, from Babylon. But Babylonian culture in this instance had survived Babylonian authority. From the 1 6th to the 13th centuries B.C. the dominant people in N. Syria were the Hittites; and these, advancing southward, threatened Canaan. But their progress was not undisputed ; and the control of the latter country was stubbornly contested between them and the great southern power on the Nile. The expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt (about 1600) had been followed by repeated expeditions into Palestine on the part of Egyptian kings. The first who invaded the country was Aames (Amosis), with whom the i8th^ dynasty began: but the most notable of his line was Thothmes III. (1503-1449, Sayce), who defeated the Hittites at Megiddo, and has left on the walls of Karnak a list of Palestinian towns which he had taken.^ Under one of his successors, however, Amenhotep (Amenophis) IV. or Khunaten (arc. 1400 B.C.), the Egyptian hold upon Palestine became weakened, and the clay tablets recently found at Tell-el-Amarna, and largely written by vassal princes of Canaanite cities, contain appeals to him for help. This corre- spondence shows that there were intestine divisions and quarrels among the princes who owned allegiance to the Pharaoh, and that, in addition, Egyptian control over the land was endangered partly by the movements of the Hittites, and partly by a body of confederates called the Khabiri^ who threatened first the cities of the Phoenician sea-board (such as Gebal and Sirayra), and subsequently those of southern Canaan (including Gezer and Jerusalem). In the reign of Rameses II. of the 19th dynasty (1348-128 1, Sayce) and his son Mernptah there was a temporary renewal of Egyptian authority in Canaan; whilst about 1230 ^ The Hyksos constituted, or were contemporary with, the 15th, i6th, and 17th dynasties. ^ Among these are Megiddo, Laish, Shunem, Taanach, Ibleam, Hazor, Achshaph ; see Sayce, H. C. M., p. 336, Patriarchal Palestine^ p. 226, Driver in Authority and Archeology, p. 69. ' These have been identified by some scholars with the Hebrews, but the identification involves dating the Exodus much earlier (prior to 1400 B.C.) than is otherwise likely ; and is rendered improbable by the fact that the Tell-el-Amarna tablets bring the earUest appearance of the Khabiri into connection with the plain of Damascus and the city of Ashtaroth (E. of Lake Chinnereth), whence they advanced into Phoenicia; see Petrie, Syria and ^gyp^y PP- 63, 65. THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 169 Rameses III. overran the district W. and S. of the Dead Sea. This last, however, was the latest invasion of Canaan by an Egyptian force until the time of the Israelite monarchy. It was about this period that the Philistines appear to have settled in S.W. Palestine. They came, as has been already indicated, from Caphtor which is usually identified with Crete ; and in the reign of Rameses III. occupied the five towns of Gaza, Gath, Ashdod, Ashkelon and Ekron. These towns formed themselves into a confederacy, and eventually played no insignificant part in the history of the country, to which, indeed, they gave the name it now bears. At the time of the Israelite invasion, the native inhabitants of Western Canaan, though often described collectively as Canaanites, Hittites, or Amorites indifferently {Gen. x. 19, Josh. i. 4, xxiv. 8, cf. also Josh. vii. 7 and 9),^ were usually classified under two main heads, Canaanites and Amorites, who are dis- tinguished territorially as the dwellers in the valleys and in the hills respectively {Deui, i. 7); but who were probably likewise distinct in origin. Of the other nations frequently associated with them, the Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites and Gir- gashites {Josh. xi. 3, xxiv. 11), the first, already alluded to, seem to have belonged to quite a different race from either the Canaanites or the Amorites; but their dominion was outside the borders of Canaan proper, and if they really occupied any part of it, it was only through a few detached settlements. The rest of the communities mentioned above were probably merely subdivisions of the Amorites and Canaanites, owing their separate names to local or other peculiarities. These various peoples, at the period now to be considered, constituted a number of in- dependent city-states. Some of the more important of these had others subject to them, such dependent towns having either sprung up under the shelter of the larger place {Josh. xv. 45, xvii. II, marg.), or been subdued by force (cf. Jud. i. 7). For the most part, these city-states each had its own king {Josh, ii. 2, viii. I, ix. i, xii. 9 foil.); but in some instances a non- monarchical form of government prevailed, Gibeon with its allied cities Beeroth, Chephirah, and Kiriath-Jearim being ruled by * See p. 69, 170 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY elders {Josh. ix. ii).^ The political condition of the country made successful resistance to invasion difficult, as the various communities, even if not distracted by the mutual jealousies revealed by the Tell-el-Amarna tablets, could be beaten and sub- jugated in detail. As will appear in the narrative of the Israelite campaign, it was only on two occasions that any attempt was made at a combination of forces and concerted action. But though united efforts on the part of the Canaanites was to a great extent wanting, many individual cities were in a position to offer a stout defence. They were advantageously situated and strongly walled, so that their reduction was a task of consider- able magnitude for a nomadic people (cf. Num. xiii. 28). In addition, the Canaanites were much superior to the Israelites in the art and appliances of war, in touch as they were with the chief seats of contemporary civilisation in Babylonia and Egypt. Those who occupied the more level districts, especially the vale of Esdraelon, possessed cavalry and iron chariots; and these formidable forces enabled the inhabitants of the coast and inland plains to withstand their invaders more successfully than the dwellers in the hill-country. It will be seen in the course of the history that where the Israelites first and most effectually established themselves was in the mountainous regions of the south and centre, and that their hold upon the rest of the country was for a long time neither extensive nor secure. As has been said, Joshua, who had been chosen by Moses to succeed him, was appointed with a view to an immediate invasion of Canaan, and it was to this undertaking that the new leader after Moses' death at once addressed himself. From the headquarters at Shittim {Num. xxv. i, xxxiii. 49) he determined to advance against Jericho on the opposite side of the Jordan. The town was situated at a spot where the hills retire from the river and form a plain from which several roads diverge into the mountainous country behind. It was thus one of the keys to the trans-Jordanic region, and its capture was an object of the utmost importance. Accordingly two spies were sent to examine its defences and the best means of attack. The men crossed the ^ Similarly there .eem to have been no kings in certain of the cities named in the Tell-el-Amarna correspondence; see Petrie, op. cit., p. 80. THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN 171 river by the fords in the neighbourhood of the city, were sheltered by a harlot 1 named Rahab, and though rumours of their arrival had reached the king, were enabled to escape detection by a device of the woman, who concealed them under a quantity of flax spread for drying on the roof of the house. The gates of the city had been closed to prevent their egress ; but Rahab, whose dwelling was on the wall, lowered them to the ground through a window, having previously obtained from them a promise that the lives of herself and her kinsfolk should be spared when the city was captured. ^ The spies, after hiding for three days in the hills, returned safely to Joshua. Their report of the state of feeling in the town, which the approach of the Israelites had filled with dismay, induced Joshua to cross the river at once. The passage was effected ; and the success with which it was accomplished was ever afterwards regarded as a special mark of Divine favour (cf. Mic, vi. 5). The host, which included a contingent from the tribes E. of the Jordan ^ (represented as amounting to the large figure of 40,000),* encamped in the plain of Jericho at Gilgal (a place a short distance to the E. of Jericho (iv. 19), identified with the modern Tell Jiljulieh^ four miles from the Jordan), where a memorial of twelve stones taken from the bed of the river was set up. Here, too, the rite of circumcision was performed with knives of flint ^ on all those who had not yet received the sign of the nation's covenant with its God, a neighbouring height near the place where the rite was performed obtaining the name of the Hill of the foreskins. In the book oi foshua c. iii.^ the passage of the Jordan is represented as ^ Josephus {Ant. v. i, 2) calls Rahab's dwelling an inn {Ka.T-46 being duplicates. If twenty and six thousand be the correct reading in ver. 15, the first of these two versions must have represented the survivors of Benjamin at 1600 (see ver. 35) instead of the 600 of the second version (ver. 47). If the fighting force were one-eighth of the total population, the figures given would imply that the Israelites at this time numbered between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 ; whereas even Wales had at the last census a population of not quite a million and three-quarters. THE JUDGES 193 defence they were dependent for leadership upon the valour and conduct of those individuals whom native ability and good fortune brought to the front. The influence which these leaders exercised rested mainly upon their personal qualities and not upon any prescriptive rights or even public sanction ; and must have varied both with their individual capacities and the con- ditions that evoked them. Those whom the exigencies of the times thus invested with power were designated by the already existing title of judges (see Num. xxv. 5), though the signifi- cance which now became attached to the name was that of deliverer rather than administrator of justice. The authority of the Judges was naturally, from the circum- stances of their origin, restricted and local in range and, in general, extended to just such parts of the nation as were pre- pared, for their own advantage, to submit to it. And it is not improbable that at first it was temporary in duration, and was laid down when the emergency which demanded it was brought to an end. But no doubt such authority, once assumed, was in many cases retained, and the Judges, from being asserters of their country's liberties, came to occupy a position more ac- curately corresponding to their title, and became magistrates as well as military chiefs. And later, there seem to have been Judges who owed their existence from the first to the popular need of some central authority to meet other requirements than that of direction in war. Of five of those named in the book of Judges no warlike exploits of a personal character are re- corded, and the same is true of two others who are styled Judges, but whose history falls outside the book, namely Eli and Samuel ;i whilst the description of Deborah (in Jud. iv. 5) implies that she also exercised some judicial functions prior to the warlike movement which she initiated in conjunction with Barak. Probably Judges of both types acquired their influence and authority insensibly by the spread of their reputation for the qualities most in requisition, though an instance is not lacking of a leader demanding and receiving a formal tender of obedience {Jud, xi. 9 foil.) They were in no sense ordinary elective officers * But on the passages relating to Samuel see pp. 216-7. O 194 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY like the Carthaginian Suffetes^ (to whose name the Hebrew Shophetim (used to describe them) is presumably akin) ; and still less was their office hereditary, though doubtless they could transmit much of their actual influence to their children, if the latter could maintain it (cf. Jud. ix. 2, x. 4). Most of the external troubles which gave occasion for the activity of the Judges, though represented by the compiler of the book oi Judges as national conflicts, affected, so far as can be gathered from the details given, only a narrow area, and the extent of the region exposed to them determined, for the most part, the Umit of the Judge's authority, outside of which he often encountered hostility from his own countrymen. When the Canaanites, headed by Jabin of Hazor, overran the territories of Zebulun and Naphtah, only a few of the other tribes aided the rising under Barak. Gideon, the Manassite leader against the Midianites, though assisted (if the existing account be correct)^ by Ephraim in the pursuit of them, could only disarm the sub- sequent hostility of the other division of the house of Joseph by submissive flattery. Jephthah the Gileadite who defeated Ammon, was actually attacked by the Ephraimites, who were jealous of his independent action. To such instances of callous indifference and envious rivalry must be added others of actual betrayal of Israel's cause under the influence of selfish fears. The city of Meroz, though the nature of its offence is quite unknown, must have been sorely lacking in patriotism to provoke the bitter curse of Deborah (^Jud. v. 23). The citizens of Succoth and Penuel refused to supply the wants of Gideon's army ; and the tribe of Judah delivered the Danite Samson into the hands of the PhiUstines. Such instances make it clear that, v/hilst the attacks made upon Israel at this period were desultory and unsystematic, the resistance offered to them was in most cases equally lacking in coherence and combination. There was as yet absent from the Israelite tribes an adequate sense of the unity which was involved in their common kindred and their common faith. Almost the sole example of patriotism ^ See Livy xxx. 7, Suffers, quod velut consular e impgrium apud cos erat. The title also occurs in an inscription (5th or 4th century B.C.) of Carthage, now preserved at Marseilles. * See below, p. 203. THE JUDGES 195 breathing the spirit of a larger national life is that of the prophetess Deborah, who, though dwelling in Ephraim, was the soul of the resistance made against the northern Canaanites, and who, in her Song, upbraided the tribes who stood aloof from helping their kinsmen in their need. The chronology of the book of Judges is difficult to harmonise both with other statements made in the O.T. and with the probable facts of the case. The duration of the Oppressions and of the rule of the Judges is as follows : — Uushan-rishathaim Othniel 40 Eglon of Moab 18 Ehud 80 (Shamgar — ) The Canaanites 20 Deborah 40 The Midianites 7 Gideon 40 Abimelech 3 Tola . 23 Jair . 22 The Ammonites 18 /ephthah 6 : ;bzan . 7 Elon . 10 Abdon 8 The Philistines . 40 Samson 20 The total number of years amounts to 410, which agrees approximately with the 300 years (strictly 319) which are represented as having elapsed prior to Jephthah \jttd. xi. 26), if the time occupied by the Conquest is ignored. But in / Kg, vi. i the period between the Exodus and the building of Solo- mon's Temple is stated to be 480 years, whereas if to the figures m Judges there are added the forty years each of Moses, Eli, and David, and the four years of Solomon previous to the foundation of the Temple, the total amounts to 534, without any account being taken not only of the time covered by the Conquest but of that embraced by the predominance of Samuel and the reign of Saul. In reality, however, the period between the Exodus and the Temple was probably less than 300 years, if the former event be fixed approximately for 1250-1200, and the building of the Temple for 970-950; whilst it seems likely that the system of chronology followed by the writer of I Kg. vi. is an artificial one. Forty years conventionally described a genera- tion ;^ and the number 480 probably represents twelve generations, agreeably with the fact that the High Priest Azariah, who was contemporary with the erection of the Temple, was the twelfth from Aaron (/ Ch. vi. 4-9).* With * See especially Num. xiv. 33. ^ The parenthetical remark in i Ch. vi. 10 refers to the Azariah of ver. 9, not to that of ver. 10 ; the son (Amariah) of the latter was contemporary with Jehoshaphat {2 Ch. xix. 11). In Ruth iv. 20 David is only the fifth firom Moses with whom his ancestoi Nahshon was contemporary, but the genealogical table is doubtless defective. 196 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY regard to the time included within the book o{ Judges^ if the figures giving the duration of the Oppressions and the rule of the Judges could be regarded as trustworthy, it would be absolutely necessary to assume that some of the events recounted were contemporaneous, in order to bring them within the 250 years which is the most that can be allowed for them. Even apart from this, such an assumption is probable in itself and favoured by the record ; for in X. 7 the Philistines and Ammonites are represented as oppressing Israel together, though Jephthah only delivered the country from the latter, so that the Philistine domination of xiii. i may have been simultaneous with part of that of the Ammonites, whilst within the forty years of the PhiUstine rule Samson's judgeship of twenty years seems to be comprised (xv. 20). In point of fact, however, the figures in Judges are probably to a large extent conventional numbers, /jr/y occurring four times, whilst its double eighty is found once and its half twenty twice, and accordingly afibrd no basis for exact calculations. The uncertainty as to how far the incidents embraced within the book oi Judges were successive detracts from the value of any attempt to arrange them in chronological order. It will therefore be convenient to recount them separately as they are related, without determining their actual historical sequence, though it is probable that the oppression by Moab is correctly placed among the earliest, as that of the Philistines in c. xiii. was certainly the latest, of the events covered by this period. 1. Oppression by Syrians of Mesopotamia^ under Cushan- rishathaim : deliverance effected by Othniel, brother of Caleb, a Kenizzite {Jud. iii. 7-1 1). A raid upon Judah, with whom the Kenizzites were united, by a body of Syrians marching along the maritime plain in the direction of Philistia and Eg>'pt, is not impossible in view of what took place in the time of Hazael {2 Kg. xii. 17); and an army from Mesopotamia is said to have ccme into conflict with the Egyptians in the reign of Rameses III.- But the chronology of this period is too doubtful for any very plausible conclusions to be drawn respecting the connection of this with the invasion of Cushan-rishathaim ; and an isolated attack upon the most southern tribe by a foe coming from the north is rather improbable. Cushan as a place-name occurs in Hab. iii. 7 in connection with Midian, a people in Mosaic times dwelling in the Sinaitic desert, a more likely quarter for a raid upon Judah, and Syria (Heb. Aram) may have arisen by corruption from Edom. 2. Oppression by Moab tinder Eglon : deliverance effected by Ehud (/ud. iii. 12-30). The Moabites, who must have recovered from the losses inflicted upon them (according to Jos/i. xxiv. 9-10) in the * Heb. Aram Naharaim^ the district between the Euphrates and the Habor (Chaboras). * Sayce, Early History of the Hebrews, pp. 285-6. THE JUDGES 197 time of Moses, were probably desirous of following in the track of Israel in order to share the conquest of the western side of the Jordan. They crossed the river in combination with a body of Ammonites and Amalekites, seized Jericho, " the city of palm trees" {Deut, xxxiv. 3), and imposed tribute upon the surrounding country of Benjamin. Possibly Gilgal was the seat of their rule; and thither Ehud, a Benjamite, who was left-handed,^ was commissioned to convey the tribute to Eglon, the Moabite king. After presenting it, he dismissed his attendants, and then returning to the king, he obtained a private interview by claiming to be the bearer of an oracle meant for the king's ear alone. His left-handedness enabled him to carry a weapon with him without being suspected, and when Eglon rose from his seat out of respect for the pretended message, Ehud thrust his sword through the king's body. The assassin effected his escape,^ and in answer to his summons, the Ephraimites seized the fords of the Jordan, where the Moabites, dis- heartened by the death of their sovereign, were attempting to cross the river, and cut them to pieces. 3. Oppression by the Philistines : deliverance effected by Shamgar {/ud. iii. 31). This attack by the Philistines in the south seems to have been contemporaneous with that by the Canaanites in the north, described below (see Jud. v. 6). The Philistines, after repel- ling the attack upon Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron which had been made by Judah at the Conquest (p. 175), now began to retaliate. Advancing along the maritime plain, they pene- trated into the hill country of Judah and Ephraim through the valleys of Elah, Sorek, and Aijalon; and wherever they estab- lished their authority they seem to have made it a practice to disarm the population (cf. i Sam. xiii. 19, 22). But even under such conditions a successful rising was effected by Shamgar, * Instances of men who were left-handed were relatively common in Benjamin ; d. Jud. xx. i6, / Ch. xii. 2. ^ The final words oi Jud. iii. 22 are very obscure. The translation of the R V. text involves a correction of the Heb. ; whilst the marginal rendering comes from the LXX. (jk^rikQ^v 'Aw5 rT]v irpoaTdda), and anticipates what is described in the next verse. 198 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY though the only weapons possessed by him and his supporters were rustic implements {Jud. iii. 31).^ 4. Oppression by the Canaanites : deliverance effected by Barak {Jud. iv., v.). The outbreak of the Canaanites in the north was a renewal of the earlier struggle against Joshua {Josh. c. xi.). The city of Razor had recovered from its ruin, and its king Jabin was now the head of a confederacy, the united forces of which were under the command of Sisera, whose home was at Harosheth, at the foot of Carmel, and who dominated the plain of Esdraelon. Possessing a powerful body of chariots, the number of which is placed at 900, and finding in the plain excellent facilities for their manoeuvres, the Canaanites obtained the upper hand over the northern tribes ; and Naphtali, Zebulun, and Issachar were subjected to severe treatment. The stimulus to revolt, however, came from outside, Deborah, a prophetess of Ephraim, instigating Barak^ of Naphtali to organise resistance among the oppressed tribes. Sympathisers joined him from some of the other tribes such as Ephraim, Manasseh (Machir), and Benjamin ; but the tribes on the E. of Jordan held aloof, as did also Dan and Asher. Of the latter Dan was perhaps struggling against the encroaching Philistines, whilst Asher was possibly too closely surrounded by the Canaanite populations to render much aid. Encouraged by Deborah, without whom he refused to move, Barak advanced southward from Kedesh in Naphtali (near Lake Merom), gathering on the march forces which ultimately reached 10,000 men; and took up a position on mount Tabor, at the N.E. angle of the plain of Esdraelon. As the Canaanites, approaching from Harosheth, along the banks of the Kishon, entered the plain, Barak charged down upon them from I he slopes of Tabor. The onset of the Israelites was aided by a storm ij'ud, v. 20, 21), which dismayed their foes; whilst ^ Jud. iii. 31 most naturally means that Shamgar slew 600 with his own hand (cf. 2 Sam. xxiii. 8) ; but the word oxgoadm2iy perhaps be used collectively, and imply that he and his followers were armed with these weapons, which were long staves, tipped with a spike. ^ Possibly the Bcdan named in i Ham. xii. 1 1 is an error for Barak which the LXX. reads. THE JUDGES 199 possibly (as has been suggested by some) the reinforcements from the southern tribes assailed the Canaanites from another quarter. Broken by the attack, the bulk of the enemy fled west to Harosheth, pursued by Israel. Others, with their captain Sisera, crossed the Kishon, in which many perished as the stream was swollen by the storm. Sisera himself escaped and sought refuge with a body of Kenites, who were encamped near Kedesh in Issachar,^ and were on terms of amity with Jabin. There he was received by Jael, the wife of one of them named Heber, who invited him into her tent and professed her willing- ness to conceal him from the enemy; but whilst he slept, she killed him by hammering a tent-peg through his temples as he lay on the ground asleep. The victory was celebrated by Deborah in a song of triumph which has been preserved.^ This reverse finally crushed the Canaanites, though isolated places, like the citadel of Jerusalem, still maintained their independence; and henceforward the enemies of Israel were foreign. It has been held that serious discrepancies exist between the prose account {Jud. iv.) and the description of events given in the Song of Deborah {Jud. v.). In the first, {a) Sisera is merely the general of Jabin king of Hazor ; [b) Barak comes from Naphtali ; {c) the only tribe, besides Naphtali, that joins him is Zebulun ; [d) Sisera is slain, when asleep, by a tent-peg driven through his head. In the second it is alleged that (a) Sisera is named to the exclusion of Jabin ; {b) Barak is associated with the tribe of Issachar ; {c) he is joined by Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh (Machir) as well as Zebulun ; {d) Sisera is struck down by Jael with a hammer (of which the nail to which she is said to have put her hand (ver. 26) is taken to be the handle) as he stooped to drink the milk proffered him. But (a) Sisera may have been a vassal king or ally, whom the prose account equally with the song recog- nises as the commander of the Canaanite forces ; {b) the conclusion that Barak belonged to Issachar is not really involved in the language of v. 15; * See I Ch. vi. 72. It was on the left of the Kishon, between Taanach and Megiddo. If Kedesh Naphtali near the waters of Merom be meant, Sisera must have fled northwards and passed Hazor in his flight, which is a little unnatural. There was also a Kedesh at the S.W. corner of Lake Chinnereth ; and if this be intended, Sisera must have turned in a N.E. direction, his army perhaps being cut in two by Barak's charge. This Kedesh, like the preceding, was in Naphtali, and may have been the home of Barak, a view more consistent with the negotiations with Deborah (see iv. 6), for between the Kedesh N. of Hazor and Deborah's home in Ephraim, the Canaanites' dominion intervened. ^ It is not quite certain that the song is by Del^orah herself. Her author- ship, indeed, seems implied in ver. 7 ; but the LXX. reads ?a>s ov dy^a-Trj A^/S/Swpa, and the Hebrew admits of being rendered un^i/ thoiiy Deborah, didst arise (Deborah being addressed as in ver. 12). 200 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (c) the allusion to the support given by the various tribes named in v. 14 does not necessarily imply large reinforcements, and c. iv., which asserts Deborah's connection with Ephraim, thereby suggests that help was furnished by that tribe at least ; {d) the description of Sisera's death in v. 27 can scarcely, in poetry, be regarded as flatly contradicting that contained in iv. 21, whilst the word rendered nat'/ or tent-peg seems always to have that meaning except in Deut. xxiii. 13 (where it signifies a "pick" or "spade"). 5. Oppression by Midian and other Eastern tribes : deliver- ance effected by Gideon {Jud. vi.-viii.). The Midianites (called Ishmadites in Jud. viii. 24, cf. Gen. XXX vii. 25-28), who at the time of the Exodus occupied part of the Sinaitic peninsula, are mentioned by one of the Penta- teuchal sources in connection with Moab on the E. of Jordan ; and it was from this direction that they now made an attack upon Israel. A body of them, accompanied by Amalekites and other Bedouin tribes of the desert, crossed the Jordan (perhaps at Beth- barah), and spread themselves in Esdraelon, penetrating (if the statement in vi. 4 can be trusted) along the maritime plain as far as Gaza. The distress they caused was most severe, the Israelite husbandmen having all the fruits of their labour snatched from them by the marauders (cf. vi. 3, 11). An attempt at resistance at length came from Gideon or Jerubbaal, a Manassite of Ophrah.^ He was incited to action both by the desire to avenge his brothers, who had been slain by the Midianites (viii. 18), and by the belief that he was divinely commissioned to deliver his countrymen from the hand of their enemies. It is related that the angel of Jehovah appeared to him and declared that Jehovah was with him ; and on his asking how that could be when such evil had befallen the people, he was bidden to go at the Divine command and save Israel. When he proceeded to plead the insignificance of his family and himself for so great an undertaking, he was reassured ; and an offering which he presented being consumed by fire from the rock on which it was placed, he accepted the sign and built an altar there to Jehovah, which he called Jehovah Shalom (vi. 1 1-24). He accordingly organised a revolt amongst his own clansmen of Abiezer, and took up his position near the * Its precise situation is unknown, but it is generally identified with a locality near Shechem. THE JUDGES 201 spring of Harod at the foot of mount Gilboa,^ the Midianite host lying in the valley around the base of an opposite eminence called the hill of Moreh. But his force only amounted to 300 men, and with these he saw that his best hope of victory lay in a surprise. To discover the chances of a successful night attack, Gideon, with an attendant, entered the Midianite camp, and over- heard one man tell another a dream, in which a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp and struck and overthrew a tent ;2 and this the Israelite chief took as a favourable omen. Return- ing to his own forces, he divided his small body of 300 men into three bands, and provided every man with a trumpet, and a pitcher concealing a torch within it, with directions to blow the trumpet and break the pitcher on drawing near the enemy. The noise and flashing lights suggested to the Midianites the approach of a large hostile army, and they fled in confusion. The success of Gideon's blow rallied to him the tribes of Manasseh, Naphtali, and Asher ; and the enemy retiring in the direction of the Jordan were vigorously pursued. Nevertheless they effected their escape across the Jordan ; and only Gideon with his 300 continued the chase on the farther side. In the course of it, he was refused provisions by the citizens of Succoth and Penuel, who, owing to their position, were perhaps afraid of the Midianite power ;^ but in spite of the distress which such refusal entailed upon his fol- lowers, he succeeded in overtaking the fugitives, whom he sur- prised at Karkor^ and defeated with loss,^ capturing their two leaders, named Zebah and Zalmunna. On his return he took vengeance^ on the leading men of Succoth (numbering seventy- seven persons) ; and proceeding next to Penuel, pulled down its ^ In/ud. vii. 3 Gilboa should be read for Gilead. ^ ^ The barley loaf, falling on the tent from above, may be taken to represent Gideon's peasant army, posted on the hill sides. ^ Possibly at this time the Jordan was a serious barrier to the mutual sympathy of the eastern and western tribes : compare the dissensions between Jephthah and the Ephraimites. ■* Its position is unknown. Jogbehah, on the road to it, was S. of the Jabbok, so that the pursuit passed towards the S.E. ^ The number of Midianites represented as slain at Karkor is 120,000, which must be an enormously exaggerated figure. ^ For the mode of torture implied \njud. viii. 7 cf. Hdt. i. 92, tov dpdpojirov rbp dyTtirpri<7aoi>Ta M Kydtpov ^Xkuv 5U(pdei.p€. 202 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY tower and killed its citizens. He then ordered his son to execute the two Midianite chiefs, but as the young man shrank from the task, he slew them with his own hand. The successful conclusion to which Gideon brought the cam- paign led to its being proposed to create him king; but the oflfer of kingly authority was refused by him. He seems, however, to have assumed considerable state ; for his wives were numerous enough to make him the father of seventy sons. He begged, moreover, for part of the booty procured from Midian ; and with the gold and purple thus obtained he made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his native city. The amount of gold used in connection with the ephod (1,700 shekels) suggests that, if the ephod was not an image,^ but the priestly garment usually denoted by the word, there must have been attached to it some golden ornaments (answering to the "breast-plate of judgment" described in Ex. xxviii. 15 foil.). In any case, Gideon's object seems to have been to establish a substitute for the oracle at Shiloh. The possession of the oracle at Shiloh may have helped to give to Ephraim the prestige which at this time it appears to have enjoyed {zi. Jud. viii. i, xii. i); and the ephod at Ophrah was doubtless intended as a counterpoise. The narrative of Gideon is in many respects exceedingly obscure, and appears to be derived from conflicting sources. In particular, there seem to be discrepant accounts of (a) Gideon's call to arms, {b) the mustering of his army, if) the names and end of the Midianite leaders. (a) In the section vL 11-24 (followed in the text) Gideon shows no consciousness of national guilt on the part of Israel, and spontaneously builds an altar to Jehovah ; whereas in ver. 7-10 the calamities of the people are ascribed to their apostasy, and in ver. 25-32 Gideon is accordingly directed to throw down the altar of Baal, and build one unto Jehovah instead, which he only dared to do by night. When his fellow-citizens in consequence sought to kill him, he was only saved by his father's intervention, who asked his adversaries why they should plead for Baal who, if a god, could plead for himself; and hence Gideon obtained the name oijerubbaal.^ 1 See p. 282. ^ The nzxsx^ Jerubbaalvi explained to mean "Let Baal plead against him." But it is possible that at this time Baal was a title applied to Jehovah as well as to the various Canaanite deities (see p. 279), in which case the name must really mean "Baal {i.e. Jehovah) contends" (alluding to Jehovah's fighting for His people) ; cf. Jehoiarib (/ Ch. ix. lo). Some authorities, however, connect the former part of the word with a verb meaning "to found," and compare the xi^sat Jcrtul {2 Ch. xx. 16). From the same motive which led to the substitution of Ishbosheth and Mephibosheth for Eshbaal and Mcribbaal^ the name appears zs Jerubbtsheih in 2 Szm. xi. 21. THE JUDGES 203 (3) In vii. 23 the tribes of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh join Gideon only in the pursuit of the Midianites ; but in vi. 35 the same tribes, with the addition of Zebulun, join him before the battle, to the number of 32,000 (vii. 3). But this being too large a host for Jehovah to deliver Midian into its hands, lest Israel should vaunt itself, Gideon is directed to reduce his army to smaller proportions by (i) dismissing the timorous, (2) rejecting all who drank of the water of the spring Harod in a particular fashion.^ (eiiig an IsraeUte, not a Shechemite. 2 In Jud. ix. the narrative relating to Gaal and the destruction of the Shechemites seems to be in some disorder, ver. 42 being connected with ver. 25. Though a fairly consistent account may be constructed from the narrative as it stands, it is not improbable that the section ver. 26-41 is an alternative version of ver. 22-25, 42-49. According to the former, the punishment that befell the ungrateful Shechemites (see ver. 57) was limited to the slaughter before the gates (ver. 40), according to the latter, it involved the total destruction both of the city and its population. THE JUDGES 205 by a woman who broke his skull with a millstone cast from the wall : and to avoid the humiliation of having it said that he perished by a woman's hand, ^ he bade his armour-bearer thrust him through. 7. Two Minor Judges, Tola and Jair {Jud. x. 1-5). Tola, the son of Puah,^ was a native of Issachar, but dwelt at Shamir, in mount Ephraim, a fact that seems to indicate that his authority extended beyond the limits of his native tribe. Jair is described as a Gileadite. His name is associated with certain cities (called Havvoth Jair) on the E. of Jordan, which were in the possession of his sons. These were perhaps the settlements made by immigrants from Manasseh already referred to (see Num. xxxii. 39-41, and cf. p. 127), their number and situa- tion being variously stated. In Jtid. X. 4 the number of these cities is given as 30 (LXX. 32), but in / Ch. ii. 22, as 23, both authorities locating them in Gilecui. Injosh. xiii. 30, Deut. iii. 14, and i Ch. ii. 23,' they are confused with a group of 60 cities in Jiashan (see / Kg. iv. 13). The region in Bashan peculiarly associated with them, named Argob, has been by some identified with a district of curious volcanic formation, now called the Leja, which lies south of Damascus. Others place it further west, on the borders of Maacah (in the neighbourhood of the Sea of Chinnereth). 8. Oppression by the Ammonites ; deliverance effected by Jepbthah {/ud. x. 6-xii. 7). The locality which suffered from the attacks of the Ammonites was Gilead, E. of the Jordan. The inhabitants in their distress had recourse to Jephthah (whose name is probably shortened from Jephthah-el), an outlaw, who, as the son of a harlot (pro- bably a woman of non-Israehte extraction), had been driven from his country, and had taken refuge in the land of Tob, a district bordering on Maacah and Syria, where he became the leader of a band of freebooters. On condition of having the rule over Gilead solemnly assured to him at the sanctuary of Jehovah ^ His fear was justified; see 2 Sam. xi. 21. ^ The LXX. makes Puah the uncle {irarpcideXcpos) of Abimelech, and con- sequently brother of Gideon; but the latter belonged to Manasseh, not to Issachar. 2 According to / Ck. ii. 23 the towns of Jair, with Kenath, were taken from Israel by the Geshurites and Syrians, probably in the wars waged with the Syrian kings Benhadad and Hazael (see pp. 343, 348). 2o6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (probably at Mizpah, in Gilead), in the event of a successful issue, he responded to the appeal of his fellow-countrymen. He first applied for help to the Ephraimites on the W. of Jordan (xii. 2) ; but as they turned a deaf ear, he determined to assail the Ammonites with such resources as he could command from his own tribesmen. After sending a remonstrance to the Am- monite king for his wanton invasion of a country taken by Israel not from them or from Moab but from the Amorites, Jephthah assumed the offensive, and defeated and pursued the enemy from Aroer, on the east of Rabbah {Josh. xiii. 25), to Minnith and Abel-cheramim (unknown localities in Ammonite territory). Having, before setting out, vowed to sacrifice to Jehovah that which first came forth from the doors of his house ^ to meet him on his return, he found his triumph marred by his daughter being the one to do so. The maiden heroically submitted to the fate which her father's rash utterance entailed upon her; and after allowing her two months' respite to bewail her untimely death, he did to her according to his vow. 2 It afterwards became a custom in Israel to lament the daughter of Jephthah four times a year.^ As has been seen, there is reason to think that by this time part of the region E. of the Jordan had been occupied by detach- ments from the tribes of Joseph who were settled on the other side of the river ; and the western Ephraimites were now indignant that they had had no share in the overthrow inflicted on Ammon by Jephthah and his Gileadites, whom they arrogantly termed run- aways * from Ephraim and Manasseh. They accordingly crossed ^ These words certainly suggest that Jephthah contemplated a human sacrifice when he made his vow. The LXX. has 6 iKiropevofievos, k.t.X. 2 The Heb. text of /tt^. xi. 39 gives no countenance to the view that the execution of Jephthah's vow consisted in consigning his daughter to perpetual virginity. He doubtless actually did what Saul subsequently was fully pre- pared to do (7 Sam. xiv. 44). ^ A story similar to that of Jephthah is related by Servius (quoted by Conington on Verg. A. iii. 122) of the Greek Idomeneus. Being caught in a storm, he vowed to the gods of the sea that if preserved he would sacrifice to them the first creature that met him on landing, which proved to be his son. He duly performed his vow; but a plague visiting Crete in consequence, he was expelled by the inhabitants, and had to seek a new home. * This rendering, however, is contrary to the usual sense of the word, which generally means survivors, and is so employed in xii. 5. THE JUDGES 207 the Jordan to Zaphon (xii. i marg.), a town of Gad in the Jordan valley {Josh. xiii. 27), and took Jephthah to task for his inde- pendent action just as (according to one account, see p. 203) they had previously done with the Manassite Gideon ; and as Jephthah and his countrymen replied in the same spirit, a conflict followed in which Ephraim was worsted. After the engagement the Gileadites seized the fords of Jordan to intercept the fugitives as they returned across the river; and detecting them by a pecu- liarity of speech (the word Shibboleth^ " stream," being pronounced Sibbolethy they put numbers of them to the sword. Vajud. X. 9 the assertion is made that the Ammonites crossed the Jordan and invaded Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim ; but the statement, in view of the situation of Judah and the subsequent conduct of Ephraim, is highly improbable. The section x. 6-i6 belongs in the main to the "framework" of the book (see Introd. p. 9). In xi. 2-3 Jephthah is represented as a bastard expelled from his home by the legitimate children of his father Gilead. But Gilead is obviously a local, not a personal, name ; and ver. 9 implies that Jephthah's banishment was the work of the "elders" of Gilead. The narrative of xi. 12-28 is not free from difficulties, for in it Jephthah, whilst addressing the king of the Ammonites, refers to the conquest of Moab from the Amorites as related in Nuvi. xxi. Moreover, it is of Moab that Chemosh is elsewhere described as the god {Num. xxi. 29,y^. xv. 60), one of the Gibeonite cities {Josh. ix. 17), situated further up the valley, which, as being a sanctuary,^ was considered to be a more fitting resting-place for the emblem of so holy and powerful a God ; and there it was bestowed in the house of one Abinadab, whose son Eleazar was sanctified to take charge of it. ^ But the LXX. of vi. i (followed by Josephus, Ant. vi. i, i) implies that the golden mice had relation to a plague of field-mice which devastated the country (cf. also the Heb, of ver. 5). Dagon, whose name resembles the Hebrew word for "corn" as well as the word for "fish," may have been a god of agriculture, and the destruction of the com of the Philistines by the mice would indicate his inferiority to Jehovah. 2 In the LXX. the plague is ascribed to the failure of the sons of a certain Jeconiah to rejoice with the rest of the people. ' In the text of / Sam. vi. 19 by some error 50,000 is added to the 70. Josephus {Ant. vi. i, 4) shows no acquaintance with the larger figure. * This is suggested by the name Kiriath (city of) Baal, I CHAPTER VIII THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY Sources — i Sam. i.-iii., vii. 2-xxxi. 13, / Ch. x. THE success of the Philistines at Ebenezer enabled them to tighten and extend their hold upon southern Israel, a trophy 1 being erected at Gibeah in Benjamin (7 Sam. x. 5), and a garrison placed in its neighbourhood to command the defile, which, at this point, connected the maritime plain with the Jordan valley (see xiv. 4-6) : and an attempt, not seemingly quite successful, was made to disarm the population (xiii. 19 foll.).^ But Israel in its extremity at length found the leader so long desired. The selection of the man destined to be the, first to beat back the Philistines from Israelitish soil was due, ui^der Providence, to the penetration of a. segr cr prophet named Sajus^sh, a .cof Elkanah, of Ramah^ in Ephraim. Samuel in }J?^)jash.i/v.h reputation as a seer had doubtless obtained some .jtTm;nce amongst his countrymen; and his efforts were now , directed towards the deliverance of his native land. He knew V |11 that the only hope of Israel in the face of so powerful a foe /*lay on the one hand in a revival of devotion towards the nation's ' God. and on the other hand in the acquisition, as the national leader, of a man who could inspire enthusiasm by exceptional qualities of person and disposition, and who under the style 1 The word here taken in the sense of a pillar, erected as a trophy, also mearis zn officer ; and Jonathan's exploit (xiii. 3, see p. 218) may have been the slaughter of such an individual. 2 Cf. Jud. V. 8. ' ' In / Sam. i. i the description of Elkanah as of Ramathaim Zophim- which grammatically is difficult, should probably be altered to oj the Kama- ^ thiUs, a Zuphite. That his home \;a.% at Ramah appears from ver. 19, ii. II, and that this v^'as in the land of Zuph is implied in ix. 5-6. 213 214 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY of king (as contrasted with that of judge) might transmit his authority to a successor (cf. Jud. viii. 22), and so establish a permanent government. To these objects he accordingly devoted himself. The measures he adopted for the promotion of the first can only be conjectured ; of the circumstances attending his selection of a leader more information is forthcoming. His ! ■ choice fell upon Saul, a Benjamite. Saul was a man of mature age^ and commanding presence, and endowed, as his history shows, both with courage and generosity : but his tribe was the smallest in Israel, and though his father was a man of wealth,^ his clan was insignificant, Samuel, however, had presumably sounded the feeling of the army (x. 26), and had assured himself of Saul's fitness for the position to which he was to be preferred. To Saul Samuel appears to have been personally unknown; but in seeking for some she-asses which his father^ had lost, he was brought by his servant, after a vain search elsewhere, into Samuel's presence at Ramah (probably the city alluded to in ix. 6), in the hope that he would guide them in their quest. It chanced to be a religious festival at a neighbouring " high-place," and Samuel was expected to be present to bless the sacrifice. When Saul came to Samuel, his questions relative to his father's loss were anticipated, and the prophet, in no obscure terms, announced that all that was desirable in rsrael"^ awaited hiin. S^^i --^^ 'led his unworthiness ; but Samuel, taking him to the in the seat of honour, and placed before him a reserved pou. leg and the fat tail.^ After the meal was over, the prophet ana Saul left the "high-place"; and Saul passed the night on a couch prepared for him on the roof of one of the city's house, (ix. 25 marg.).6 Both of them departed from the city in the morning; but on the way Saul was anointed by Samuel'' in the ^ His age at this time is not given either by the Heb. or the LXX. ; but he had a son, Jonathan, who, quite early in his father's reign, was already a warrior (cf. p. 218). ^ For i Sam. ix. i marg. see ^ l^g. rv. 20. ^ In 7- Sam. x. 14-16 it seems to be implied that it was his uncle ':vhose asses were lost. * In / Sam. ix. 20 the LXX has ra upaia rod 'IcrpaiyX. ' In 7 Sam. ix. 24 a plausible conjecture has substituted this for the WQffd£ tha: which was upon it (the leg). ^ Cf 2 Sam. xvi 22. ' For the anointing of a king by a prophet cf. (besides i San: wi \ 2 Kg. ix. 4-6. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 215 name of Jehovah to be prince over Israel. Three signs were indicated, the occurrence of which might confirm his faith in the prophet's authority; and he was directed to seize the first opportunity of vindicating his right to rule. He was told (i) that at the sepulchre of his ancestress RacheP he would meet three men, who would tell him that the asses lost by his father had been found : (2) that at the terebinth of Tabor,^ three other men taking offerings to the sanctuary of Bethel would give a share of them to him in token of homage (cf. x. 27, xvi. 20) : (3) that at Gibeah of God (probably a sanctuary) he would meet a band of prophets with instruments of music, whose enthusiasm would infect himself, so that he also would prophesy. The signs described duly came to pass ; and the prophet's communications and their sequel did not fail to produce a deep impression upon Saul so that, for a time at least, he became a changed man. To those previously acquainted with him, his participation, in particu- lar, in the ecstatic fervour of the prophets seemed so strange that it gave rise to a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets? "^ In the army, the newly-appointed prince did not lack support. But he had still to make good his position with a section of the nation, which continued to refuse him the customary marks of alkgiance. The opportunity of silencing these malcontents came ajbout a month (xi. i, LXX.) after Samuel had anointed him, when suspesh, a /:ity of Gilead, was attacked by the Ammonite king {^jgljash, who, taking advantage of the distress inflicted by the resembVln'es on the west of Jordan, had renewed the raids which ^^^^' -4 had suffered in the time of Jephthah. Nahash refused relay^are the citizens except on condition that they each sub- l to the loss of the right eye ;* and the leaders of the town I Sam. X. 2 Rachel's tomb is placed within the borders of Benjamin, /er. xxxi. 15 it is implied that it was near Ramah j but in Gen. xxxv. 16, 19 it is placed near Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. * .rt^-n unknown locality between Bethel (x. 3) and Gibeah (ver. 5 marg.) ^ Th}vadb,v t(J5 viip fiov ij dSiKia ; Kvpie 6 debs lapaijK, bos b-ffKovs {Uritn). Kol ib.v rdbe eiwg, bbs bi] ry Xoy ffov laparjX, bbs 5^ baibrrjTa {Thummim), 220 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY A further appeal resulted in Jonathan being named; and the young warrior confessed that he had incurred the curse which the king had pronounced in the course of the pursuit. Coming worn and spent to a place where honey was dropping from the trees, he had tasted it, ignorant of the peril to which his act exposed him. The stern king directed the execution of his son. But the soldiery, mindful that it was Jonathan's heroism that first inspired the panic of the Philistine host, intervened to save from death the man whom Jehovah had so signally aided; and so Jonathan's Hfe was preserved. The delay that occurred pre- vented the Israelites from following up their advantage ; and the king desisted from further pursuit. The continuation of the PhiUstine war is unfortunately left in almost complete obscurity, though there are indications that hostilities between the two nations were protracted. The exist- f in^^ecords of Saul's reign furnish equally little information respecting his relations with other neighbouring nations. Besides the war with the Ammonites^ (with whom the Moabites were probably allied), mention is made (xiv. 47-48) of wars with Edom, Zobah (a Syrian state E. of the Lebanons), and the Amalekites. Neither the cause nor the course of these wars is described ; and it is impossible to determine whether Edom and Zobah took advan- tage of the Philistines' inroads to assume the offensive towards Israel, or whether Saul anticipated his successor by invading these countries, though the former is the more probable alternative. It seems safe to conclude that hostilities with Amalek were provoked by raids on the part of these restless Bedouin, such as are recorded in connection with a later date (xxx. i). In his foreign wars Saul won distinction both for himself and his country (xiv. 47 end). Internally, the course of events was ,' less happy for him. With a view to consolidating his kingdom, and especially to uniting Judah more closely with the northern tribes, he appears to have made an attempt to put an end to the independent position still enjoyed by the Gibeonite cities. It- has been supposed that they were suspected of faciUtating the aggres- * Probably the struggles of the Gadites and Reubenites with the Hagrites in the time of Saul, related in / Ch. v. 10, 18-22, belong to this war, though the Hagrites were presumably descendants of Ishmael, not (like Ammon) of Lot ^see Gen. xxv. 1 3- 15). THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 221 sions of the Philistines, which their situation would enable them to do : and in any case their continued existence interfered with the union, if it did not endanger the security, of the newly- established kingdom. _Saul adopted harsh measures towards them, part of the population being put to .the sword,, whilst the rest (the citizens of Beeroth are expressly named) were expelled and took refuge elsewhere. But the policy was regarded as a breach of the ancient pledge given by Israel in the days of Joshua ; and, as will be seen, was thought at a later time to have brought a curse upon the country (2 Sam. xxi. 1-14). More- over, a serious division took place between him and the prophet Samuel, to whom, in the first instance, he owed his elevation. The history of the rupture between them is, like so much else, obscure ; for neither of the two conflicting accounts preserved is ' free from difficulty. But both imply that Saul was wanting in the scrupulous obedience expected to be rendered to one who claimed, and was generally recognised, to be the interpreter of the Divine will. Between the prophet who was invested with such high spiritual authority, and the king who was the repre- sentative of temporal power, friction was almost inevitable, unless the latter was a man who was prevailingly actuated by religious motives^ ""And such a m?in Saul manifestly was not. That he was not naturally responsive to religious impressions and in- fluences is implied by the popular saying already quoted, "Is Saul also among the prophets ? " whilst more than one incident in his career indicates that he was by temperament impulsive and headstrong. Consequently, it is not surprising that the king and the prophet became in course of time estranged, or that Samuel, conscious that Israel's mission, as a nation, was inseparably bound up with loyalty to Jehovah, began to seek a successor for one who so deepW disappointed his hopes. According to one account (xiii. 4-15),^ the occasion of the quarrel between them was the Philistine war. Samuel had directed Saul to await his presence at Gilgal before advancing to the attack. The time appointed, ^ This passage, which represents Saul at Gilgal (ver. 4, 7), is inconsistent with its context, for in the verses immediately preceding and following, Saul is at Michmash or Geba (Gibeah) (see ver. 2, 16), without any indication of a movement to Gilgal having intervened. The LXX. suppHes a clause relating that the people went up after Saul from Gilgal to Gibeah, but does not explain 222 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY however, arrived, and Samuel did not appear; so Saul, fearing, perhaps, that if he delayed further he would be a general without an army (for his troops were deserting), himself offered the sacrifice customary before taking the field. Samuel, who came immediately after he had done this, rebuked him for disobedience to the command of Jehovah, and declared that the throne to which he had been promoted should not remain in the possession of his house. If it is meant that Saul, by offering sacrifice, assumed a function (which it was not lawful for him to discharge, the implication conflicts with the conclusions drawn from passages like / Sam. xiv. 35, 2 Sam. vi, 17, and others. More probably, it is implied that Saul by hastening to offer sacrifice as soon as the term set by Samuel had expired, instead of obeying strictly the prophet's injunction to await his arrival, misconceived the relative value of obedience and sacrifice ; so that the moral of the narrative is the same as that of the variant account in c. xv. (see ver. 22). This second account makes the war with Amalek the occasion of Samuel's breach with Saul, and the consequent downfall of the latter's djoiasty. In it Samuel, inspired by religious zeal and the memory of ancient national wrongs (see Ex. xvii, 8-16, cf. Deut. xxv. 17-19), desired Saul to exterminate the offending tribes. The Amalekites, against whom the attack was directed, were those who were settled in the south of Judah {Num. xiii. 29) ; and accordingly Saul mustered an army (the numbers, 210,000 in all, are again exaggerated^) in Telaim (probably the Telem oi Josh. xv. 24), and after bidding the Kenites who were settled in the district {Jud. L 16) depart from the country, proceeded to put the Amalekites to the sword. But the king, instead of consigning to indiscriminate destruction everything animate per- taining to the enemy, spared their king Agag and the chief of the spoil On. Saul's return through Carmel (a city in Judah south of Hebron, c£ xxv. 2) to Gilgal, Samuel rebuked him for disobedience to the Divine command, declared that Jehovah rejected him from being king, and himself executed Agag at the sanctuary' at GilgaL This narrative shows no acquaintance with the earlier rejection recorded in x. 8, xiii. 8-14, of which, as has been said, it appears to be a doublet. The wholesale extermination of Amalek which it describes is inconsistent with the subsequent mention of this people in xxvii. 8, XXX. I, cf. also 2 Sam. i. 8; whilst the statement that Samuel did not again see Saul (xv. 35) is seemingly contradicted by xix. 22-24. The rupture between Samuel and Saul did not lead the former to ^attempt the dethronement of the king. What the prophet believed to be required by the Divine will was the transference of the crown at Saul's death to another family j and with a view to this, he took steps similar to those which he adopted in the case of Saul himself. It was clearly necessary to look for a \y^ successor to Saul outside the tribe of Benjamin to which Saul belonged; and under such circumstances the prophet might have been expected to turn to his own tribe of Ephraim. But how Saul and his followers came to be at Gilgal, which was in the Jordan valley, after having previously occupied a commanding situation at Michmash or Gil^eah. ^ The LXX. increases them to 430,000. " For the phrase btfart /ehovah in this connection see » Sam. xxi. 9. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 223 Ephraim, which had been so powerful in the age of the Judges, had not recovered from the disaster of Ebenezer. It was there- fore in- Benjamin's southern neighbour Judah that Samuel sought for a successor to Saul ; and his choice fell upon a member of the ^family of Jesse, a B6thlehemite. Jesse was partly of Moabite ancestry, his father Obed being the son of Boaz, a native of Bethlehem, and Ruth, a Moabitess. Ruth had previously been the wife of a nephew of Boaz, called Mahlon ; and on her husband's death, she had refused to leave her mother-in-law Naomi, and returned with her to the land of Israel. There, whilst gleaning, she became known to Boaz, who, attracted by her goodness, obtained the right, which a nearer relation relin- quished, of redeeming the property of the dead Mahlon and of marrying his widow in order to raise up an heir to his name.^ It was a descendant of this union, David, the youngest son of Jesse, that Samuel now proceeded to designate as the future king. Going to Bethlehem ostensibly to offer a sacrifice, he summoned the sons of Jesse to attend it. The six eldest,^ one after another, passed before the prophet, and were successively rejected by Samuel in the name of Jehovah : but when the youngest, David, was brought from the flocks at the bidding of the prophet, who refused to proceed with the sacrificial feast until he came, he was declared by Samuel to be Jehovah's choice, and was by the prophet anointed in the midst of his brethren. The anointing by Samuel had the same inspiriting influence upon David as it had previously had upon Saul (cf. xvi. 13 with X. 6), and doubtless led him, like the latter, to withdraw to some extent from the peaceful life of his home, and to enter upon a more active career. The historical character of this account has been questioned, partly owing to the ignorance shown of David's prospects by Eliab, one of his brothers, in xvii. 28 ; but the latter chapter is itself suspicious (see below). ^ The marriage of Boaz with Ruth does not accord with the law of Levirate unions as described in Dgut. xxv. 5-10, for not only was Boaz the brother of Elivielech (not of Mahlon), but the son (Obed) borne to him by Ruth was apparently counted as his own (and not as the child of Ruth's first husband). '"^ The names of Jesse's sons are given in / Ch. ii. 13-15 as EUab (Elihu), Abinadab, Shimea (Shammah), Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and David (the last named appearing as the seventh son, not the eighth, as implied in / Sam, xvi. 10- II). Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. 224 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY / Of the acts and exploits which first won for David distinction, "^ no fully trustworthy record remains. But they were sufficient to secure for him a reputation which quickly led to promotion. Saul, doubtless embittered and disappointed in consequence of his breach with Samuel and the announcement by the prophet of his rejection by heaven, became subject to fits of melancholy. It was believed by his servants that his malady could be banished or lightened by music, and they were accordingly directed by their master to procure a skilful player on the harp. David's name by this time had reached even court circles, the king being known to desire the services of every able soldier {i Sam. xiv. 52), and it was acknowledged that, besides being distinguished for valour and prudence, he was endowed with the gift of music. Accordingly, mention was made of him to the king ; and he was summoned to his presence. He had not yet altogether abandoned his shepherd's life; and it was from the sheep that he was brought to Saul. He won the royal favour at once, and the king attached him to his person. . His skill with the harp had the desired effect (xvi. 14-23) ; and his skill in arms made Saul appoint him his armour-bearer. His position gave him opportunities which he speedily turned to account. Details of his achievements in war are again unfortunately wanting. But it is clear that they were great enough to overshadow in popular estimation even those of the king himself. The Philistines were still the chief foes of Israel, and on one occasion, when, after V a successful engagement (in which probably David had slain a ^ Philistine of gigantic size named Goliath), a procession of women went forth with dance and song to meet him, they sang one to another and said : — " Saul hath slain his thousands. And David his ten thousands." Another narrative of David's introduction to Saul (c. xvii.) gives quite a different account from the above. According to this, David, while still a 5'outh, whose exploits had hitherto been confined to protecting his flocks against the attacks of wild beasts,^ happened to be sent by his father to the camp (where three of his brothers were serving with the king) just at the time when the IsraeUtes were confronting a Philistine army near Ephes- ^ The incidents related in / Sam. xvii. 34, 35 occurred (as the Hebrew tenses indicate) more than once. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 225 dammim in the valley of Elah. A Philistine of great stature, called Goliath, pro- posed to determine the quarrel between the two nations by an appeal to single combat, it being agreed that the people whose representative was vanquished should serve the other ; but none of the Israelite warriors was courageous enough to accept the challenge, though the king offered to bestow on the champion who should succeed in killing Goliath great wealth and the hand of his daughter. The challenge being repeated when David was in the camp, he undertook to fight with the Philistine, in spite of his brothers' sneers at his youthfulness ; and after putting off the armour with which Saul clad hiiii tc\Rc^ he found it burdened him to walk in it),^ he went to the combat armed with his shepherd's club and sling only ; and smiting Goliath with a stone from the sling, finally cut off his head with his own sword. The Philistines, seeing their champion fallen, fled, and were pursued by the Israelites from Shaaraim' as far as Gath (so LXX.) and Ekron. The head of Goliath David brought to Jerusalem, whilst his armour he placed in his own tent. Saul, on seeing David advance against the giant, had enquired of Abner, the captain of the host, who he was. Abner denied all knowledge of him ; but after his victory, he brought him to Saul, who learnt his parentage, and then took him into his service, setting him over his men of war. In representing David, on his first appearance before Saul, as a youth unskilled in the use of arms (xvii. 33, 39) and quite unknown to the captain of the host (xvii. 55), the account is inconsistent with the version adopted in the text, ver. 15 being probably an intentional, and certainly an unsuccessful, • attempt to harmonise the general tenor of the chapter with the statements | relating to David's connection with Saul in xvi. 19 foil. Moreover the tone in which David is addressed by his brothers agrees ill with their knowledge of . his anointing by Samuel (xvi. I-13) ; the subsequent description of David's f marriage with Saul's daughter (xviii. 20 foil. ) shows no acquaintance with the promise here recorded ; and as there is no trace in the later history of the terms of Goliath's challenge being kept, the historical value of this account 1 seems inferior. The allusion to David's tent in ver. 54 is strangely out of keeping with the rest of the chapter. ' One of the chief MSS. of the LXX. omits xvii. 12-31 and xvii. 55-xviii. 5, and so renders the narrative more consistent with what is related in c xvi. (end) ; but the discrepancy caused by xvii. 33 foil, is not removed. Yet in spite of the difiiculty in accepting the statements of this section, it is probable (as has been already observed) that David slew a Philistine giant called Goliath, for allusions to such an exploit occur in xix. 5, xxi. 9 ; and a passage relating the incident may have been omitted in favour of the (less trustworthy) account given in c. xvii. Reference is also made in / Ch. xi. 12-14 (cf. ^ Sam. xxiii. 9-10) to a signal victory gained over the Philistines in Ephes-dammim (Pas-dammim) by David, accompanied by Dodo the Ahohite, though Goliath is not there mentioned. In 2 Sam. xxi. 19, where a victory over a Goliath is related, it is attributed to a warrior named El-hanan.* ^ In 7 Sam. xvii. 39 for Ag essayed to go the LXX. has iKOTricuxe TtptTrarT/'o-as &M Kal 5/$. 3 Cf./osk. XV. 36. ' Josephus {Anf. vi. 9, 5) represents that David after his encounter with Goliath, placed the PhiUstine's head in his tent and dedicated his sword to God (presumably at a sanctuary), and according to / Sam. xxi. 9 the sword was really preserved at Nob. * I Ch. XX. 5, probably for harmonistic reasons, calls El-hanan's victim Lahtni the brother of Goliath ; see p. 251, note. 226 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY The popularity which David thus acquired excited the king's jealousy, and he accordingly removed him from attending upon his person, and made him captain over a "thousand." In this capacity David conducted himself with increasing credit; and became a favourite, not only with his own tribesmen, but with the nation generally. Even members of Saul's own family grew :^ attached to him. XP^t^^"> the king's eldest son. became his I devoted and loyal friend (xix. i, cf. xviii. 3-4), whilst Michal, Saul's daughter, lost her heart to him. The affection of the latter for David reached the king's ears; and he determined to propose to marry her to him, with the intention of making the match a dangerous honour. In accordance with Hebrew usage, ^ the suitor was expected to give a present to the father of the bride-to-be ; and Saul, with seeming magnanimity, instead of exacting a costly gift, which David, a poor man, might have found it difficult to afford, demanded that he should bring him the foreskins of a hundred Philistines. The king's hope was that David might lose his life in the endeavour to accomplish the task. But his expectation was disappointed. David and his men succeeded in slaying the number of foes required,^ and brought the strange trophies to the king, who consequently had to fulfil his promise. Saul's hostihty was naturally not lessened by this failure. The exploit increased David's reputation with the people ; but only intensified the king's bitterness. Here the LXX. B (which omits xviii. lo-ii, 12b, 17-19, 21b, 30) has been in the main followed (as also by Josephus). The Hebrew text relates in addition (i) an attempt made upon David's life by Saul, who cast his spear at him, as he played before him (though the similar narrative in xix. 9-10 has no reference to any previous attempt, and the fact, before the less invidious expedient of ver. 25 had been tried, is unhkely) ; and (2) a proposal by Saul, prior to that relative to Michal, that David should marry his eldest daughter Merab, who was subsequently given to Adriel the Meholathite "^ (which seems inconsistent with David's language in xviii. 23, betraying, as it does, no sense of an alliance with the royal house having been previously proposed). As David had escaped the swords of the PhiUstines, Saul ^ See p. 154. * The Heb. of i Sam. xviii. 27 represents David as bringing 200, but the LXX. has 100, and the same figure is given by the Hebrew of 2 Sam. iii. 14. Josephus {Ant. vi. 10, 2) substitutes 600 heads. * 2 Sam. xxi. 8 (Heb.) implies that it was Michal who was given to Adriel, but see / Sam. xviii. 19. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 227 gave directions to his own servants to slay David. But the design became known to Jonathan, who, after warning David, pleaded his cause with the king, and succeeded by his remons- trances, in softening his father's resentment, and obtaining from him a promise not to put David to death. He even brought about David's return to the court. Fresh successes, however, achieved by David once more excited the king's passionate and j\ jealous spirit; and he actually attempted to murder him with his own hands. As David was playing in his presence, he sought to smite him to the wall with his spear ; but David, avoiding the weapon, made his escape and went to his own house. Over the house Saul set a watch with the purpose of slaying him in the morn- ing. But Michal, David's wife, let her husband down through a window during the night, whilst she placed the icraphim (which must have been an image) in the bed to represent him, and told the messengers sent to take him that he was ill. On the king demanding that the sick man should be brought to him in his bed, the fraud was discovered; and Michal, to screen herself, represented that her husband had driven her to it by threatening her life (xix. 8-17). After escaping from his house, David went to Samuel at ^amah (where he had gathered together a company of prophets) and related to him all that had happened. From Ramah the two went to Naioth, a place near Ramah, where possibly the prophets lived together. Saul heard of David's presence at Naioth, and again sent messengers to take him. But when there, the messengers became infected with the prophetic frenzy, and prophesied; and the same thing happened to others who were despatched after them. Finally, the king appeared in person, but could as little withstand the influence of his sur- roundings, and accordingly prophesied like the rest. It would seem that after this, another reconciliation must have been effected between him and the king, for (according to the account of I Savi. c. XX.), he again appeared at the court (probably at Gibeah, see xxii. 6) ; but once more he was in peril from Saul's hostility. Under such circumstances, he proposed to hide him- self in the neighbourhood for three days, during which time his friend Jonathan was to sound the king's feelings towards him. 228 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY After inventing an excuse for his absence, in case it was re- marked, and being informed of a spot whither he was to come to receive inteUigence,^ and of a device whereby Jonathan pro- posed to communicate the results of his discoveries without being detected by possible spies of the king, he withdrew, whilst Saul's son, after exacting an oath from David that, in the event of succeeding to the throne, he would not cut off his predecessor's posterity in the usual fashion of Eastern monarchs, attended his father to await developments. The fact that the day was the New Moon was the pretext for David's absence (xx. 5. LXX.). His vacant seat was observed by Saul ; but the king did not comment upon it until the day following. In answer to his father's en- quiries in the course of the meal, Jonathan, who sat opposite to Saul,2 gave the excuse devised, namely, that David had been summoned to a yearly sacrifice of his family at Bethlehem. In an outburst of anger, Saul upbraided his son for aiding the man who, if he lived, would supplant him, and hurled his spear at him. Jonathan, from this, knew that Saul was bent on destroying David, and accordingly conveyed the information to him at the place and by the plan agreed upon. But on finding the coast clear, the two friends met for a final farewell; and ther; Jonathan returned to the city, whilst David departed mto volun'i tary exile. The connection of events in cc. xix.-xx. is far from clear ; and it is not improbable that the thread of the narrative is composed of more than one strand. It has been suggested that the section xix. 11-17 is the continuation of xviii. 27 (or 29), the words that night (ver. 10, but in the LXX. attached to ver. 1 1 ) referring to David's marriage night. The fact that apprehension of the danger is shown by Michal, and not David (which, after what is related in ver. 10, is not quite natural), is, on this supposition, intelligible enough, Michal being aware of her father's hostility. If this analysis is correct, xix. 10 is continued in xix. 18, and xix. 17 in xxi. I (where David appears at Nob without either food or weapons). Exception has been taken to the account of David's visit to Raraah on the ground that this was north of Gibeah, and not south of it (the direction of his home) ; and that the action of Saul in prophesying in company with Samuel's followers is here repre- sented as the source of the proverb "Is Saul also among the prophets?'* which in x. 11-12 is assigned to a different origin. C. xx. harmonises badly with the preceding chapters, for David's presence at the court implies a reconciliation between him and Saul of which there is no account j and ^ In 7 Sam. xx. 19, 41 the LXX. reading is to be preferred, see mai^. * In / Sam. xx. 25 the LXX. for stood up reads xpoitpdaa^v, representing a Hebrew word to come (or be) in front. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 229 Jonathan's ignorance of his father's hostility to David (ver. 2) is surprising. It presents, besides, some internal difficulties ; e.g. the expedient arranged by Jonathan for conveying information to David which is described in ver. 20-22, 35-40, seems rather unnecessary, if the two could meet as related in 41-42. David naturally turned southward towards his native land of Judaea, and directed his steps to Nob, to which place the tabernacle, the ephod, and other equipments of the sanctuary, after the destruction of Shiloh, had perhaps been conveyed,^ and where they were now in the charge of the priest Ahimelech. The suspicions which had been roused by his being unattended he removed by alleging that he was engaged on a secret mission from the king, and that he had bidden his attendants await him at a rendezvous. He then procured from Ahimelech provisions for his journey ^ (though the only bread obtainable was the Shewbread), and the sword of Goliath, together with a response from the Divine oracle (xxii. 13). From Nob he proceeded to Gath, to take refuge with Achish the king there. But David was recognised by the Philistines as the hero whose prowess, in the war between themselves and Israel, had become so celebrated in song; and in alarm he feigned himself mad.^ The half-respect with which madmen are regarded in the East saved him until he put himself out of danger by escaping to the cave of Adullam.* At Adullam there gathered round him, first of all, his own kindred, and then a band of outlaws amounting to 400 men, some being of non-Israelite origin (/ Sam. xxvi. 6). But the insecurity of his position rendered him anxious for the safety of his parents ; and he therefore proceeded to Moab, a country * The existence of the tabernacle at Nob is perhaps questionable. It is not improbable that it perished when Shiloh was destroyed (see p. 211), especially in view of the fact that when David brought up the Ark from Kiriath Jearim, it was put, not in the tabernacle (the most fitting resting-place, if it existed), but in a tent which David pitched for it (^ Sam. vi. 17). "^ David's reply to Ahimelech that the vessels of his young men were holy (xxi. 5) is probably to be explained by the fact that all who were engaged on a warlike mission (as David may have pretended that he was) were regarded as consecrated; cf. *'/;." xiii. Z^ Jer. vi. 4 (marg.). ^ In 7 Satn. xxi. 13 for scrabbled on the doors the LXX. has irvfAirdvil^ir iirl TuTs dvpais. * The city of Adullam was in the Lowland {Shephelah) of Judah, near the valley of Elah {Josh. xv. 35), and the cave was probably in its neighbourhood. 230 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY where he expected to find an asylum for them on account both of the hostility between Israel and Moab (xiv. 47), and of the fact that Ruth, an ancestress of his, was a native of the latter country. The king of Moab received them ; whilst David him- self took up his quarters at Mizpah. But by the direction of the prophet Gad, he did not stay there long, but returned again into the land of Judah, to the forest of Hareth (the precise position of which is unknown). The hospitality shown to David by Ahimelech at Nob brought upon the latter and his fellow-priests the vengeance of SauL Information of David's reception there was brought to Saul, at Gibeah, by an Edomite,^ called Doeg, who had perhaps been taken captive in the Edomite war, and was now the chief of Saul's herdmen. The king accordingly summoned the priests, eighty-five, 2 in all, before him; and after charging them with treason, directed their execution. The royal guards refused to lay hands upon the consecrated priests ; and it was left to the foreigner Doeg to carry out the king's command. The city of Nob was destroyed and all its inhabitants exterminated, Abiathar, one of the sons of Ahimelech, alone escaping and joining David. News now reached David that the Philistines had attacked Keilah, a city of Judah i^Josh. xv. 44); and as Abiathar hadi brought with him the ephod whereby oracular responses were obtained, it was at once consulted. David's followers, who had already reason to fear the hostility of their own countrymen, were still more afraid of the Philistines \ but a renewed assurance of victory which the oracle gave, induced them to make an attempt to relieve the city, which fully succeeded. Tidings, however, had come to Saul that David was at Keilah, and he determined to besiege him there. The inhabitants showed little gratitude to David for their recent deliverance, and having the fate of Nob before their eyes, were prepared to surrender him : but he was warned by the priestly oracle in time (Abiathar having accompanied David to Keilah), and left the city before Saul descended to attack it. Seeking safety in flight, he retired 1 The LXX. calls him a Syrian. ^ The LXX., with characteristic exaggeration, makes them 305, and Josephus 385. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 231 with his followers (now amounting to 600 men) to the wilderness which stretched from the centre of Judaea to the Dead Sea, and different parts of which received the names of Ziph and Maon. Here he maintained himself and his followers by protecting the sheep-masters of the neighbourhood against the depredations of the Amalekites and other Bedouin tribes, and exacting in return support for his band. Such support many, no doubt, were willing enough to give. It happened, however, that the demand was refused by a wealthy sheep-master, belonging to the clan of Caleb and living near Carmel (in Judah), called Nabal; and David, incensed at his churlishness, at once meditated summary vengeance. But Nabal's wife, Abigail, hearing what had occurred, and being informed by one of the servants that David's claim was not unreasonable, went to meet him without the knowledge of her husband, and disarmed his hostility by an effective appeal, coupled with a timely present. On her return home, she found her husband drinking himself drunk, and refrained from telHng him of the danger to which he had exposed himself until the morning after the debauch. The announcement produced a shock from which he died ten days afterwards ; and David, who had been impressed alike by Abigail's beauty and her discretion, married her. Another wife whom he espoused about this time was Ahinoam of Jezreel (a place in Judah, /os/z. xv. 56), - -. Michal the daughter of Saul having been taken from him and / given to a certain Paltiel (or Palti). But in his desert retreat he was not long left unmolested by- — ^ the king. Information of his whereabouts was sent to Saul / by some of the natives of the district, and he at once went in / pursuit of him. In the course of the pursuit, Saul's life on one or two occasions was at David's mercy; but the fugitive magnanimously refrained from taking the advantage offered him, and a temporary reconciliation was, in consequence, effected be- tween them. Of David's meeting with Saul whilst a wanderer in the wilderness of Judoea, and his generous conduct in sparing the life of his enemy, there are apparently two accounts, one contained in xxiii. 19-xxiv. 22, the other in xxvi. 1-25 : cf. xxiii. 19 (the speech of the Ziphites) with xxvi. I ; xxiii. 23 {0/ a certainty) with xxvi. 4 ; xxiv. 2 (3,000 men) with xxvi. 2 ; xxiv. 4 (the suggestions made by David's followers) with xxvi. 8; xxiv. 14 {a Jlea) with 232 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY xxvi. 20;^ xxiv. i6 (Saul's address to David) with xxvi. 17. One of these narratives which is preceded by a brief account (xxiii. 16-18) of an interview between David and Jonathan, in which the latter encouraged the fugitive, represents David as hiding first in the hill of Hachilah,^ and then proceeding to the wilderness of Maon, whither Saul pursued him. Withdrawn for a while from the pursuit by a raid of the PhiUstines, Saul returned and learnt that David was at Engedi (on the west shore of the Dead Sea), where he had concealed himself in a cave. Saul chanced to enter the cave, ignorant of David's presence ; and in the obscurity, the latter was enabled to approach sufficiently near the king to cut off the skirt of his robe, but resisted the suggestion of his followers that they should take Saul's life. After the king left the cave, David followed and discovered himself to him, earnestly depre- cating Saul's animosity towards him. The king acknowledged David's mag- nanimity in sparing his life when it was at his mercy ; and before parting from him made him swear that he would not destroy his persecutor's offspring. According to the other narrative, the encounter took place near Hachilah.' Dav4d approached Saul's camp at night and got inside the lines, in company with one of his followers, and reached the sleeping king. His comrade (Abishai, the son of his sister Zeruiah) was eager to take the opportunity of* assassinating the monarch with his own spear, which was stuck in the ground at his head ; but David restrained him, and confined himself to carrying off the spear and a cruse of water placed near Saul. Then withdrawing to the top of a neighbouring hill, he shouted* and awoke the guards, taunting their captain with sleeping at his post ; and being recognised by the king, remonstrated with him for his pursuit of him. Saul confessed his error, and bade David return to him ; but David, ignoring the invitation, contented himself with bidding the king send someone to recover his spear. If the view be correct that they are duplicate versions of the same incident, the second is the more plausible ; and xxvi. 17 suits its context better than xxiv. 16. But in spite of Saul's expression of repentance, David prudently declined to put himself into the king's power by returning home. On the contrary, the treachery of the Ziphites made it clear that the border-land was no longer safe for him; and he therefore once more determined to seek protection with the PhiUstines. His circumstances now were very different from what they had been on the occasion of his former flight to Gath. Instead of being a solitary fugitive, he was at the head of a body of 600 men. The relations between him and Saul could have been no secret to any of the inhabitants of the Philistine cities ; and now that his fideHty seemed guaranteed by his fear of the Israelite king, the memory of his former triumphs over themselves would only make the Philistines set a higher value upon his services. ^ But the LXX. here, for a flea, reads my life. * Described in xxiii. 19 (marg.) as south of Jeshimon. ' Described in xxvi. i (marg.) as be/ore {i.e. east of) Jeshimon. * Cf. Jud. ix. 7. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 233 He was therefore welcomed by Achish the king of Gathj but at his own request was not detained at Gath itself, but had the city of Ziklagi assigned to him as a place of residence both for himself and his men : and there he appears to have been rein- forced by fresh forces drawn not only from Judah, but also from Benjamin, Manasseh, and Gad (see i Ch. xii. 1-22). In thus obtaining for himself a home at a distance from the court of Achish, David was enabled to pursue without remark a policy of duplicity. Pretending to attack, in the service of his adopted country, the land of his birth, he, in reality, turned his arms against the Amalekites, the Geshurites^ and the Gizrites,^ tribes y that occupied the region between Telaim and the border of / Egypt. By ruthlessly slaying the whole population indiscrimi- / nately, and sparing neither sex nor age, he prevented all in- ^ , formation of the truth from reaching Achish ; and thus was able / to convince the Philistines of the impossibility of any subsequent \ reconciliation with his countrymen, whilst at the same time sub- ) stantially benefiting the latter by prosecuting an exterminating war /^ with peoples whose raids were a continual source of annoyance. Samuel, by this time, had passed away» and was buried in his — native city of Ramah (/ Sa7n. xxviii. 3; cf. xxv. i). Too little J information is furnished about his life and character for these to j be appraised at length ; and even his public services can only be estimated in general terms. As has been seen from the com- parison already instituted between the various passages relating to him, the actual position and authority enjoyed by him seem to have been magnified in one of the historical sources upon which the writer of / Samuel draws ; and it appears certain that the extensive successes over the Philistines which are represented as achieved by Israel in his days, and under his auspices, can have had little existence in fact. But it seems equally certain that it was largely owing to his acute apprehension of his country's needs, and his ability and promptitude in taking steps to meet them, that the ultimate triumph of Israel over its enemies was * In Josh. XV. 31 and xix. 5 allotted diversely to Tudah and Simeon. "^ For Geshurites in this district cf. Josh. xiii. 2. But the LXX. omits the word, which may be merely a corruption of the following name. ^ Or Gizrites^ i.e. the inhabitants of Gezer, which remained in the hands of the native poi:»ulation until the time of Solomon {i Kg. ix. 16). 234 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY due. He perceived that the institution of monarchy was esseotiaL to weld Israel into a nation, and give it cohesion and confidence in the face of its assailants; and though he was not altogether^ fortunate in the person he chose to be the first king, his belief in the kingship was thoroughly justified. And his insight into character was, in truth, Httle inferior to his statesmanship; for if his choice of Saul was not quite happy, his later selection of David was most judicious. Samuel may, in consequence, be justly regarded as having, in a large measure, influenced the fortunes and moulded the destinies of Israel during the subsequent centuries ; and the place he fills in the pages of the history that bears his name does not exaggerate his real importance. After Samuel's death no prophet arose in his room to aid the counsels of the king. The Philistines were now making prepara- tions for another invasion of Israel, weakened as it was by the withdrawal of David and a number of its best fighting-men, The successes gained by Saul in the earlier part of his reign had enabled him to secure the passes which led from the Lowland directly into Benjamin and Ephraim. The direction of the present Philistine advance was consequently along the vale of Sharon, through the pass of Megiddo, into the valley of Esdrae- lon (where the invaders may have had sympathisers among the Canaanite cities, see p. 185), the object being to obtain command of the great high road from the East (as appears from the capture of Bethshan), and to threaten the centre of the kingdom from the north. The host mustered at Aphek,^ and David was called upon by Achish to accompany him. He gave him an ambiguous answer (xxviii. 2) ; but being appointed commander of the royal body-guard, proceeded to the rendezvous with him, where he was joined by certain Manassites {i Ch. xii. 19). The other Philistine princes, however, distrusted the Hebrew soldier, and protested against his being allowed to march against his countrymen, lest he should reconcile himself to his king by changing sides in the coming battle. Achish had unwillingly to yield ; and with many professions of goodwill, dismissed David, who returned to ^ Identified by some with the Aphek oi Josh. xii. 18 (which was probably in the plain of Sharon). Others place it in Esdraelon; but this must have been more than three days' march from Ziklag (/ Sam. xxx. i). The Apheks of / Sam. iv. ly/osh. xiii. 4 (xix. 30), and / Kg. xx, 26 are all distinct. THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 235 Philistia. Meantime Saul, along the hills, had followed the Philistines in the maritime plain; and took up a position, first at the fountain in Jezreel (perhaps the spring of Harod), to guard the pass of Dothan leading into Ephraim, and then on mount Gilboa (at the S.E. corner of the plain of Esdraelon), where he awaited attack. The death of Samuel and the absence of the priest Abiathar, who had joined David, left Saul destitute of the ordinary means of enquiring of Jehovah ; and in his anxiety about the issue of the coming engagement, he is related to have had recourse to a woman of the Canaanite town of Endor who claimed to have a familiar spirit,^ in spite of the fact that he had previously expelled all such from the land of Israel. He visited her in disguise (the Philistine camp being between him and the town of Endor), and after reassuring her (for she feared that, when he bade her bring up whom- soever he named, he was seeking to entrap her) he directed her to summon Samuel. It is said that Samuel appeared ; and the relations which had existed between Samuel and Saul led the woman to infer that her visitor was the king. To Saul's enquiry what he was to do, the dead prophet declared that Jehovah had become his adversary, and announced that on the morrow the king and his sons should be with him, and that Israel should be delivered into the hands of the Philistines. The episode is narrated in a section (c. xxviii. ) which does not fit accurately into its present context. In xxix. i the Israehtes are at Jezreel, towards which place the Philistines advance from Aphek (ver. i, ii), the forces of Israel pre- sumably retiring, in consequence, to Gilboa, the scene of the subsequent battle ; whereas in xxviii. 4 they are represented as already at Gilboa. The allusions in xxviii. 17-18 to c. xv. suggest that, in the original sources from I which the history is derived, it stood in some relation to the latter narrative. " The next day the Philistines attacked, and the battle went against Israel. The three eldest sons of Saul fell; and their father, unwilling to survive the loss of his children, his army, and his honour, bade his armour-bearer thrusthim through, and when the latter refused, he fell upon his own sword. The result of the engagement placed the valley of Esdraelon at the mercy of the enemy, and cut off the whole of the region to the north of it. On the walls of one of the towns that passed into their hanQs, the Canaanite Bethshan near the Jordan ^Jud. i. 27), the body of the dead king was hung; whilst his head was fastened * A familiar spirit is generally supposed to have been a spiritual agency believed to animate the person who claimed to possess it (cf. Lev. xx. 27 Ileb.); but some have thought (from the terms used in 2 Kg. xxi. 6, marg.) that it was a material object. The LXX. renders it by iyyaarpl/jLvdos, and one of the devices employed in connection with it was doubtless ventriloquism, the famihar spirit appearing to speak from the ground [Is. xxix. 4) as from the world of the dead (cf. p. 89.). 236 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY in the temple of Dagon (/ Ch. x. lo), and his arms placed as a trophy in the temples of the Ashtaroth. The panic inspired by the success of the invaders extended even to the opposite bank of the Jordan. The cities were abandoned by their inhabitants, who took to flight, and the enemy at once proceeded to occupy them. It is probable, however, that the Philistines did not succeed in establishing themselves in Gilead; for not only was the town of Jabesh untouched, but Mahanaim, on the death of Saul, became the capital of his son Eshbaal. The body of Saul did not long remain exposed on the walls of Bethshan. The citizens of Jabesh, in gratitude for the service done to them at the beginning of his reign, went by night and removed it, and bringing it to Jabesh, burnt it there. The bones were afterwards buried in the neighbourhood ; whence at a later period they were removed to the family tomb at Zelah {2 Sam. xxi. 14). The length of Saul's reign is uncertain. The only passage in the O.T. which affords information on the point (xiii. i) states that he reigned two years, which is far too short a period for the events recorded to have taken place in it; and the verse (which is omitted by the LXX.) is clearly defective. In Acts xiii. 21 his reign is reckoned at 40 years. Of his children, tliree sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Melchi-shua, perished with their father at Gilboa. A fourth, Eshbaal or Ish-bosheth, who is probably identical with the Ish\-i named in i Sam. xiv. 49, succeeded to a part of his father's dominions. Two others are alluded to in 2 Sam. xxi. 8 ; and he had at least two daughters, Merab and MichaL Saul's achievements, and possibly his character, have suffered at the hands of the writer of i Samuel^ whose interest centred chiefly in David. Of his public career little is really known ; for with the exception of the campaigns with which his reign opened and closed, the record is mainly concerned with his unhappy animosity towards David. Of the chapters dealing with his wars, those which are fullest of detail show him to have been a capable and gallant, though not always a fortunate, soldier : but there are not lacking indications elsewhere which prove him to have possessed many kingly qualities as well as tbose_jndre es THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY 237 "necially characteristic of the warrior. It is clear that he must have re^iinifed~To^the rest of Israel the tribe of Judah, which, all throagh: the period of the Judges, had been more or less severed fronrits fellow-tribes : for not only did his rule embrace Bethlehem, the Jiome of David (xvi. 19), but the campaign against the Amalekites (xiv. 48) was manifestly intended to protect the southern frontier of Judah. It was probably to amalgamate the -southern tribe more closely with the rest of his subjects that he destroyed the Gibeonites, in spite of the ancient covenant between them and Israel, an act for which atonement had subse- quently to be made {2 Sam. xxi. 1-14). In the course of extending his kingdom towards the south he appears to have engaged in hostilities with Edom, and was thus perhaps the first to make an effort to bring Israel into contact with the Red Sea littoral. East of Jordan, his early attack upon Nahash the Ammonite was followed by a war with Moab ; and his authority was so firmly secured over Gilead that Mahanaim became the refuge and capital of his son Eshbaal {2 Sam. ii. 8). He even pushed his arms as far north as the territory of Zobah. In the internal politics of his kingdom, the fact that he lost the confidence of Samuel, who had first designated him for the throne, must be counted against him ; for at this period, as at others, the prophetic / order was a most powerful factor making for the unity, security, ' and moral well-being of Israel. But though he broke with the prophets, he appears to have been scrupulous in the observance of the externals of religion (see xiv. 34-35, xxviii. 9). His private life was marked by simplicity ; and his elevation to the throne was not followed by the adoption of the luxurious habits common among Eastern sovereigns. His character, no doubt, deteriorated under the influence of jealousy ; and at times he was betrayed by his passion into acts of merciless savagery (xix. 10 foil, xxii. 17 foil.). But the vindictiveness which he displayed in later life, which was perhaps not wholly unnatural under any circum- stances, was probably in part the result of mental disease. And without any stress being laid upon the language of David's panegyric (2 Sam. i. 23), it is plain from the conduct of the men of Jabesh Gilead after Gilboa, that he retained the gratitude of those whom he had first served ; and in spite of his misfortunes, 238 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY ^g he was able to transmit a large part of his authority to h son Eshbaal. On the whole, Saul seems to have been lauier hardly treated by his historian. He accomplished more for his country than he has generally received credit for; and though his reign can scarcely be pronounced a successful one, he undoubtedly in some measure prepared the way for the success achieved by David. Yet it must be confessed that Saul was himself largely re- sponsible for the ruin of his career. He failed to make the most of his opportunities. It was a period when Israel, recovered from the strain and exhaustion of the Conquest, and having secured practical supremacy over the Canaanites in whose country it had established itself, was beginning to recognise its own strength and was prepared to make a combined stand against the inroads of the Philistine immigrants. Of this national upheaval the numerous prophets, who now made their appearance in companies, were at once a cause and a symptom. Fired them- selves with religious enthusiasm amounting even to frenzy, they were calculated to fan throughout the land the flame of patriotism, and to encourage their people to struggle desperately for the sake of their country and their God. Had Saul known how to avail nimself of all the fervour and moral force which were thus generated, the issue, both for himself and his house, might have been far other than what it proved to be. As it was, he was out of touch with the prophetic movement ; and though it is impossible to trace with certainty the circumstances which produced the alienation, it is clear that a breach finally occurred between him and Samuel, the leader of the prophets. Stubborn of disposition, narrow in his sympathies, and lacking a statesmanlike grasp of the situation, he refused to the prophet the submission which the latter, as the representative of Jehovah, demanded ; and so threw away what should have been his greatest source of con-, fidence and therefore of strength. The tide that is in the affairs of men Saul took at the flood, and it bore him on to fortune; but eventually, in place of guiding his bark dexterously along the stream, he obstinately set it athwart the current, and so made shipwreck. His rival and successor pursued a very different course, and reached, in consequence, a very different result. CHAPTER IX THE REIGN OF DAVID Sources — i Sam. xxx., 2 Sam. i. i-z Kg. ii. 11, 7 Ch. xi.-xxix. AT the battle of Gilboa, David (as has been related) was not JL\^ present. After his dismissal by Achish at the instance of the Philistine chiefs, he returned to Ziklag, only to find it de- stroyed. A body of Amalekites had made a raid upon the southern frontier of the Philistine Cherethites, the Calibbites, and the people of Judah, had attacked Ziklag, taken captive its inhabitants (including David's wives), and set fire to the place. David's followers, on discovering that their homes were ruined, vented their rage upon their leader, whom they talked of stoning. The latter, on consulting the priestly oracle in the hands of Abiathar, was told that if he pursued the enemy he would over- take them and recover the spoil ; and accordingly he at once set out, his march being so rapid that 200 out of his 600 men had to be left behind at the brook of Besor.^ An Egyptian servant belonging to one of the Amalekites, who had been abandoned by his master because he was sick, was found, and undertook to guide David to the band he sought. He fulfilled his word ; and the Israelites were enabled to surprise the enemy in the midst of a feast. The Amalekites were almost completely destroyed, 400 alone escaping. David, m spite of the protests of certain of his followers, insisted upon dividing the spoil fairly between those who had taken part in the battle and those who had been left behind at Besor ; and his ruling became a recognised practice in later times.^ He likewise sent a portion of the booty as a present to the leading men amongst the Judaeans, the Kenites, * Not identified. * Cf. Num. xxxi. 27, and see p. 129. 239 240 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY and the Jerahmeelites, with a view, no doubt, of securing their sympathy and support when he should attempt to succeed to the throne at Saul's death. His designs in this direction must also have been aided by his marriage with Abigail and Ahinoam, both of whom belonged to Judah (/ Sam. xxv. 40-43). It was two days after David's return to Ziklag from the over- throw of the band which had raided it that information of the defeat at Gilboa first reached him. It was brought by an Amalekite sojourner, who had been on the battle-field, and, antici- pating the Philistines, had despoiled the dead Saul of his crown and bracelets, and now offered them to his rival in hope of re- ward. But claiming (seemingly falsely) to have killed the king while still unwounded, in answer to a despairing appeal from him, he received, as his only recompense, immediate execution for having, on his own testimony, raised his hand against Jehovah's anointed. In memory of Saul and his son Jonathan David com- posed an elegy, which, from an expression occurring in it, after- wards came to be known as the "Song of the Bow."i The success of the Philistines at Gilboa destroyed for a time Israel's recently acquired unity. Tribal feeling was still suffi- ciently strong to lead Judah to act independently of the rest of the nation ; and when David, by the direction of the priestly oracle (of which Abiathar had charge), advanced with all his com- pany to Hebron, he reaped the fruit of his judicious courtesies and prudent marriage-alliances, and was, without opposition, anointed king over the tribe. But the fact that during his rule at Hebron David was unmolested by the PhiHstines suggests that his previous relations with them were unaltered, and that he was, at first, a feudatory of Philistia. One of his earUest acts was to thank the citizens of Jabesh Gilead for their devotion in rescuing Saul's body from the walls of Bethshan, whilst at the same time he announced to them his own elevation. On the E. of Jordan another kingdom was established. Thither, as has been said, many of the inhabitants of the western side of the river, including, doubtless, most of the 1 Ct the elegy on Abner, 2 Sam. iii 33-34. The description " Song of the Bow " is an explanation rather than a translation of the original, for the Heb. only has bow, which the LXX. omits altogether. THE REIGN OF DAVID 241 survivors of Saul's army, had fled for refuge ; and at Mahanaim EshbaaU (or Ishbosheth)^, one of Saul's children, and perhaps the only surviving legitimate son, was made king by Abner, Saul's cousin 3 and commander-in-chief. The relations of Eshbaal to the Philistines are less easy to determine than those of David. On the one hand, it has been held that he, like his rival, was a vassal of Phihstia, and maintained his court at Mahanaim on sufferance. But in the absence of definite information, it seems equally probable that, during his reign of seven years,* he and Abner were engaged in a protracted and not unsuccessful war with the oppressors of their country. If so, it may be presumed that of the districts described as subject to Eshbaal, namely, Gilead, Jezreel {i,e. the plain of Esdraelon), Ephraim, Benjamin, and perhaps Asher,^ those on the west of Jordan were re- conquered in detail. As soon as the bulk of the country was once more recovered, Abner turned his attention to the Philis- tines' vassal-state of Judah, and with an army advanced upon Gibeon. Near a pool in the neighbourhood he was met by Joab, the nephew of David ^ and commander of his forces. Whilst the hosts were confronting one another, Abner proposed a combat, or tournament, of twelve champions from each army, ^ I Ch. viii. 33. If the order given here is correct, he was probably the youngest of Saul's sons, and because of his youth, was absent from the battle of Gilboa. His age in 2 Sam. ii. 10 is given as forty, but this must be an error. The language of ver. 8 confirms the belief that he was under age. He is perhaps identical with the Ishvi of / Sam. xiv. 49. "^ The alteration to Ishbosheth is probably intentional, the word bosheth "shame" being substituted for the name of the heathen deity Baal. But at this period Baal appears to have been a title of Jehovah (cf. p. 279). ' So stated in / Sajn. xiv. 50, but according to / Ch. viii. 33 Abner was Saul's uncle. * 2 Sam. ii. 10 states that he reigned two years ; but David reigned more than seven years at Hebron (v. 5), and it is difficult to suppose that five years elapsed between Eshbaal's death and David's accession to the throne of all Israel. * The Heb. of 2 Sajn. ii. 9 has Ashurites^ which ought to be the same as the Asshurim of Gen. xxv. 3. But these were presumably Arabian tribes, and therefore remote from the borders of Eshbaal's kingdom. The Vulgate and Syriac have Geshiirites ; but the Geshurites N. of Bashan {Dent. iii. 14, Josh. xii. 5) were independent during David's reign {2 Sam. xiii. 37), and those on the S. of Philistia {Josh. xiii. 2, i Sam. xxvii. 8) would be no more coterminous with Eshbaal's territory than the Asshurim. The Targum has Asheriies. * Joab's mother Zeruiah was sister or half-sister of David, / Ch. ii. 16. 242 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY a proposition which was accepted by Joab. The fight between them was so fierce that they were all slain ; and there then ensued a general engagement in which Abner's forces were defeated, the place receiving in consequence the name of Helkath Hazzurim ("the field of the sharp knives"^). In the subsequent rout, Abner himself was followed closely by Asahel the brother of Joab ; whom, in order to avoid a feud with Joab, he first vainly tried to dissuade from pursuing him, and then endeavoured to disable only, but unfortunately slew. Eventually, on an appeal from Abner, Joab drew off his forces ; and the former re-crossed the Jordan, and passing through Bithron,^ returned to Mahanaim. Joab's loss amounted to only twenty men (including his brother Asahel), whereas of the forces of Abner 360 perished. This was the beginning of a long war between Eshbaal and David, in which fortune leaned to the side of the latter; but no further particulars have been preserved. The end came when Abner, growing presumptuous, provoked Eshbaal's resentment by trespassing upon his sovereign's rights. A connection formed by Abner with Rizpah, a concubine of Saul's, was interpreted by Eshbaal, in accordance with the ideas of the time, as indicating an attempt upon the throne ; ^ and he accordingly called Abner to account. The latter, hotly indignant, reproached his sovereign with ingratitude, and swore that he would translate the kingdom to David. He was as good as his word. Disaffection had already begun to prevail in consequence of the unfavourable contrast which Eshbaal (it may be presumed) presented to the king of Judah, and the ill-success which, in the struggle between them, had followed his arms; and this Abner now proceeded to bring to a head, by advocating an immediate transference of allegiance, his intrigues extending even to Esh- baal's own tribe of Benjamin. At the same time he made over- tures to David which the latter showed himself willing to entertain, but laid down as a condition the restoration of his former wife Michal, the daughter of Saul — probably in order to give himself a stronger claim in the eyes of those who, disgusted with Esh- ^ The LXX. renders it by \ixph rtav iiri^oCXuiv, implying, in the case of the last word, a different original. 2 Perhaps a gorge leading from the Jordan valley up its eastern flank. » Ct 2 Sam. xii. 8, xvi. 21, 22. THE REIGN OF DAVID 243 baal's incapacity, still entertained feelings of loyalty to Saul's house. Consequently, a formal demand was made to Eshbaal for her return; and the king, unable to refuse, sent and took her from her husband Paltiel and delivered her to David's envoys. These preliminary negotiations having been brought to a close, Abner, with a small retinue, went to David at Hebron and arranged to bring about a union of the two kingdoms. Joab, who had been absent on a foray whilst David was conferring with Abner, returned shortly after the latter's departure ; and on hear- ing that he had been allowed to leave in safety, angrily remon- strated with David, representing that Abner had come to Hebron merely for the purpose of espial, and perhaps tacitly rebuking the king for not prosecuting, when the opportunity came, the blood feud, in which his relationship to Zeruiah the mother of Asahel, might be thought to involve him. On retiring from David's presence, he despatched messengers, without the king's knowledge, to recall Abner ; and when the latter arrived, he quietly took him aside and, with the help of his brother Abishai, assassinated him in revenge for Asahel's death. David, on hearing of the murder, loudly asserted his own innocence (which, as he was the gainer by the deed, might else have appeared doubtful), imprecated a curse upon the murderer, and honoured Abner with a public funeral, himself composing an elegy to his memory. Eshbaal did not long survive the man who had been the chief supporter of his throne. Two of his captains, belonging to the Gibeonites whom Saul had in part destroyed and in part expelled from their homes and therefore having a national grievance to avenge, entered his house whilst the portress, who was cleaning wheat, slept at her task,i found him reposing during the noontide heat, and slew him on his bed. Then cutting off his head, they proceeded to Hebron to announce to David that they had avenged (as they pretended) his wrongs on the son of his enemy Saul. David, however, rewarded them as he had previously done the Amalekite who claimed to have slain Saul ; and by his command they were at once executed, whilst the head of their victim was buried in the grave of Abner at Hebron. ^ The LXX. of 2 Sam. iv. 6 reads koX iSov ij 0vpu)phi rod oXkov iKdOoupey •irvpoi>s Kal iyvara^e Kal iKcidtvde. 244 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY There was now no obstacle to the re-union of Israel under one king, in spite of the fact that there were other sons of Saul aUve {2 Sam. xxi. 8), besides a son of Jonathan ; and at an assembly held at Hebron^ the offer of the throne was made to David on behalf of all the tribes. The limits to be set to the royal authority, and the liberties to be assured to the nation, were defined ; and the covenant between the king and the people was ratified at the local sanctuary. David, now in his thirty-eighth year, was then anointed, and entered upon the reign to which, in spite of crimes and disasters, subsequent ages always looked back with feelings of pride. The history of Saul's remaining descendants may here be related, though the incidents recorded doubtless took place at a later period than that now under review.^ Jonathan had left behind him a son named Meribbaal or Mephibosheth,^ who was only five years old at the time of his father's death. When the tidings came of the disaster at Gilboa, his nurse in her haste to escape had dropped the child, and as a result of the fall, he became lame in both feet. He had subsequently found refuge with one Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar, E. of the Jordan {2 Sam. iv. 4, ix. 4.). David, desirous to show kindness to any son of Jonathan, learnt about him from a servant of Saul's, named Ziba ; and fetching him from Lo-debar, he brought him to court, and gave him a seat at the royal table, at the same time appointing Ziba and his family to be servants to the young prince, to whom he restored the personal possessions of Saul. Others of Saul's descendants, however, met with a far different fate from that which befel Meribbaal. On the occasion of a famine which lasted three years, the sufferings it caused were so severe that they appeared to be provoked by some national sin. By the Divine oracle the reason assigned was the destruction by Saul of ^ In / C/i. xii. 23 foil, the numbers that attended at Hebron from the various tribes are represented as amounting to the astonishing figure of 340,822. The relative quotas contributed by the several tribes are as remarkable as the total, for whilst I20,0CXD came from Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh (on the E. of Jordan), and 156,600 from the four northernmost tribes, only 6,800 came from Judah. ' See 2 Sam. c. ix., xxi. 1-14. ' I Ch. viii. 34, ix. 40, 2 Sam. iv. 4. Like Eshbaal, the name Meribbaal has been intentionally, and even more extensively, altered (see p. 241, note). THE REIGN OF DAVID 245 the Gibeonites, in violation of the pledge which had been given to them by Israel in the course of the conquest of Canaan.^ David, on receiving the reply of the oracle, allowed the Gibeon- ites to choose whatever satisfaction they preferred. They demanded the execution of seven of Saul's descendants; and accordingly two of his sons by his concubine Rizpah, and five of his grandsons, the children of his daughter Merab^ by Adriel the Meholathite, were hung at a sanctuary^ by way of atonement, Meribbaal, as the son of Jonathan, being specially exempted from inclusion among the victims, in consequence of the friendship which had existed between his father and the king. Rizpah watched over the corpses to prevent them from becoming the prey of beasts and birds, until the fall of rain seemed to indicate that the Divine wrath was appeased. Their bones, by David's orders, were buried at Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish the father of Saul, to which the bones of both Saul and Jonathan were also conveyed from their resting-place in Jabesh Gilead. At what period in David's reign his kindly treatment of Meribbaal and the execution of Saul's other descendants occurred cannot be determined with precision : but the first incident must have taken place some time after David came to the throne, for Meribbaal, who was a child of five when his father died, had, when he was first brought to the notice of the king, a young son called Mica {2 Sam. ix. 12) ; and the second, from the mention of Meribbaal in connection with it (xxi. 7), must have been still later. When David had once united the whole of Israel under his sway, a change in his relations with the Philistines was inevitable. He thereby took his natural place as the nation's champion against their powerful enemies ; and the Philistines were not slow to recognise that the long warfare between themselves and Israel had entered upon its final stage as soon as David was crowned the second time at Hebron. They quickly assumed the offensive and invaded Judah. David, unable to organise his forces immediately, took up his position at a stronghold which is unnamed by the historian, but which has been conjectured to be ^ See Josh. c. ix. The statement in i Sam. vii. 14, there was peace between Israel and the Amorites (where Amorite is perhaps used in a general sense, cf. p. 69) suggests that Saul's act had been altogether unprovoked. '^ The Heb. of 2 Sam. xxi. 8 has Michal, but Michal, when taken from David, was married to Paltiel (or Palti), not Adriel (/■ Sam, xxv. 44). ' This is suggested by the words on the mountain before Jehovah ; for the latter part of the phrase cf. / Sam. i. 22 (compared with ver. 24), xv. 33. 246 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY AduUam. The Philistines did not follow him into the fastnesses of Judah, but with a view to cutting him off from the northern tribes spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This was probably the occasion of the gallant exploit recorded of three of his warriors in 2 Sam. xxiii. 13-17. David, oppressed with thirst, for it was harvest- time, expressed a wish for a draught of water from the well of his native Bethlehem; whereupon the three broke through the host of the Philistines which was encamped at Bethlehem, and drawing water from the well, brought it to David. The king, however, justly regarding it as having been obtained at the risk of his servants' lives, would not drink it, but poured it out unto Jehovah. But whether the incident in question is rightly placed in this connection or not, David did not remain long in the hold, but by the command of the Divine oracle, advanced against the enemy, and coming upon them, inflicted a severe defeat at a place which came to be called Baal-pcrazim ("Baal of breakings forth ").^ Their images, brought by them into battle,^ as the Ark was by Israel at Ebenezer, to promote the success of their arms, were captured, and (according to i Ch. xiv. 12) were burnt. The enemy's strength, however, was not broken by this reverse; and the invasion was renewed in the same quarter as before. But David, by this time, had doubtless been rein- forced, and was in a position to strike a more crushing blow. Again guided by the priestly oracle, he made a circuit, and attacked the Philistines in the rear, and routing them, pursued them from Gibeon ^ to Gezer. This disaster, for a time, checked Philistine aggression, and David was left free to strengthen and consolidate his kingdom. The most important step in this direction was taken when he attacked the stronghold of the Jebusites at Jerusalem, which, ever since the Conquest, had resisted both capture and ab- sorption by the IsraeUte settlers."* Such confidence did the ^ C£. Is. xxviii. 21. The title Baal doubtless refers to Jehovah (see p. 279). 2 Cf. 2 Ch. XXV. 14 (of the Edomites). ' In ^ Sam. v. 25 for Geba the LXX. has Gibeon ; cf. 7 CA. xiv. 16. * In 2 Sam. v. the capture of Jerusalem is recorded before the wars with the Phihstines just related ; but if the stronghold of the Jebusites had already been in David's possession, he would not have been compelled to go down to the stronghold of Adullam. THE REIGN OF DAVID 247 inhabitants feel in the strength of their position that they tauntingly affirmed that even the blind and lame among them would be sufficient to repel David's assault.^ The king's military skill, however, discovered a means of approach by a conduit cut in the rock ; and the stronghold was stormed, Joab (according to the Chronicler) being the first to scale the walls, and thereby obtaining the post of chief captain,^ which David had promised to confer upon the man who was foremost in mounting the ramparts.^ In spite of the provocation which the defenders gave, it does not appear that the garrison was put indiscriminately to the sword, since Jebusites survived as late as the reign of Solomon (/ Kg. ix. 20, cf. 2 Sam. xxiv. 18). For the captured city itself a distinguished future was in store. It was clearly expedient that David, as king of the whole of Israel, should choose as his capital a city which would not be, like Hebron, too closely associated with his own tribe of Judah, or like Gibeah, too much at the mercy of the jealous tribe of Benjamin, or like Mahanaim, too remote from the centre of affairs. The recent acquisition seemed to satisfy all the con- ditions. Its exceptionally strong situation (defended, as it is, by ravines on the W., S., and E.), its notable history under native sovereigns like Melchizedek and Adonizedek, the absence of any connection with one or other of the Israelite tribes (owing to its having remained till now in the hands of the old inhabitants), and its capture by the king himself, all contributed to mark it out as the city best suited to be the new capital. Accordingly David took up his residence there, and constructed additional fortifica- tions,* materials for which he was now able to obtain from Tyre ^ In 2 Sam. v. 6-8 the sense seems best preserved in the LXX. The incident seems to have been regarded as the origin of a popular saying — rvTian peoples in general, but also by the alliance with Toi, king of Hamath, who (as has been said) was an enemy THE REIGN OF DAVID 257 of the king of Zobah. Broadly speaking, David's empire may be described as extending from the southern extremity of the valley between the Lebanons to the Gulf of Akaba, and from the Mediterranean to the Syrian desert. But it is probable that only in the neighbourhood of Joppa did it actually touch the sea : north of this the Phoenician towns of Tyre and Zidon were left unmolested ; whilst in the S.W. the Philistines, though their strength was crippled, maintained their independence. The expansion of Israelite sovereignty which this account implies is remarkable for the rapidity with which it was accomplished. Less than two generations saw the Hebrews transformed from an unorganised aggregate of tribes, sustaining a precarious struggle with aggressive and powerful foes, into a dominant power, holding in tribute its near neighbours and respected and feared by those more remote. 2. David's sons, so far as can be gathered from the various lists preserved {2 Sam. iii. 2-5, v. 13-16, i Ch. iii. 1-9, xiv. 3-7), were as follows : — 1. Amnon (by Ahinoam). 10. Solomon or 2. Chileab or Daniel (by Jedidiah (by Bathsheba). Abigail). 11. Ibhar. 3. Absalom (by Maacah). 12. Elishua t?r Elishama. 4. Adonijah (by Haggith). 13. Nepheg. 5. Shephatiah (by Abital). 14. Japhia. 6. Ithream (by Eglah). 15. Elishama. 7. Shammua or 16. Eliada or Beeliada. Shimeah (by Bathsheba). 17. Eliphelet ^r Elpelet. 8. Shobab „ 18. Nogah. 9. Nathan „ Another son, named Jerimoth, who is not included in the above-mentioned lists, is alluded to in 2 Ch. xi. 18 and may have been the offspring of a concubine (cf. i Ch. iii. 9). David appears to have had daughters also (2 Sam. v. 13, / Ch. xiv. 3), but the name of only one, Tamar, is known. The practice of polygamy was usual in the East amongst those who were rich enough to maintain a harem ; and the number of David's wives indicates his wealth and dignity as well as his luxury. David was, no doubt, a man of less simple tastes than Saul j but the greater S 258 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY pomp and circumstance with which the former surrounded himself witnesses as much to the increased prosperity and importance of the nation as to the pleasure-loving character of its king. 3. Of David's civil ministers the most important were the Recorder, the Scribe, and the officer who presided over the Levy or corvee. The first of these would appear, by his name, to have kept the state archives; but he probably also acted as one of the king's chief counsellors, and was a personage of high rank and distinction (cf. 2 Kg. xviii. 18, 37). The office was held throughout David's reign by Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud. The Scribe was the royal secretary. His was also an office of great dignity; and was filled by two persons in succession in David's lifetime, Seraiah {2 Sam. viii. 17) and Sheva {2 Sam. XX. 25). The president of the Levy was Adoniram.^ This was perhaps an office which was not constituted until late in David's reign, when he was prosecuting his great building schemes. It is mentioned only in the second of the two lists of officials given in 2 Sam. ; and Adoniram not only lived through the reign of Solomon, but survived until that of Rehoboam. A courtier who, without discharging any specified duties, is described (in 2 Sam. XV. 12, J Ch. xxvii. 33) merely as the king's counsellor, was Ahitophel, a man who came into prominence in some of the troubles that filled the latter part of David's reign. The same title of counsellor is likewise given in i Ch. xxvii. 32 to Jonathan, David's nephew (see i Ch. xx. 7) ; and another person who similarly occupied an informal position of influence was Hushai {2 Sam, XV. 37, i" Ch. xxvii. 33). In i Ch. xxvii. 25-31 a number of inferior officials, whose names it is unnecessary to reproduce here, are mentioned as having the care of the king's private possessions. In addition to the lay ministers just enumerated, the priests Zadok and Abiathar were doubtless often consulted as state-advisers. The precise relation between these two priests is obscure ; though if i Ch. xvi. 39 could be relied on, it might be inferred that Zadok ordinarily ministered at the " high place " (or sanctuary) of Gibeon, whilst Abiathar attended the king at Jerusalem. But in 2 Sam. xv. 24, Zadok, as well as ^ In -? Sam. xx. 24 Adoram ; but the LXX. has Aduyeipdfi, and the same appears in / /Q. iv. 6. THE REIGN OF DAVID 259 Abiathar, is found in charge of the Ark at Jerusalem. Both of them were Levitcs and descendants of Aaron, the former being sprung from Eleazar and the latter from Ithamar (/ Ch. xxiv. 3, 6).i But according to the testimony of 2 Sam. others than Levites also acted as priests, among them being David's own sons {2 Sam. viii, 18), and a certain Ira, a Jairite (2 Sam. xx. 26), who perhaps belonged to the tribe of Manasseh {Nuvi. xxxii. 41). Such an arrangement was so alien to the spirit of later times that in 2 Sa?n. viii. 18 the LXX., in place oi priests, reads avXdp^ai^ whilst I Ch. xviii. 1 7 substitutes chief about the king. 4. The national army — styled "the host" — was probably a militia, called out when needed (cf. i Kg. xv. 22) to go on expeditions, but dismissed again as soon as the need had ceased (cf. I Kg. xxii. 36). This was under the command of Joab, who is entitled "captain of the host." But the nucleus of a standing army was constituted by a permanent body-guard of some 600 men, consisting of Cherethites, Pelethites, and Gittites {2 Sam. XV. 18). The origin of the Gittites is obvious; and it is in every way probable that the Cherethites and Pelethites were also Philistines, the latter term being perhaps only another form of the national name (Heb. Pelishtim), and the former being derived from Crete, with which Caphtor, the original home of the Philistines, is generally identified. But if the Cherethites were Philistines, they appear to have been outside the confederated five cities; for David when at Gath represented to Achish that his attacks had been directed against the south of the Cherethites (7 Sam. XXX. 14). It is not unlikely (as has been already suggested) that this force was enrolled at the conclusion of David's Philistine wars. The doubts which he may at first have reasonably entertained respecting the attachment of his countrymen to the crown would show him the expediency of having about him a force detached from the national sympathies j^ and his acquaintance with Philistia easily enabled him to find ^ In 2 Sam. viii. 17, v Ch. xxiv. 6 Ahimelech the son of Abiathar is probably an error for Abiathar the so7i of Ahiinelech ; whilst in / Ch. xxiv. 3, 31 Ahimelech is likewise a mistake for Abiathar (see i Sam, xxii. 20, 2 Sam. XV. 29, XX. 25, / Kg. i. 7). ^ Comparisons have frequently been drawn between these troops and the Swiss guards of the French kings in the i8th century. 26o OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY what he required. The subsequent history will show that both his foresight in anticipating the need of such a corps, and his sagacity in selecting the men who were to compose it, were amply justified. The command of this body was entrusted to Benaiah, who is also described (2 Sam. xxiii. 22, 23 marg.) as set over David's council — perhaps as guard of the council- chamber ; ^ and the troop was presumably kept in the capital, in close attendance upon the king (cf. i Kg. \. 44). A comparison of this last passage with i Kg. i. 8 suggests that this force of Cherethites and Pelethites was also known as " the Mighty men " (Gibborini). But by the latter name was specially designated a smaller body of distinguished warriors, who perhaps acted as officers of the 600, or of the national levies (cf. i Ch. xxvii. i foil). They were nominally thirty in number, though more than thirty are actually named in the lists in 2 Sam. xxiii. 24-39, ^ ^^- xi. 26-47, the latter, indeed, amounting to forty-six.^ Some of these were likewise foreigners, including a Maacathite, a Hittite,^ a native of Zobah, and (according to i Ch. xi. 46) a Moabite. Superior in rank and dignity to the Thirty were two officers, one of them being the Captain of the Guard, Benaiah (cf. i Ch. xxvii. 6), of whom three notable exploits are recorded {2 Sam. xxiii. 20, 21), and the other Abishai, the brother of Joab. But in point of reputation for personal prowess even Benaiah and Abishai were held inferior to three captains who were known par excellence as "the Three." These were (i) Joshebbeshebeth or Jashobeam,* (2) Eleazar the son of Dodai, (3) Shammah the son of Agee. These were apparently the three who, when the Philistines were in occupation of Bethlehem, and David longed for a draught of water from the well by the gate, broke through the enemy's host and gave him what he desired. 1 LXX. traJ^ev avrbv AauiS irph^ tAj d/coots avrov. * The name of Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, styled in / Ch. xii. 4 "a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty," does not appear in either of the two Usts referred to. 2 Another Hittite in David's service, besides Uriah, was Ahimelech (/ Sam. xxvi. 6). * In -2 Sam. xxiii. 8 the addition the same was Adino the Eznite is unii> telligible. THE REIGN OF DAVID 261 The relation which the "Three " bore to the " Thirty " is very obscure. In 2 Sam. xxiii. 19 Abishai is styled "most honourable of the Three"— a state- ment which has been taken to mean that he and Benaiah and another (unknown) constituted a second Three, who did not attain (according to the R. V. of ver. 19, end) to the first Three. But the word " first " does not appear in the original of this latter passage ; and perhaps "most honourable of the Three" should be corrected into "more honourable than the Thirty" (as in ver. 23). In / Ch. xl 20 one reading is "he (Abishai) had not a name amongst the Three." 5. The king not only possessed supreme control over the army, but was also in person the highest court of justice in his realm. To him the woman of Tekoa, suborned by Joab, made her pretended appeal {2 Sam. xiv. 4 foil., see p. 263); and his son Solomon acted as judge in the memorable case of the two harlots (7 Kg. iii. 16 foil). But the number of suits that required decision rendered it necessary for the king to appoint deputies (cf. 2 Sam. XV. 3). Ordinarily in the provinces the administration of justice would be in the hands of the elders of each city, in ac- cordance with traditional usage (see i Kg. xxi. 8 foil., and cf. Deut. xix. 12). Such elders, in addition to discharging judicial functions, were, in the unorganised constitution which naturally prevailed among a primitive eastern people, the usual representatives of the nation ; and it was with them that Abner communicated when promoting David's accession to the throne of united Israel, and it was by them that David was subsequently elected {2 Sam. iii. 17, V. 3). When they created David king, they are recorded to have made a covenant with him before Jehovah, such a covenant being presumably a charter of rights and Uberties to which the newly-elected king was required to give his consent. A later occasion showed that in the event of a refusal, the people were at no loss for a way to manifest their resentment. From what has been said, it will be evident that during David's reign, no small progress was accomplished towards the formation of a well-ordered kingdom. In the country districts much power was, no doubt, still left to the heads of tribes and families. But a beginning had been made in the establishment of a central authority which commanded deference not only by the material force at the back of it, but by the splendour of a court which heightened the respect exacted by the personal qualities of the king. As will appear, tribal jealousies and a native love of 262 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY independence were not eradicated from the nation as a whole. But in spite of sectional dissensions and popular outbreaks against oppression, the subsequent history shows no revolt against the monarchical principle ; and the hold which it obtained upon the people must be attributed in part, it is true, to the exigencies of the nation's situation, but in part, also, to the character and capacity of its second sovereign. The latter half of David's reign offers a striking contrast to the earlier half. A heinous sin on the part of the king himself was the beginning of a series of crimes and calamities within his own family. During the Ammonite war, he conceived a passion for a woman named Bathsheba,^ the wife of one of his officers, a Hittite called Uriah. When he was made aware of the consequences of its indulgence, he sent for her husband, who was serving with Joab, and urged him to return to his house and his wife; but on his excusing himself,^ and so frustrating the hopes which the king had of screening his fault, David dismissed him to his duties, with a letter to Joab directing him to place Uriah in a post of danger in the next engagement. The command was duly carried out. Uriah fell, fighting in the foremost battle ; and Bathsheba, as soon as the customary mourning for a husband was ended, became the wife of her royal seducer. The deed, how- ever, did not go unreproved. The prophet Nathan at once confronted the king, awoke his slumbering conscience by a parable, drew from him a confession of his guilt, and whilst declaring that his repentance was accepted, announced that the child born to him should die. The event confirmed the prophet's word ; but a second son, to whom Bathsheba subsequently gave birth, survived, and was named by his father Solomon, but by Nathan Jedidiah. The example of uncontrolled passion set by the king was followed by his eldest son Amnon. Amnon fell in love with his * In I Ck. iii. 5 Batk-shua ; she was perhaps granddaughter of Ahitophel, cf. 2 Sam. xi. 3 with xxiii. 34. 2 The reason for Uriah's refusal to accede to the king's request is probably to be found in the sanctity attaching to warriors in the field (cf. Is. xiii. 3, Jer. vi. 4 (marg.), Joel iii. 9 (marg.) ), to whom cohabitation with their wives was presumably forbidden ; cf. / ^am. xxi. 5. THE REIGN OF DAVID 263 half-sister Tamar ; and having, by the advice of Jonadab, David's nephew, got her into his power by feigning illness and so pro- curing her attendance upon him,^ outraged her. But instead of repairing the wrong by marrying her,^ he was base enough, as soon as his passion cooled, to drive her from his presence. The king, though indignant at Amnon's conduct, took no steps to punish his eldest, and consequently his favourite,^ son; but Tamar found an avenger in her own brother Absalom. The latter nursed his grievance for two years ; and then found his oppor- tunity at a sheap-shearing festival, held at Baal-hazor,* to which he invited Amnon and the other princes. As soon as Amnon became heated with wine, Absalom's servants rose upon him and killed him ; and the gathering broke up in confusion. The first report that reached David represented that all the king's sons had perished by Absalom's hand; but Jonadab, who knew the provocation that the latter had received, suspected the truth, and the subsequent arrival of all the princes except Amnon con- firmed his words. Absalom, having thus compassed his revenge, fled, and took refuge with his grandfather Talmai, king of Geshur,5 with whom he spent three years. In course of time, however, David began to regret him ; and Joab, perceiving this, got a "wise woman" of Tekoa to extract from the king, by means of a feigned petition, expressions which committed him to the recall of Absalom. David detected Joab's hand in the appeal; but he consented to the young prince's return whilst excluding him from his presence. Absalom submitted to this for two years ; but then put force on Joab to induce him to pro- cure for him a reconciliation with the king, his father. The prince, seeing himself restored to favour and his eldest brother removed by death, now began to cherish ambitious ^ In 2 Sam. xiii. there is some inconsistency between ver. 9 and 10. * From 2 Sam. xiii. 13 it would appear that marriage with a half-sister was at this time forbidden, but that the king exercised a dispensing power. In patriarchal times such unions were common ; but they are prohibited in lev. XX. 17. ^ To 2 Sam. xiii. 21 the LXX. adds Kal ovk iXijirrjaev rb iruev/xa 'Afxvthv toO vlov avTov, 6ti rjydTra avrbv, 6tl irpurdTOKOs avroO Tji/. * The locality is unknown, but the Ephraim near which it was situated is perhaps the ^own of Ephrain or Ephron in Benjamin named in 2 Ch. xiii. 19. ^ See p. 241, note. 264 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY schemes. The son of a foreign princess, and enjoying the popu- larity which often follows great personal attractions (among which was the beauty of his long hair^), he proceeded to add to it by sympathising with all suitors whose efforts to obtain justice met with delay, consequent upon the king failing to appoint the necessary deputies to aid him in his judicial functions. His hints of the beneficent change which would ensue if he were judge, and his grace and courtesy towards everyone who approached to make obeisance to him won all hearts ;2 and he soon assumed something hke royal state {2 Sam, xv. i, cf. I Kg. L 5, and see i Sam. xxii. 17 marg.). It was not however, until four years ^ had passed that his intrigues came to a head. Under the pretence of having to discharge a vow made during his exile he obtained leave to go to Hebron, accompanied by 200 leading men of Jerusalem whom he invited as his guests, but probably intended to hold as hostages for the support or neutrality of their friends in the capital; and at Hebron he got himself proclaimed king. His emissaries had been actively at work throughout the nation, preparing the people for a change of sovereign ; and as soon as the standard of rebellion was raised, supporters rapidly flocked to it It may be conjectured that the strength of the movement in favour of Absalom lay in the still-smouldering embers of tribal jealousy. By the removal of the court to Jerusalem, Judah had lost some- thing of the prestige which, from its connection with the king, it might have looked to enjoy. There were, besides, some in Israel who had not yet forgotten Saul, and who regarded David as a usurper. Probably, too, the complaints made respecting the administration of justice, of which Absalom had taken advantage, were not groundless ; for the many foreign wars in which David had engaged may well have distracted his attention from the internal affairs of the kingdom, during the ^ The weight of a year*s growth of it is said to have been 200 shekels (more than 6 lbs. ). 2 The Heb. phrase (2 Sam. xv. 6) stole the hearts of the men of Israel else where means deceived (see Gen. xxxi. 20 marg.) ; but the LXX. here renders Ihior (Hiiro TT]v Kapdiav. • 2 Sam. XV. 7 states fortjf, which is manifestly improbable. Josephus {Ant. vii. 9, I) giwQS four. THE REIGN OF DAVID 265 early part of his reign, whilst now that peace prevailed, he was beginning to feel the weight of years. There may, again, have been some who disliked the introduction into the nation of the luxurious habits which the king, after the fashion of other Oriental monarchs, had seen fit to adopt; or who dreaded the tendency to tyranny which he had displayed in the matter of Uriah. Ahitophel the Gilonite,^ in particular (who was summoned by Absalom to join him at Hebron), if he was the grandfather of Bathsheba,2may have resented her seduction, notwithstanding the honour to which it paved the way. There were thus many motives for discontent existent ; and by working upon them by means of his agents, Absalom was enabled to place the king in a position of the greatest danger. The conspiracy was the more alarming from the secrecy with which the preparations for it had been conducted (see 2 Sam. XV. 11). As soon as the news reached Jerusalem, David, fearing a sudden attack, and having only a small force in the capital, saw no hope but in flight. He was accompanied by his house- hold (with the exception of ten concubines), and by his Philistine body-guard of 600, together with Joab and Abishai. A Gittite chief named Ittai, who had recently attached himself to David, also remained faithful to the monarch's fallen fortunes; and when the king reviewed his followers at a place called Beth- merhak (perhaps a locality in the suburbs of the capital), persisted in sharing in his withdrawal, in spite of remonstrances. The Levites, with Zadok at their head, also came, bringing with them the Ark of Jehovah (probably as a kind of palladium)^ and proposed to accompany David with it ; whilst Abiathar, who likewise attended, offered sacrifices^ as the royal escort was evacuating the city. But the king would not permit tbe priests with the Ark to join him, partly from pious motives (believing that if he found favour in Jehovah's sight he would be restored to Jerusalem and to the sanctuary), and partly from prudential reasons ; for the presence of the priests in Jerusalem would enable him to obtain information of Absalom's designs, when ^ Giloh was in Judah {/osk. xv. 51). "^ Ci. 2 Sam. xxiii. 34 with xi. 3. ^ In -? Satn, xv. 24 Abiathar went up should probably be Abiathat sacrificed. 266 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the city fell into his hands. The direction of the retreat was over the mount of Olives towards the Arabah and the Jordan. The melancholy procession was met on the mount by a devoted servant of the king's, named Hushai, an Archite,^ who was directed to remain at Jerusalem and gain the confidence of Absalom, with a view to communicating his plans to David through the priests Zadok and Abiathar. Ziba, the servant of Meribbaal (Mephibosheth), also came to meet the fugitives with refreshments for the king and his train, representing, in answer to David's enquiries, that his master Meribbaal had remained behind in hope of regaining his father's throne. On hearing this, David still felt himself king enough to order the confiscation of Meribbaal's property, which he bestowed on Ziba. At Bahurim, on the road from Jerusalem to the Jordan fords, a man called Shimei, connected with the family of Saul, cursed David, and reproached him with the blood of Saul's house spilled by him (alluding doubtless to the executions demanded by the Gibeonites). The king submitted patiently to all his insults, and prevented Abishai from avenging them as he sought to do. The dispirited company finally reached a place called Ayephmi,^ where they rested. After the departure of David from Jerusalem, the city was entered by Absalom. Hushai offered his services, which Absalom, though not v/ithout a sneer, accepted. Ahitophel then advised that Absalom should assume that the throne had been vacated by David's flight, and should act as his successor by taking possesion of the concubines^ who had been left behind. The breach between him and his father would then be com- plete, and his sympathisers would feel that they were committed to rebellion, and therefore could only secure their own safety by bringing it to a successful issue {2 Sam. xvi. 21). Absalom acted on the advice, and was subsequently anointed king (see 2 Sam. xix. 10). On the question of pursuing the fugitive monarch opinions ^ The Archites lived on the southern border of Ephraim {Josh. xvi. 2). "^ It is possible, however, that this word is an adjective meaning exhausted (LXX. (KKiKv^hoi), and that the name of the place (which must then be the Bahurim of xvi. 5) is omitted. * CL 2 6am. xii, 8. THE REIGN OF DAVID 267 were divided. Ahitophel urged that he should be followed at once, and overtaken before he and his supporters had recovered from the distress and despondency of the retreat; and offered himself to conduct the expedition, if a force of 12,000 were placed at his service, asserting that he would bring back the people to Absalom like a bride to her husband.^ But Hushai objected that an encounter (possibly under disadvantageous circumstances) with a body of desperate men, commanded by so redoubtable a warrior as David, involved too great a risk at a moment when Absalom was not yet securely seated on the throne. He there- fore advised that an offensive movement should not be made until a general levy could be held, and a force got together which would overcome all resistance. The counsel of Hushai prevailed, and Ahitophel, seeing in the rejection of his proposal the ultimate ruin of Absalom's cause, forestalled disaster by taking his own life. Meanwhile Hushai, fearful lest second thoughts might show Absalom the wisdom of Ahitophel's advice, and the king be surprised before he could gather a force round him, sent a message to him, pressing upon him the necessity of placing the Jordan between him and his enemies. The messengers had a narrow escape of being detected. They had stayed at En-rogel ("Job's," or "Joab's well," in the valley S. of Jerusalem) ^ in order not to excite suspicion by returning to the city after having been seen in David's train (xv. 27). But their presence there had been reported to Absalom, and they only avoided capture by conceaHng themselves in a well, over the top of which a woman scattered bruised corn, as though for drying. Having thus evaded the danger of arrest, they reached the king safely ; who acted at once upon the counsel conveyed by them. He crossed the river, and established himself at Mahanaim. There he re- ceived supplies from Gileadites like Barzillai and Machir,^ and ^ So the LXX. in 2 Sam. xvii. 3 for the unintelligible the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned. 2 En-rogel '\% identified by many with *' the Virgin's fountain" in the valley of the Kidron. This, however, is most probably Gihon {2 Ch. xxxii. 30, cf. p. 301) ; and as Gihon and En-rogcl were distinct (see i Kg. i. 9, 38, 41), the latter must be placed elsewhere. The chief objection to its identification with Joab's well is that this is said to be really a well and not a spring. ' Cf. 2 Sam. ix. 4. 268 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY from an Ammonite chief Shobi, the son of Nahash, and brother and perhaps rival of Hanun ; and gradually an army gathered round him, which he divided into three divisions commanded by Joab, Abishai, and Ittai. At length Absalom thought himself strong enough to take the field; and he accordingly crossed the Jordan and occupied a position confronting David's forces at Mahanaim, his army being under the command of Amasa, a man who was of Ishmaelite extraction on his father's side {i Ch. ii. 17), but on his mother's side related both to Joab and to David {2 Sam. xvii. 25, xix. 13). There he was attacked by David's troops, the king himself, at the request of his men, remaining with the reserves in the city. As his army issued forth to battle, David gave his three generals strict injunctions to spare Absalom, if the fortune of the day put him at their mercy. The engagement took place in the neigh- bourhood of a wood called the Forest of Ephraim (which is not otherwise known) ;^ and resulted in the total defeat of Absalom's army, 20,000 men (it is said) being slain. The pursuit was con- tinued through the forest where large numbers perished. Among the fugitives was Absalom himself, whose head, as he rode on his mule, became entangled in the boughs of a terebinth, and he was left suspended. His helpless condition was observed and re- ported by one of the king's guards to Joab, who, notwithstanding the orders he had received to spare Absalom's life, at once killed him. 2 Over his body was piled a heap of stones which ser\'ed to mark his grave, though his name was likewise associated with another monument, a pillar which he erected during his lifetime in a place called the King's Dale, to keep his memory alive, since his three sons died in infancy (2 Sam. xiv. 27, xviii. 18), and only a daughter, Tamar, was left to survive him.^ After Absalom's death the royal forces were recalled from the pursuit; and the residue of the rebel army dispersed to their homes. Tidings of ^ Some for Ephraim have conjectured Mahanaim. ' There seems to be some inconsistency between 2 Sam. xviii. 14, which represents Absalom as slain by Joab himself, and ver. 15 which states that he was killed by ten of Joab's guard. ' Tamar's daughter Maacah became the mother of King Abijah (/ Kg, XV. 2, where daughter of Abishalom stands for granddaughter of Abishalom {Absalom) ). THE REIGN OF DAVID 269 his son's end were carried to David at Mahanaim by Ahimaaz the son of Zadok,! and a certain Ethiopian; and his distress was so great that the conquering troops, instead of returning in triumph, slunk into the city like beaten men. It was not until Joab addressed the king in tones of threatening remonstrance that he roused himself from his grief and bore himself gratefully towards those whose loyalty had stood between him and the sword of his unworthy son. The result of the battle brought about a revulsion of feeling amongst the people in favour of the injured king; and a wide- spread desire was manifested for his return. The tribe of Judah, which had been foremost in the revolt, was naturally most back- ward in the movement for David's restoration. But the king, who had got wind of the altered sentiments of the nation at large,^ appealed skilfully, through the priests Zadok and Abiathar, to the ties which subsisted between him and his fellow-tribesmen ; whilst to Amasa, Absalom's general, he not only offered pardon but promotion, promising to make him captain of the host in the room of Joab, whose recent disregard of his wishes he bitterly resented. These approaches were successful; and the men of Judah, without waiting for the rest of the tribes to join them, went down to Gilgal to bring the king over Jordan. They were ac- companied by 1,000 Benjamites, together with Shimei and Ziba, the former of whom entreated forgiveness for his previous conduct, which David, in spite of the protest of Abishai, granted. Merib- baal also came down among the concourse from Jerusalem,^ to meet the king, and defended himself against the representations of Ziba, alleging that his failure to accompany the king in his flight was due to his helplessness. But he seemingly only partly convinced David that he had been slandered, for the latter, instead of restoring to him the whole of his property and punish- ing Ziba, curtly directed that it should be divided between them. Nor whilst pardoning his enemies, did the king forget his friends ; * Ahimaaz is said to have run by the way of the Plairiy i.e. the valley, or Circle, of the Jordan {Gen. xiii. lo), which perhaps offered an easier, though presumably longer, road than the wooded hills traversed by the Ethiopian. 2 After 2 Sam. xix. lo the LXX. adds koX rb prjfia raprbs IcrpaTjX ^XOev ■Trpbi Tov /SacrtX^a. ' 3 Sam. xix. 25 marg. 270 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY for he wished to take with him to his court the Gileadite Barzillai, who had supported him so generously at Mahanaim. Barzillai, however, excused himself on the ground of his age from going further than the Jordan, though he accepted the king's proffered kindness for his son Chimham.^ At the Jordan David was met by the men of Judah and such of the remaining Israelites who could reach the spot in time; and by them he was escorted to Jerusalem. There one of his first actions was to seclude the ten concubines whom Absalom had treated as his own ; and they lived the rest of their lives in widowhood. The proposal to bring back the king did not (as has been seen) originate with Judah; and when that tribe thus stole a march upon the rest of the nation by being the first to welcome David, much indignation was excited, and it was implied that its conduct was dictated by the hope of obtaining exceptional favours from him. And so fierce were the passions generated in the dispute that it culminated in a second rebellion, a Benjamite, called Sheba, the son of Bichri, from mount Ephraim,^ appealing suc- cessfully to the remaining tribes to unite in a demonstration against Judah. But prompt steps were taken by David to suppress the rising. As soon as he reached Jerusalem, he directed Amasa (as the newly-appointed captain of the host) to collect a force from Judah within three days. As he failed, however, to appear by the time named, Abishai, in order to prevent Sheba from en- trenching himself in a fortress, was ordered to pursue him with a body of household troops, his brother Joab joining him with a company of soldiers who were attached to him. At Gibeon, on their march northward, they were (seemingly) overtaken by Amasa ; and Joab seized the opportunity treacherously to assassi- nate his supplanter.2 Continuing the pursuit, the two brothers came up with Sheba at Abel-beth-maacah, or Abel-maim {2 Ch. xvi. 4), a city not far from Dan, into which he had thrown 1 Ci.Jer. xli. 17. 2 The Benjamite Shimei also associated himself with the tribe of Joseph {2 Sam. xix. 20). ^ The passage {2 Sam. xx. 8-10) describing how Joab killed Amasa is obscure : it would seem that the former allowed his sword to drop from its sheath in order to disarm his enemy's suspicions, but had another weapon concealed, with which he smote Amasa whilst saluting him. THE REIGN OF DAVID 271 himself with his fellow-clansmen, ^ and where he was besieged. The citizens saved their town by delivering, at the suggestion of a woman, the rebel's head to Joab ; and the revolt which seems to have had little support behind it at once came to an end. This was the last of the civil commotions which necessitated an appeal to arms; and the only other disquietude which dis- turbed the monarch's declining days arose from palace cabals. David was now old and infirm ; and as his feebleness increased, a young woman was obtained to nurse him, Abishag of Shunem. The near prospect of his death made the question of the suc- cession pressing ; and a strong party, including Joab and Abiathar, was formed to further the claims of Adonijah, who, in the order of David's family, came next to Absalom,^ and like him 'was possessed of great personal beauty {i Kg. i. 6), and had been indulgently treated by his father. But the indefeasible right of the eldest son to succeed to the throne was not yet a recognised principle in Israel. The reigning sovereign had it in his power to nominate his successor (z Kg. i. 20) ; and a counter-intrigue was immediately set on foot to procure from the king a decision in favour of Bathsheba's son Solomon. Adonijah had already surrounded himself with a body-guard {i Kg, i. 5, cf. 2 Sam. XV. i); and he next proceeded to summon his followers (includ- ing all the royal princes except Solomon) to a sacrificial feast near En-rogel (the modern Bir-eyub\ at which he might be proclaimed king. Zadok the second priest,^ Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, and others, were not favourable to his pretensions ; and Nathan took the opportunity, whilst Adonijah was at En-rogel, to urge Bathsheba to extract from the king a confirmation of a promise he had made that Solomon should be his successor. Adonijah's assumption of authority (skilfully dwelt upon by Bathsheba, in an interview with the king, and by Nathan who followed her into the royal presence) provoked the aged David not only to ratify his promise, but to take immediate steps to carry it into effect. Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah were commis- ^ The text of 2 Sam. xx. 14 has the BeriteSy but a plausible conjecture is the Bichrites. 2 Chileab, David's second son (Amnon being the eldest), had presumably died before this, 8 See the LXX. of / Kg. ii. 35, and cf. 2 Kg. xxv. 18. 272 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY sioned to take Solomon to Gihon (the modern Vtrgin^s Sprtng\ and there anoint him king ; and afterwards to bring him to Jerusalem and place him on the throne. The commands were carried out. With the horn of consecrated oil from the Tent of Jehovah^ Solomon was anointed, and then publicly proclaimed king. The noise of the shouting people reached the ears of the feasters at En-rogel, who at once dispersed in alarm. Adonijah himself took refuge at the Altar, which he refused to leave until he obtained a promise from Solomon, who was recognised as already invested with full powers, that his life would be spared. This Solomon granted, and dismissed him to his house (/ Kg, i- 50-53)- David's end was now at hand ; and before dying he gave a last charge to his successor. It was of a sufficiently vindictive char- acter; for both Joab and Shimei were directed to be put to death, the former for his murders of Abner and Amasa,^ the latter for his insults on the occasion of the flight from Jerusalem. On the other hand the sons of Barzillai were commended to Solomon's care, in gratitude for the kindness David had received in his time of need from their father. The king passed away soon after this at the age of seventy (2 Sam. v. 4-5), having reigned a little over forty years (seven and a half at Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem), and was buried in his own capital. In 2 Sam. xxiii. 1-7 a short Psalm is inserted which is styled "the last words of David." There is nothing in the subject-matter seriously at vari- ance with the alleged authorship (though it is in no sense a death-bed utterance) ; but in the introductory verse David is described objectively as ** pleasant in (or the favourite of) the psalms of Israel," which suggests that the ascription of the psalm to him may be a literary device, his position and character making him seem an appropriate exponent of the sentiments which the writer desired to express. The importance of David's reign in the history of Israel and, indirectly, of the world cannot be over-estimated. Under him Israel finally passed from the tribal into the national phase of existence. The work which Saul had initiated was shattered by a foreign invasion with which he was unable to cope ; and it had ^ According to Ex. xxx. 22-33 (P) the only persons upon whom the holy anointing oil, kept in the Tent of Meeting, might be poured were the sons of Aaron. '^ In / Kg. ii. 5, for the blood of war LXX. A has at^M. ddi^ov. THE REIGN OF DAVID 273 to be done again. David accomplished this, and more. From the depressed and humbled condition in which the country found itself at Saul's death it was raised to a position of supremacy over its immediate neighbours; and began to take a place amongst the powers of the Eastern world. The external con- ditions were thereby assured which were necessary to the pro- tection and growth of those aptitudes which have specially distinguished Israel amongst the nations of mankind; and the Hebrew state being thus enabled to stand the shocks of fortune for a considerable period, the Hebrew religion had time enough to attain its true development. This result was achieved by David in consequence partly of his military genius and partly of his religious enthusiasm. Of his prowess as a soldier and conduct as a general his almost un- chequered success is proof. His prudence under difficult circum- stances and his resourcefulness in times of stress find repeated illustration in the course of his career {i Sam. xviii. 14, xxviii. 2, 2 Sam. XV. 34, xix. 11 foil). In his warlike operations he was aided by a number of able officers like Joab, Abishai, and Benaiah; and in this connection mention ought to be made of Abner, for though he did not live to serve under David, he must have done much, by fighting for Eshbaal (Ishbosheth) against the PhiHstines, to facilitate David's subsequent task. But the after-history of Israel might, humanly speaking, have been quite other than it was, had not the extension and consolidation of the kingdom been effected by one who was in close sympathy with all that was best in the religion of his age. David gave to his people not only the stability essential to national progress, but also a strong stimulus in the right direction. In this he stood in marked contrast to Saul. His relations with the prophets Nathan and Gad were very different from those subsisting between Saul and Samuel. David's frank submission to Nathan's unflinching rebuke of his adultery with Bathsheba must have been of incal- culable value to his subjects by its overt acknowledgment of the supremacy of Jehovah's law over the arbitrary will of the sovereign himself. And even such external service to God as David ren- dered by collecting materials for the Temple promoted, in its degree, the progress of a spiritual faith. How much the Temple, I 2/4 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY erected after his death, contributed to the maintenance and pre- servation of the Hebrew religion will be considered later; but whatever its worth in this respect, the credit of it belongs almost as much to David as to his son. That David shared many of the faults of his own age is as evident as is the fact that in many ways he displayed virtues rare in any age. His gross immorality and tyranny in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah, his cruel treatment of defeated enemies (who, however, generally met with scant consideration in anti- quity), his duplicity towards Shimei, and his ingratitude to Joab (who, in spite of his insubordination and bloodguiltiness, had rendered him invaluable service), leave deep stains upon his memory. There is, too, more than a suspicion of feebleness in his administration of justice, in spite of the encomium upon him in 2 Sa??i. viii. 15. As a father he was led by paternal tenderness to be too indulgent; and many of the troubles of his later life are traceable to his leniency towards his headstrong and worthless sons. But these defects were counterbalanced by many noble qualities. His loyalty to Saul, even when the latter was bent on his destruction, his anxious solicitude for the rebelUous Absalom, his kindness to Meribbaal (Mephibosheth), his thoughtfulness for Ittai {2 Sa?n. xv. 19-20), his gratitude to Barzillai, and his generous recognition of the valour of Abner, though this must have been often displayed against himself, are traits which combine to make the character of David, in spite of his numerous faults and his great fall, a singularly attractive one. The devotion he could inspire in his followers is evidenced by more than one striking story (see i Sam. xviii. 16, 2 Sam. iii. 36, xv. 21, xviii. 3, xxi. 17, xxiii. 13-17). And the episode of his friendship with Jonathan, as it forms one of the most touching narratives in the O.T., perhaps also puts David in as favourable a light as anything else related of him ; for if it reflects lustre upon Saul's son, who could so love the man who was to supplant him, it is likewise strong testimony to the worth of him who could awaken that love. The general condition of religion prevalent in the nation in the time of David will come under review in the following chapter : here it is only necessary to note the religious disposition of the THE REIGN OF DAVID 275 king himself. The account of the removal of the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem testifies to the sensuousness which entered into David's ideas of religion in common with those of his countrymen in general; yet such sensuous ideas respecting the Deity and the worthiest way of honouring Him were not incompatible with spiritual feelings of a high order. His reply to his wife Michal, when she taunted him with dancing nakedly before the Ark, is imbued with so real and profound a spirit of humility and devotion that the rude character of the scene is lost sight of (2 Sam. vi. 21, 22). His penitence under the reproof of Nathan on the occasion of his sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. xii. 13) evinces the essential nobility of his nature in spite of the victories of passion. His prayerful attitude when his child was sick (xii. 16 foil.), his resignation when a fugitive before Absalom (xv. 25, 26), his faith in the Divine mercy when (accord- ing to the narrative) he had to choose between the chastisements to be inflicted on him (xxiv. 14), and his tender appeal that the people might not be made to suffer for his fault (xxiv. 17), all show that David, whilst certainly a sinner, had also in him some- thing of the saint. The character which was attributed to him in later times was, no doubt, largely idealised; but the most trust- worthy records of his life make it clear that the portrait, though embellished, was not wholly a work of imagination. David possessed, in addition to great military and political capacity, much skill as a musician and poet. It was because he was a cunning player upon the harp that he was first intro- duced to Saul's notice (z Sam. xvi. 18); and the prophet Amos ascribes to him the devising of instruments of music (Am. vi. 5, cf. I Ch. xxiii. 5, Nth. xii. 36). Two of his elegies, one on the death of Saul and Jonathan {2 Sam. i. 19 foil), and the other (seemingly a fragment only) on that of Abner {2 Sam. iii. 33-34), are preserved ; and the first of them is remarkable for its depth of feeling and delicacy of phrase. In 2 Sam. tAvo psalms are also attributed to him. One of these {2 Sa?n. xxiii. 1-7) has already been considered; whilst the second {2 Sam. xxii. 2 foil.) is iden- tical (some unimportant variations apart) with Fs. xviii., and the question of its authorship falls within the wider subject of the origin of the 73 Psalms in the Psalter which bear David's name. 276 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY It has been shown in the Introduction that certain of these Psalms, notwithstanding the evidence suppUed by their titles, can hardly be the work of David. But with regard to the authorship of the rest, two conflicting considerations stand in the way of a positive conclusion for or against a Davidic origin, viz. on the one hand the applicability to numerous other people of such parts of their contents as are consistent with his character; and on the other the possibility, where isolated allusions occur to late conditions inconsistent with his situation, of these being additions subse- quently introduced. It is, in short, equally difficult to deny the probability that David wrote some of the Psalms and to decide confidently that he was the writer of any particular psalm. In view of his religious fervour, the presumption that he devoted his poetic skill (attested by his elegies) to religious purposes is strong ; and the popular assignment to him of so much religious poetry doubtless rests on some solid basis of fact ; but it is impossible to determine in detail what proportion of this body of verse is really his work. In / Ch. xvi. parts of three psalms, viz. Ps. cv. 1-15, xcvi. I-I3a, and cvi. 47, 48, though not expressly ascribed to David's authorship, are represented as used by his direction on the occasion of the removal of the Ark from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem. Of these cvi. 47, 48 bears on the surface evidence of an exilic origin. CHAPTER X RELIGION FROM THE CONQUEST TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF DAVID THE period through which Israel passed from the entry into Canaan under Joshua to the death of David was one of turmoil. The nation was engaged either in acquiring and occupy- ing new territory, or in defending its acquisitions against assail- ants; and it was not until towards the close of David's reign that tranquillity from external alarms was attained. Such a time of conflict against foreign foes was not likely to witness great developments in religion and morals. The experiences under- gone, though they helped to produce the conditions essential to future intellectual and spiritual progress, were not favourable to such progress in the immediate present. Consequently the state of things prevailing during this age, though possessing features of its own, cannot have differed very extensively from that of the age preceding it; and appeal may reasonably be made to it to confirm or disprove the conclusions already reached respecting the actual contents of the legislation promulgated by Moses. Contact with Canaanite corruption did not, of course, leave Israel altogether unscathed ; and in arguing from the later age to the earlier, allowance must be made for this. The influence of communities, in some respects much superior in civilisation, must have asserted itself amongst the Israelites, in spite of the injunctions of their lawgiver and the animosity aroused by war. This would be still more active if the establishment of Israel in Canaan had not been so entirely the result of force as at first sight appears ; and where peaceable relations were set up, Canaanite ideas and usages could not fail to spread. But it may 277 278 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY be doubted whether the religious apostasy impHed, for instance, in parts of the book of Judges was really as complete as is there represented. The wide generalisations of what has been termed " the framework " of that book are not confirmed by some of the earlier narratives of which it forms the setting; for these, whilst testifying to some adoption of alien forms of religion (see Jud. V. 8), do not indicate a wholesale abandonment by the nation of the service of Jehovah {see Jud. vi. 13, xi. 10). It seems prob- able that the declension from Mosaic principles consisted less in the substitution of the worship of Canaanite deities for that of Jehovah than in the combination of the two. A strong motive for uniting the service of the native Baalim to the service of their own national God would be found in the fact that the Baalim were especially associated with the soil and regarded as the givers of fertiUty (cf. Hos. ii, 5) ; and the Israelites just at this time were passing from pastoral to agricultural life, and would therefore be inclined to propitiate powers connected with the latter. The fact that worship was thus rendered to other gods as well as to Jehovah proves that in the popular belief the latter was only one amongst a number of deities, pre-eminent but not solitary in His divine attributes.^ To the mind of the Israelites of this age the gods of the peoples about them were equally real with their own God. That this was not the view only of those who were unfaithful to Jehovah, but was shared by those whose loyalty to the national faith is unimpeached, is shown by more than one instance. Jephthah in his argument with the Ammonites {Jud. xi. 24) assumes that the relations of Chemosh to the latter were identical with those of Jehovah to Israel, and gives no indication that he considered Chemosh to be non-existent. And if it is possible to represent his language as only an argumentum ad hominem^ it is more difficult to explain away the conclusion suggested by David's words in i Sa?n. xxvi. 19, namely, that ^ There occur passages, indeed, such as those in Josh. ii. 11, iii. 11, in which Jehovah is described in terms suggestive of a more exalted conception, but the first of these comes from Deid. iv. 39, and the second, which has its only parallels in the prophets of the 8th and subsequent centuries (see Mic. iv. 13, Zech. iv. 14, vi. 5), is connected ungrammatically with its context; so that both may be later insertions. RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 279 David himself believed in the reality of the gods who were worshipped beyond the Hmits of Israelite soil.^ Nor is it likely that any broad distinction could be drawn between Jehovah and the Canaanite deities so long as the same title Baal was applied to the former as well as to the latter. And that this was the case seems beyond question. The term enters into the composition of two names belonging to the family of Saul, Eshbaal and Meribbaal ; and it is scarcely credible that in these it represents any other divinity except Jehovah. In the name of one of David's warriors, Bealiah, it actually occurs in combination with Jah, the shortened form oi Jehovah {i Ch. xii. 5). And finally, even as late as the time of Rosea, the appellation Baali (my Baal) was popularly applied to Israel's God by His worshippers ; and the inevitable results of the practice upon the people's belief are recognised by the prophet (see Hos. ii. 16). But just in proportion as Israel believed the gods of foreign nations to be real entities, it believed that such nations had no part in the care or providence of Jehovah. It considered Jehovah to be exclusively its own God, itself to be Jehovah's people, and its land to be Jehovah's inheritance {2 Sam. i. 12, I Sam. xxvi. 19, 2 Satn. xiv. 16, xxi. 4). Israel's battles were Jehovah's battles (Jt^d. v. 23, vii. 18, i Sam. xviii. 17, xxv. 28), and when Israel suffered disgrace, Jehovah's name was profaned (7 Sam. xii. 22). The identification of Jehovah's cause with that of the Hebrew people found reflection in the title " Jehovah of Hosts " {Jehovah Tsebdoth), which, as at first used, seems to have had reference to the IsraeUte armies (see Ex. vii. 4, i Sam. xvii. 45, of. ver. 26).^ It was especially in the conduct and destiny of the nation's leaders that Jehovah's power manifested itself. To His spirit was due the prowess of Othniel {Jud. iii. 10), Gideon {Jud. vi. 34), Jephthah {Jud. xi. 29), Samson {Jud. xiii. ^ In -? Sam. vii. 22 Jehovah's sole godhead is asserted just as in 2 Is. xlv. 5, 21 ; but the section ver. 22-24 in which the statement occurs has some close parallels to Deut. (see Deu(. vii. 8, ix. 26, xv. 15 [redeem), x. 21 {great and terrible things), iv. 34), and probably proceeds from the compiler; cf. Introd. pp. 9-10. "^ The word host is likewise applied to (i) the stars, *' the host of heaven" (see 2 Is. xl. 26, yeuf. ii. 30). He sent plagues upon the inhabitants of Bethshemesh as well as upon the Philistines {i Sam. vi. 19), smote Uzzah for touching the Ark {2 Sam. vi. 7), and visited the land with famine and pestilence {2 Sam. xxi. i, xxiv. 15). And as Jehovah, in the writings relat- ing to this period, appears generally exclusive in His sympathies, and unaccountable and arbitrary in some of His actions, so the worship rendered to Him is largely ceremonial and formal, and the conduct believed to be acceptable to Him is sometimes cruel. The Ark, as in the time of Moses, was still the chief symbol of Jehovah's presence amongst His people. This, when trans- ported from place to place, was kept in a tent {2 Sam. vii. 6-7), but at Shiloh, whither it was brought by Joshua, it was seemingly placed in a more substantial structure (called in i Sam. i. 7, 9, iii. 3, the house, or temple, of Jehovah),^ which had doors and doorposts, and within which a lamp was regularly kept burning (7 Sam. i. 9, iii. 3, 15) and an attendant was constantly present. In time of war it was regarded as a palladium ; and before the battle of Ebenezer it was taken into the Israelite camp (7 Sam. iv. 3 foil., cf. 2 Sam. xi. 1 1, Num. xiv. 44). In the ensuing engage- ment it fell into the hands of the PhiUstines, and by them was 1 Cf. Am. iii. 6, Ezek. xx. 25, 2 Is. xiv. 7. 2 In Josh. vi. 24, ix. 23 (29), the term house (of Jehovah) is omitted by the LXX- RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 281 carried in succession to several of their cities, its progress being accompanied by plagues. When restored to Israel after an absence of some months, it was left ?.t Kiriath Jearim in charge of one Abinadab; and as the death of Uzzah happened in the course of its removal thence, it was deposited by David in the house of Obed-edom. Finally it was conveyed to Jerusalem where it was placed in a tent which David pitched for it {2 Sam. vi. 17), and to which presumably reference is made in i Kg. i. 39, ii. 28, viii. 4.^ So sacred was it believed to be that the plagues which broke out at the Philistine cities which harboured it and at Bethshemesh afterwards, were ascribed to profane treat- ment of it; and similarly the sudden death of Uzzah was attributed to his rashly handling it. But though the presence of the Ark, first at Shiloh and after- wards at Jerusalem, gave to these places a pre-eminent position in the estimation of the people, they were not the sole sanctuaries. Allusions to a large number of others, scattered here and there throughout the country, occur in the history of this period. Among these were Hebron and Bethlehem, in Judah {2 Sam. XV. 7, I Sam. xvi. 5, xx. 6), the mount of Olives near Jerusalem {2 Sam. XV. 32), Gilgal, Bethel, Mizpah, Ramah, Nob, Gibeon, in Benjamin and Ephraim (z Sam. xi. 15 (cf. xv. 12, 15), x. 3, vii. 6, 17, xxi. I foil., I Kg. iii. 4), Mount Ebal, near Shechem {Josh. viii. 30), Ophrah, in Manasseh {/ud. viii. 27), Laish, or Dan, in the extreme north {Jud. xviii. 30), and Mizpah in Gilead (Jud. xi. 11). Two of these are regarded by the writer of the book of Judges with disapproval, namely those erected by the Danites at Laish and by Gideon at his native Ophrah — possibly because of the image worship practised at them. But there is no indication that the existence of the rest was irregular and illegitimate, though it is contrary to the direction contained in Deut. xii. 5-7. It can, indeed, be urged that the institution of some of these was either directly enjoined, or became necessary or expedient during the interval between the destruction of Shiloh and the final removal of the Ark to Jerusalem. But there is nothing to suggest that their origin is to be thus ex- ^ The Chronicler supposes that the Mosaic tabernacle was at this time at Gibeon {/ Ch. xvi. 39, xxi. 29, s Ch. i. 3). 282 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY plained ; whilst there are others, such as those at Olivet, Hebron, and Gibeon, which were contemporaneous with the existence of a sanctuary at Jerusalem, and for which the consideration just noticed does not account.^ Of the reasons which led to these various locaHties being regarded as sanctuaries, nothing is definitely known, though it may be conjectured that they were severally the scenes of various occurrences which were believed to be specially indicative of the Divine activity. At certain of these the principal object of importance seems to have been an Ephod {Jud. viii. 27, z Safn. xxi. 9; ci. Jud. xviii. 14, 20). An ephod was used for the purpose of divining the will of Jehovah (/ Sam. xiv. 18 (LXX.), xxiii. 9, xxx. 7) ; but its real nature is uncertain. The term usually describes the linen garment regularly worn by priests (j Sam. xxii. 18, cf. i Sam. ii. 18), and is so explained by Josephus in connection with i Sam. xiv. 18, xxx. 7; but the description m Jud. viii. 26 of the construction of Gideon's ephod at Ophrah from the golden spoils of the Ishmaelites (amounting to the weight of 1,700 shekels), and the language of i Sa^n. xxi. 9, which relates that the sword of Goliath was kept at Nob behind the ephod^ suggests that it was some kind of image. Otherwise the only mention of an image in con- nection with the worship of Jehovah during this period occurs in the story of Micah and the Danites. Another way by which the will of Jehovah might be ascertained was through Urim and Thummim. These appear to have been two sacred lots (see I Safn. xiv. 40 foil. LXX.) by means of which a decision could be obtained between two doubtful alternatives. A third medium of divination was the Teraphim (see Ezek. xxi. 21 foil., Zech. X. 2). The use of teraphim^ according to i Sam. xv. 23, was forbidden ; but they were found not only in the house of Micah {Jud. xvii. 5), but also in that of David (z Sam. xix. 13). The latter passage suggests that they were images of human form, but the method of their employment is quite unknown. In regard to the Priesthood, it would appear that the service of the Ark, after the death of Aaron, remained in his family. ^ Similarly at an earlier period the sanctuaries at Mizpah, Bethel, and Shiloh Jtid. XX. I, 26 (cf. xxi. 2), xxi. 19) seem to have been contemporaneous, the Ark being situated at Bethel (xx. 27). RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 283 Aaron's immediate successor (as has been seen) was his third son Eleazar {Num. xx. 25 foil.), who was Joshua's contemporary and coadjutor in the work of apportioning the land of Canaan among the several tribes {Josh. xiv. i). Eleazar was followed by Phinehas {Jud. xx. 27-28); but after the death of the latter, the succession is obscure, for Eli was probably descended from Aaron's fourth son Ithamar.^ Eli had two sons, Hophni and Phinehas; and when these were slain at Ebenezer, the priest- hood passed to Phinehas' son Ahitub {i Sam. xiv. 3). Ahitub's son Ahijah has been identified with the Ahimelech of i Sam. xxi. I, xxii. 9; and when he with his fellow-priests were executed by order of Saul, his son Abiathar fled to David {i Sar?i. xxii. 20), and was made high priest when the latter became king. But Zadok, of the house of Eleazar, was also priest during David's reign {2 Sam. viii. 17),^ though perhaps in a subordinate position; for when Solomon deposed Abiathar from his office for support- ing Adonijah, he substituted Zadok (/ Kg. ii. 27, 35), from whom the subsequent high priests derived their lineage. But though the descendants of Aaron were thus specially attached to the leading sanctuary, the priesthood was not confined to them, for Levites in general were in request as priests elsewhere {/ud. xvii. 13). And it is clear that priestly functions could even be discharged by others than Levites not only in times of corrup- tion, but under more settled conditions. Micah, an Ephraimite, before he obtained the services of a Levite, made one of his own sons a priest {/ud. xvii. 5) ; Samuel, who offered sacrifice, and wore the priestly garment, the ephod, was also an Ephraimite {i Sam. i.); and sacrificial rites were performed by Gideon a Manassite {/ud. vi.), Manoah a Danite {/ud. xiii.) and Saul, who was a Benjamite {i Sam. xiii. 9, 12). David, a native of Judah, is related to have worn the priestly ephod {2 Sam. vi. 14), and to have blessed the people {2 Sam. vi. 17, 18) ;3 whilst he * See p. 210, note. ^ In this verse Ahimelech the son of Abiathar is probably a mistake for Abiathar the son of Ahimelech ; see p. 259, note. ^ Similarly in Homeric times, though the priesthood was an established institution, yet chiefs like Nestor and his sons, and even swineherds like Eumseus, offered sacrifice without the intervention of a priest {Od. iii. 440 foil., xiv. 446). 284 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY had amongst his priests certain of his own sons, as well as a Manassite called Ira {2 Sam. viii. 18, xx. 26). Some of these instances of priestly duties being undertaken by others than Levites are no doubt capable of explanation. The sacrifices of Gideon and Manoah (according to the historian) were oflfered under exceptional circumstances to angels who are related to have appeared to them ; and the sacrifice offered by Saul is possibly to be regarded as illegitimate.^ But others of the instances adduced are not so easily explained away; and even if Samuel be thought to have been invested with the authority of a priest in virtue of his character as a prophet, the case of David's sons, at least, is in striking contradiction to the injunctions of Deutero- nomy and the Priestly code. The Chronicler (/ Ch. vi. 22-28) regards Samuel as of Levitical descent, and describes David's sons not as priests, but as "chief about the king" (/ Ch. xviii. 17) ; whilst in his account of the removal of the Ark to Jeru- salem {i Ch. XV.) he represents the distinction drawn in the Priestly code between Priests and Levites as being strictly observed. It deserves notice that the Levite procured by Micah to act as priest is described as being of Bethkhem-jxidah, of the family ofjudah {Jud. xvii. 7) ; and as the last words seem superfluous as an explanation of the position of Bethlehem-judah, it is possible that they relate to the Levite. If so, it has been suggested that the term Levite denotes his avocation rather than his tribal descent, it being assumed that priestly lore was, for the most part, preserved amongst the descendants of Levi only, but that it was sometimes imparted to others also, who were in consequence reckoned Levites. This assumption likewise meets the case of Samuel. Of the mode of worship, the recurrent festivals, and the dues assigned to the priests, few particulars are given. The various kinds of offerings alluded to in the books dealing with this period are burnt-offerings (7 Sam. vii. 7, x. 8), peace-offerings (7 Sam. X. 8, xi. 15), offerings for atonement (z Sam. xxvi. 19, cf. iii. 14), meal-offerings (including the Shewbread) and drink-offerings (both of wine and of water 2 (j Sam. i. 24, x. 3, vii. 6, 2 Sam. xxiii. 16)). In the case of animal sacrifices, the fat of the victim was ordinarily burnt on the altar {2 Sam. ii. 15), whilst its flesh was boiled (ver. 13, oi. Jud. vi. 19), and formed a meal for the worshippers (cf. also 2 Sam. vi. 19) — the sacrifices here described being doubtless peace-offerings. The Shewbread, ^ But see p. 222. ^ C£ Verg. A. xi. 23-4, summo hausit de gurgite lymphas^ Multa deos orans. RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 285 which was presented before Jehovah at the sanctuary (at Nob), and according to Lev. xxiv. 5-9 (P) was to be eaten by the sons of Aaron only, might (according to i Sam. xxi. 4) be partaken of by anyone who was technically holy ; and probably other meal- offerings were in part presented before the Deity, and in part eaten by the worshippers.^ Of the flesh - offerings the priests had a share,^ but what it legitimately was is not indicated (for the conduct of Eli's sons (7 Sam. ii. 13-16) was manifestly an abuse ^). The only festivals named are mentioned in connection with Shiloh and Bethlehem (Jud. xxi. 18, i Sam. i. 3, xx. 6), that at Shiloh being probably the Feast of Ingathering, which was a vintage festival {/ud. xxi. 21). The New Moon was also observed (7 Sam. xx. 5); and though no religious function is expressly stated to have been associated with it, the fact that un- cleanness excluded from the feast held on the day (ver. 26) points to its having a religious character, as was certainly the case later {Is. i. 13). Fasting seems to have been sometimes practised as a means of obtaining Divine favours {i Sam. xiv. 24). In regard to sacrifices the Chronicler, in accordance with his habit, carries back to the time of David the custom of offering burnt sacrifices every day both in the morning and in the evening (/ Ch. xvi. 40) — a usage which the other historical books imply did not prevail till a later date. More than one instance occurs of an offering made in pur- suance of a vow {/ud. xi. 30, 31, 2 Sam. xv. 7). Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter in consequence of his vow to offer as a burnt-offering to Jehovah whatever came forth from his house to meet him on his return from battle has been taken to point to the prevalence of human sacrifice among the IsraeHtes at this ^ In / Sam. x. 4 Saul is presented with two loaves by certain men who are going up to worship at Bethel, who thereby make him a sharer in their sacrificial feast. 2 Cf. the LXX. of I Sam. ii. 12-13 koI viol 'HXei rov lepim . . . ovk el86T€S rbv KOpiov Kal rb dtKalu/xa toD i^piios irapk rov \aov TravT^s toO dvovTOS. ' The offence of the young men seems to have been two-fold: (i) they robbed the worshippers by claiming all the flesh which the flesh-hook, when struck into the vessel containing it, brought up (ver. 13, 14) ; (2) they dishonoured the Deity (cf. ver. 17 marg.) by daring to take raw flesh for roasting before the fat was burnt. Of the cities which according to /osh. xxi. were set apart for the support of the sacerdotal order there appears no indication in the writings relating to this period. Nob, which in / Sam. xxii. 19 is termed ^Ae city of the priests^ is not among those enumerated xvijosh. 286 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY period; but the circumstances of the case are perhaps too am- biguous and the case itself certainly too isolated to afford suffi- cient basis for such a conclusion.^ A special kind of vow was that of the Nazirites, of which Samson and probably Samuel were made the subjects {Jud. xiii. 5, i Sam. i. 11). This re- quired them to refrain all their life long from cutting the hair of their heads; and from the fact that the mother of Samson before his birth was directed to abstain from drinking wine or strong drink, and from touching anything unclean, it has been presumed that the same prohibitions applied to her son, and that these abstentions formed even at this time part of the vow (cf. Ajh. ii. 12). It is, however, difficult to reconcile this with the stories related of Samson, who must often have incurred defilement from contact with dead bodies, even if he refrained from the use of wine, which, in view of his character, seems unlikely. It has already been pointed out that the Nazirite vow, regulated in Num. vi., differed from the historic instances, just alluded to, of Samson and Samuel in being temporary instead of life-long ; whilst other features of unlikeness are the explicit injunctions against using the products of the vine or incurring pollution from a corpse during the period of the vow, and the direction to offer at the end of it the hair of the head to be burnt on the altar. From this sketch it will be seen that the outward conditions of religion during the period corroborate the view previously taken of the Mosaic legislation. The ecclesiastical organisation of the Priestly code, with its centralised service, its extensive and precise system of sacrifice, its rigid lines of division between the several classes of ministers, and its ornate equipment both of the sanctuary and the priesthood is conspicuously absent.^ The religious worship of the community is relatively simple in character, connected with country occupations and tribal and family life, and associated with a number of favoured localities consecrated by tradition or by natural suitability. It must, of course, be granted that the history does not afford much occasion for ^ The death of Agag and the death of Saul's sons (/ Sam, xv. 33, 2 Sam. xxi. 6, 9) were religious executions at a sanctuary or holy place, not sacrifices in any strict sense ; cf. Num. xxv. 4. ^ In / Sam. ii. 22 the reference to "the women who did service at the door of the tent of meeting," who are mentioned in Ex. xxxviii. 8 (derived from P), is omitted by the LXX« RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 287 careful description of religious usages; and breaches occur of principles which, it is allowed, had certainly been affirmed before this. But in general the impression produced is that the legisla- tion with which the nation was acquainted at this time, whether obeyed or disobeyed, was not that of the Levitical code; and that this body of law, in its complete form, was not existent at the period under review. The religious institutions of the times of the Judges and the early Monarchy are most in harmony with those which have place in the Book of the Covenant; and the evidence thus furnished confirms the distinction that has been drawn between various portions of the Pentateuchal Laws. The sensuous conceptions which entered into the religion of the Mosaic age are observable in the beliefs and usages of this. The sanctity attached to the Ark, the confidence felt in its mere presence, the stress laid upon physical purity as a condition of religious communion, were features common to both. Religion was doubtless in a great degree a matter of ceremonial. It does not follow that because ritual was not so elaborate or rigid as is represented in the Priestly code that it was unimportant in early Israel. It was probably preserved and transmitted by tradition, and whilst following a general type, possibly varied in details at different places. But in spite of the formalism which the religion of Israel shared with ancient religions in general, it was never- theless an active moral force in the nation; and the history of this age indicates that, notwithstanding individual cases of depravity, the Israelites recognised in some respects a higher standard of conduct than prevailed amongst their neighbours. In regard to sensuality, for instance, the existence of a healthy public opinion is apparent from the punishment inflicted on Gibeah for an atrocious act, and by the language used con- cerning sexual offences in 2 Sam. xiii. 12 and elsewhere. In the promotion and advancement of morality religion was the chief agent — a result principally due to the prophets; and it is the fact that the age now under notice witnessed a great development of the prophetic spirit that constitutes the leading feature of its religious history. The function of a Prophet, as represented in the history of the Patriarchal and Mosaic periods, was to act as a mediator between 288 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY God and man ; and in Deut. xviii. 14 foil, he is declared to be the appointed channel of Jehovah's communications to His people, who are directed to hearken to the prophet who should from time to time be raised up among them, instead of to the augurs and diviners whom the Canaanites and other nations consulted. In J Sam. ix. 9 the term Prophet {ndbi) is said to have displaced an older word Seer {roeh) ;^ and it seems to be implied that the change was made subsequently to the time of Samuel. This does not agree with the evidence of the preceding books as they exist at present, for the word prophet occurs in the history of much earlier periods (see Gen. xx, 7, Num. xi. 25-29, xii. 6, Jud. iv. 4, vi. 8). Its use, however, in these passages may be an anachronism arising from the writers of them being more familiar with the later than the earlier name (though the latter survived, and is employed in 2 Ch. xvi. 7 in reference to persons living in the time of Asa). Be this as it may, some of the narratives in I Sam. reveal the seer or prophet in an aspect suggestive of primitive conditions. On the one hand, it was to Samuel in his character as a seer that Saul is represented as resorting in a matter purely secular, and offering a trifling present ^ in the hope that he might obtain from him information respecting the where- abouts of some strayed asses. And on the other hand, the bands of prophets who on two occasions were encountered by Saul, if inspired by religion, manifested it in its least rational aspect. First, when Saul left Samuel after the interview just mentioned, he fell in with a number of prophets, attended by music ; and on meeting them, he was infected by their spirit and "prophesied" with them. And again, at a later period, when he sent messengers to Naioth to take David, the men found Samuel there at the head of a company of prophets, prophesying; and they, yielding to the prophetic impulse, prophesied also ; whilst Saul himself, coming down afterwards, likewise shared the contagion, and prophesied, lying down naked all that day and night. These accounts indicate that in early times the name prophet was used to describe men possessed with reUgious frenzy, which was ^ There was also another word for seer^ namely hozeh^ which is applied to Gad, Iddo, Hanani, Amos, and others. 2 For other instances of a fee or reward being given to a prophet see / Kg, juv. 3, 2 Kg. viii. 8, and cf. Mic. iii. 11, Euk. xxii. 25. RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 289 augmented by music,^ and found expression in wild and fervid utterance, probably delivered in rhythmical cadence, to which the term "prophesying" was applied. ^ That an excited bearing and a strange behaviour were originally associated with prophecy is suggested further by the fact that the prophets were fre- quently assailed with the charge of being madmen (see 2 Kg. ix. II, Jtr, xxix. 26, of. also Hos. ix. 7). No doubt, how- ever, there was at most times considerable method in the madness of the prophets ; and in the succeeding history the ecstatic or frenzied condition becomes increasingly less frequent. Their enthusiasm manifested itself more especially at the crises, political and religious, of their country's career; and it was un- mistakably to those prophets in whom religious faith and fervour were combined with intellectual capacity that Israel mainly owed, in the early period of its history, its national well-being, and in later times, its spiritual pre-eminence amongst mankind. Of the individual prophets whose lives fell within the age at present under consideration, the most prominent were Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, the others alluded to {Jud. vi. 8, I Sam. ii. 27) being nameless. Of the four named the first lived previous to, and the last two after, the institution of the monarchy ; whilst it was during the lifetime, and largely through the agency, of Samuel that the monarchy came into existence. But the rise of royalty in Israel is more than a chronological date in the history of prophecy. It is a dividing-line between two distinct phases of prophetic activity, so that a review of prophecy in the early post-Mosaic age (prior to the 8th century) falls, in conse- quence, into two periods. During the first of these, Israel was engaged in continual conflict with its numerous enemies; and the task of contemporary prophets was to preserve the religion of Israel from the peril of external suppression rather than of internal corruption. Both Deborah and Samuel were alike instrumental in rousing Israel to offer resistance to its oppres- sors ; and they might as fairly be called political counsellors and patriots as religious teachers. Yet it requires to be recognised ^ Even Elisha had recourse to music to kindle his prophetic fervour (2 A>, iii. 15)- ^ The term is even used of the Temple singers (/ Ch. xxv. i). U 290 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY that in the preservation of Israel's independence the promotion of religious truth was at this epoch involved; and their service to religion was not the less real because it consisted in the assertion of the cause of Israel against its foes rather than in any marked advance upon the moral standards of their time. The faith to which Deborah, for instance, brought back her country- men was, on the whole, nobler and purer than that of the Canaanites ; and it is in virtue of this that she may deservedly be considered a prophetess of the true God, in spite of her praise of Jael's treacherous murder of Sisera. In her eulogy of Jael, Deborah reflects the spirit of her age, in which the obligations of morality were recognised as extending but faintly beyond the limits of nationality, and in which a breach of honour,^ if committed in the interests of Israel against a national foe, was not only not condemned but was even commended. Nevertheless it was with the preservation of Israel, and thereby of Israel's faith in Jehovah, narrow and exclusive though this then was, that the future of spiritual religion rested; and by contributing to this, Deborah claims a place in the long line of religious leaders which had its culmination in the great teachers of the 8th, 7th, and 6th centuries. It is from the same point of view that Samuel's act in slaying the Amalekite Agag, whom Saul had spared, must be estimated. If the account in i Sam. xv. has an historical foundation, the prophet, who at first sight compares unfavourably with the king, must be judged by the standard of his country and times. The practice of "devoting" hostile cities and popu- lations to the national god was followed (as has been shown) by other Semitic peoples beside the Hebrews ; and it was not felt to be at variance with the principles of religion and morality prevailing at the period to which the narrative refers. In the light of such principles, the execution of the command contained in Ex. xvii. 14 could not fail to present itself as a duty; and Samuel, who carried it out, was only acting consistently with current beliefs. The religion of Jehovah possessed within it the germs of a noble development ; but its exponents had not yet ^ That Jael's act was treacherous is clear from the fact that peace existed between her family and the king of Hazor {Jud. iv. 17), to say nothing of the invitation she tendered to the fugitive Sisera. RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 291 divested themselves of all the crude and barbarous ideas of the early eastern world. With the firm establishment of the kingship under David, the external condition of Israel changed. The military successes of the son of Jesse dissipated the dangers to which the nation had been exposed from its many hostile neighbours; and so safe- guarded its religion from being violently extinguished by sur- rounding heathendom. But the throne, whilst securing the country from foreign enemies, early threatened danger to the life and liberty of the subject. Accordingly, the care of the prophets was now turned in a new direction; and from being the assert ers of national rights against external aggression, they became the defenders of individual rights against regal tyranny. Thus when David sacrificed both the honour of Bathsheba and the life of Uriah to his licentious passion, the prophet Nathan at once confronted the king, and in the name of Jehovah denounced his sin. The incident is significant both of the position assumed by the prophets as guardians of public morality, and of the Divine authority with which they believed themselves to be invested. It is not improbable that on the occasion of the numbering of the people the prophet Gad acted a similar part. The narrative, indeed, only represents him as announcing to David the punishment of the offence for which his conscience had already smitten him ; but it seems reasonable to suppose that the king had first been brought to a sense of his fault by the prophet, who may have regarded David's conduct either as an encroachment upon the people's Uberties, or as indicating greater confidence in his material resources than in Jehovah. Further illustrations of a like attitude of reproof and censure being adopted towards the reigning sovereign by successive prophets will occur subsequently ; and will throw still fuller light upon the character and claims of the prophetic order. But though the prophets, by their growing sensitiveness in matters of social morality, were repeatedly led to condemn the conduct of particular rulers, they were not in general hostile to the monarchical principle. The institution of the monarchy and the choice of Saul to be the first king was, according to one account, directly due to the far-sighted patriotism of Samuel; 292 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY and the narrative that represents him as yielding only to the wish of the people contrary to his own better judgment and his sense of the dangers attending such a departure, seems to be of inferior authority (see p. 217). And though dissension subse- quently arose between Samuel and Saul, it sprang from the former's distrust of the king and not from dislike of his office; and the prophet himself sought another man to succeed Saul on the throne. Between David and the prophets Nathan and Gad cordial relations prevailed, which were undisturbed by the adverse judgments passed by the latter on certain actions of their sove- reign. To this harmony David's religious character must have greatly contributed. But the prophetic attitude towards the monarchy by this time rested upon a broader basis than the personal qualities of the individual king. The success which had attended the reign of David was, to the thought of that age, sufficient proof that he enjoyed the favour of heaven ; and the contrast it presented to the previous weakness and wretched- ness could not but encourage the belief that it was under the government of kings like David that the nation was intended by Divine Providence to work out its destiny. The hopes thus raised found expression in more than one prediction. The passage in Gen. xlix. 10 (dating perhaps from this time, see p. 82), which foretells the fortune of David's tribe of Judah, is exceedingly obscure, though as reconstructed from the LXX. it seems to anticipate for the tribe in the future a more extensive rule, if not a more illustrious ruler, than any it had hitherto known (see p. 97). But by the prophet Nathan a specific announcement was made of Divine favours in store for David's own house and line. To his seed who should be set up after him was reserved the privilege of building the projected Temple : to him Jehovah would be a father, chastening and correcting him as a son ; and his throne should be established for ever {2 Sam, vii. 1-17)- The title oi Jehovah's son^ applied previously to the nation collectively, was thus appropriated to the royal house in particular, which was regarded as concentrating m itself the privileges and responsibihties of the people as a whole. But though the application of the title was thus narrowed, it was still generic and not individual It was of a hne of princes, not RELIGION FROM JOSHUA TO DAVID 293 of a single ruler, that continuance was predicted ; nor must the words used to describe such continuance be taken too literally. The expression " for ever " does not necessarily signify more than "for a great while to come" (see i Sam. i. 22, Is. xxxii. 14, 15) ; and in this context only implies that the line of David's descend- ants was to be a long one. As a matter of history, David's dynasty filled the throne of Judah for a space of 400 years. The passage therefore relates only indirectly to the Messiah of later Jewish hopes. Nevertheless it was from the experiences of David's reign that the nation's later aspirations mainly took shape, and it was to the memories of them that its thoughts recurred in times of adversity. And though the ultimate realisa- tion in our Lord of the Messianic hope departed widely from current expectation, and only fulfilled in a spiritual sense anticipa- tions that were originally worldly in character, yet in one respect the event satisfied closely the conditions of this early prediction, inasmuch as Christ was actually born of the tribe and family of David. CHAPTER XI THE REIGN OF SOLOMON Sources — i Kg. ii. 12-ix. 43, 2 Ch. i.-ix. SCARCELY had David passed away, when Solomon, who, though his precise age on coming to the throne is un- certain, had probably attained to full manhood, found cause to suspect that his seat was not yet secure. Adonijah, who had, or believed himself to have, the support of the people in his attempt to obtain the succession for himself (/ Kg. ii. 15), still brooded over his disappointment; and he now addressed to Bathsheba, the queen-mother (a position both at this time and subsequently of great dignity),^ a petition which pointed to a renewal of the attempt. Maintaining that he had had the favour of all Israel, though Solomon had had the favour of Jehovah, he asked her to procure for him from his successful brother (as though in compensation for his baffled hopes) the Shunammite Abishag, who had comforted the last days of David, to be his wife. Bathsheba, if she had any suspicions of a sinister purpose underlying the request, did not disclose them, but com- municated the appeal to Solomon. The king at once interpreted it as indicating, in Oriental fashion, the assertion of a right to the crown; 2 and charged Joab and Abiathar with complicity in Adonijah's treason. Swift punishment was meted out to all three. Adonijah and Joab were successively put to death, the latter even at the altar in the Tent of Jehovah, to which he had fled for refuge^ on hearing of what had happened to * See / Kg. XV. x^^ Jcr. xiii 18. ' Cf. 2 Sam. xii. 8, xvi. 21, Hdt iii. 68. « Ct Ex. xxi. 14- 294 THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 295 Adonijah. Abiathar was spared, partly because of his sacred office, and partly because of his loyalty to David when the latter was a fugitive;^ but he was dismissed from the priesthood and sent to his native Anathoth. Zadok was promoted in his room ; whilst the command of the host, previously held by Joab, was given to Benaiah. An opportunity of carrying out David's wishes respecting Joab having been thus offered and seized, an occasion was not long wanting to enable those expressed in regard to Shimei to be accomplished also. The latter, possibly on suspicion of being concerned in the recent plot, was put on his oath 2 not to leave the capital, where he could be kept under surveillance. But after a lapse of three years he was incautious enough to go to Gath, to recover two runaway slaves ; and his visit being doubtless construed as an attempt at intriguing with a foreign power, he was at once executed. These severities effectually disarmed insubordination ; and Solomon's tranquillity was not again disturbed by internal disaffection until a much later period. The exact age at which Solomon came to the throne is not mentioned in the O.T. In / Chron. iii. 5 he is represented as the fourth son of Bathsheba (there called Bathshua) : though this is not the conclusion to which the account in 2 Sam. xii. 24 points. / Kg. iii. 7, if taken strictly, implies that he was quite young ; but this is probably hyperbole, though Josephus {Ant. viii. 7, 8), gives his age as fourteen.^ If, indeed, at his death, after a reign of forty years, his eldest son was forty-one {i Kg. xiv. 21), his age at his accession must considerably have exceeded this ; but Rehoboam's age, there stated, is probably a mistake (see i Kg. xii. 8 and p. 314). Still, the politic measures to which (as just related) Solomon had recourse in order to meet the dangers that threatened him at the beginning of his reign suggest that he had already attained to man's estate. --^ Solomon's reign offers a striking contrast to that of his father. It was^aTniost entirely devoid of incident, and was marked by none of the vicissitudes of fortune which were so notable a feature in the career of David. Enjoying for the most part peaceful relations with foreign powers, and set free, by the means just described, from the troubles that menaced him at home, Solomon was enabled to devote himself fully to the internal ^ In / Kg. ii. 26 because thou barest the Ark . . . be/ore David my father \%' an erroneous description; the allusion is doubtless to the ephod (see / Sam, xxiii. 6, xxx. 7). * So the LXX. in / Kg. ii. 37 ; and see ver. 42. • Josephus represents him as reigning eighty years. 296 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY organisation of his kingdom and the embellishment of his court In particular he gave much attention to the defence of the country (including the construction of fortresses), the administra- tion of justice, the development of trade, and the erection of a national Temple to the nation's God ; and in place of a chrono- logical narrative of events (for which there do not exist adequate data) an account of the reign under these several heads may be most conveniently substituted. I. The territory over which sovereignty is claimed for Solomon by the historian of i Kings extended from the Euphrates to the River of Egypt {el Arish), or, to name the cities at the limits \y^{ his realms, from Tiphsah (Thapsacus) to Gaza (/ Kg. iv. 24). ' But it may reasonably be suspected that this description is much exaggerated;^ and the account of his reign shows that even his father's dominions were not retained by him unimpaired. For instance, the authority over Damascus which David had asserted by placing garrisons there (according to 2 Sam. viii. 6) was quickly lost under his successor. During the war which David waged with Zobah {2 Sam. viii. 3), Rezon, a fugitive from that country, escaped, and becoming captain of a band of free-lances, by their aid made himself master of Damascus, where he eventually founded a dynasty which was destined to play an important part in the history of Israel during the next three centuries {i Kg. xi. 23-2 5).^ Upon Edom, too, Solomon's hold was not undisputed. When David had devastated that country, Hadad, one of the royal family, who was a child at the time, escaped with certain of his father's servants into Egypt. Though the reigning Pharaoh, Psieukhannit (Psebkhan) II., was on friendly terms with the Israelite court, Hadad's youth protected him ; and when a new Pharaoh (Shishak) came to the throne,* the Edomite prince received as his wife the sister of Tahpenes, the queen, who bore him a son called Genubath. The king would willingly have retained him in Egypt ; but on hearing of 1 The very turn of phrase employed in / ICg. iv. 24 (see marg.) indicates that the passage was written E. of the Euphrates, and therefore in the time of the Exile. 2 See / Kg. XV. 18, where Hezion is probably a mistake for Rezon. ' This is an inference from the probabilities of the case; / Kg. xL i8, 19 does not distinguish between the two Pharaohs. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 29; the deaths of David and Joab, he determined to return to Edom, where he succeeded in recovering the throne,^ though the port of Ezion-geber at least remained in the possession of the Israelites. But if some of the outlying portions of David's empire were lost by Solomon, the integrity of the actual soil of Israel was secured alike by the erection of fortresses in strong positions (including Hazor, Megiddo, one or both of the Beth-horons, and Baalath)^ and by the maintenance of a large force of war-chariots. Of the cities selected for fortification, Hazor guarded the northern frontier, Megiddo protected the plain of Esdraelon, whilst the Beth-horons, with Baalath, commanded the valley of Aijalon, thus defending the capital against an attack from the maritime plain. Additional security in this direction was obtained by the acquisition of Gezer. This city had hitherto been left in the hands of the Canaanites, and came into Solomon's power by a marriage alliance with Egypt. Under David Israel had become a factor to be reckoned with in Eastern politics; and the Pharaoh found it prudent to secure its friendship. The Pharaoh (as already implied) was probably Psieukhannit (Psebkhan) II., the last king of the 21st dynasty, who had his capital at Zoan (Tanis), and ruled over the Delta. Solomon wedded his daughter ; and the Egyptian sovereign having attacked and burnt Gezer and destroyed the Canaanite inhabitants, bestowed it as a dowry upon the princess. It was now rebuilt and made a fortified city by Solomon. In Jerusalem itself additional defences were con- structed ; and the capital was further adorned by the erection of the Temple and the royal palaces described later. In view of the trade route to the Red Sea, which the possession of the ports of Edom gave to Israel, Tamar^ (perhaps Hazezon Tamar) was likewise fortified. Cities had also to be built for ^ So the LXX. in an addition made to / A^. xi. 22. In the text above the section xi. 14-22 is treated as self-consistent; but it really contains certain discrepancies (for instance in ver. 17 (beginning) Hadad in the original is Adad, and in ver. 18 the fugitives leave, not Edom, as implied previously, but Midian)y so that some scholars have suspected that it has been constructed from two distinct narratives relating respectively to an Edomite Hadad and a Midianite Adad. * I Kg. ix. 15-18, 2 Ch. viii. 5-6. * Cf. EzeJi. xlvii. 19. 2 Ch. viii. 4 reads Tadmor (between Damascus and the Euphrates), the later Palmyra, and connects its fortification with an expedition against Hamath-Zobah. 298 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the reception and support of the force of chariots and cavalry which the king maintained,^ and which he seems to have been the first to introduce into the armies of Israel. This force is stated to have consisted of 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen (i Kg. X. 26J. The numbers of the foot-soldiery are not given, perhaps because, being a militia and not a standing army, it was only mustered when there was occasion for its services ; but the levies available were, no doubt, not inferior to those which the nation could raise at the close of David's reign. 2. The dispensing of justice was always regarded as one of the most essential functions of a sovereign (see i Sam. viii. 20) ; and it was David's neglect of this important duty which had afforded such a handle to Absalom in his machinations against his father.^ The support given to Absalom may have opened David's eyes to the need of improvement ; but some dissatisfaction, no doubt, prevailed to the end of his reign, and the popularity which Solomon acquired by the interest he took in the administration of justice, as contrasted with his predecessor's remissness, was enhanced by the credit which he obtained by the wisdom of his decisions. Of the latter an illustration is afforded by the historian. Two harlots, dwelling together, had each borne a child ; but one of them overlaid her infant, and on discovering that it was dead, appropriated the child of her companion whilst the latter slept, at the same time placing the dead child in the bosom of the sleeping woman. The two came before the king to assert their claims to the living child ; and as there were no witnesses, the true mother was only detected by the king's ex- pedient of giving orders to divide the object in dispute. Whilst the fraudulent claimant assented, the actual mother preferred to surrender her claim rather than allow her child's life to be sacrificed. 3. The position of Israel, on the routes between Egypt on the one hand and the states of Northern Syria and the countries bordering the upper waters of the Euphrates on the other, was one so advantageous from a commercial point of view that it is not surprising that a king of such practical shrewdness as Solomon ^ In / Kg. iv. 26 forty thousand stalls of horses must be an error, s Ch. ix. 25 has four thousand. ^ See p. 264. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 299 should have taken steps to develop the trade of the country in several directions. Israel had many valuable products of her own for exportation, among them being wheat, wine, oil, balm, and honey (of. Ezek. xxvii. 17); and in exchange for these she could procure such articles of utility or luxury as her own soil and resources denied her. Unfortunately the occupation of the coast by the Philistines and the remnant of the Canaanites had pre- vented the Israelites from establishing ports of their own on the Mediterranean ; and traffic with the West was carried on chiefly through the medium of the Phoenician city of Tyre, The amicable relations which Hiram of Tyre had with David he maintained with David's son and successor. In return for a yearly supply of corn and oil, and perhaps wine^ (7 Kg. v. 11, cf 2 Ch. ii. lo), he sent Solomon quantities of cedar timber (formed into rafts and conveyed by sea to a convenient place 2), as well as skilled artificers to aid him in his building projects. In addition to this, Hiram enabled the Israelite king to develop a maritime trade on the Red Sea, access to which had been given him (as has been observed) by his father's conquest of Edom. At Ezion- geber (which he retained, in spite of the return to Edom of prince Hadad) a ship was built, similar to those employed by the Phoeni- cians in their voyages to Tarshish (and hence called Tarshish ships) and manned in part by experienced Tyrian sailors; and from that port it was despatched at intervals of three years to Ophir (see below), bringing back thence gold,^ silver, ivory, valuable woods, and precious stones, as well as curious animals such as apes and peacocks. Profitable intercourse with Arabia also doubtless resulted from the visit paid to Solomon's court by the queen of Sheba (to be mentioned later), whose country was par- ticularly rich in spices. But besides such traffic in exports and imports (z Kg. x. 15), Solomon organised an important trade in chariot horses between Egypt and the peoples of Syria and the Hittites, the king's agents buying horses in the former country, ^ According to i Kg. v. ii, 20,cxx) cors of wheat and 20 cors of oil ; but for the latter the LXX. reads 20,000 baths of oil ; whilst 2 Ch. ii. 10 adds 20,000 cors of barley and 20,000 baths of wine. ^ According to 2 Ch. ii. 16, Joppa. ' I Kg. ix. 28, four hundred and twenty (LXX. B, one hundred and twenty) talents ; 2 Ch. viii. 18, four hundred and fifty talents. 300 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY and selling them again to the Syrian and Hittite princes at an increased price. It has, however, been suspected, not without some reason, that Solomon's efforts to foster foreign trade had as its object more the gratification of his own pride and magnificence than the increase of his people's wealth and comfort.. It is possible, indeed, that the enumeration of the imports brought into the country reflects the ideas of the historian as to what shed most glory and lustre upon the subject of his narrative ; but as it stands, it certainly conveys an impression not very favourable to the character of the sovereign who is credited with the initiation and direction of the commerce. The passages relating to Solomon's Tarshish ships and his trade with Ophir are rendered rather obscure by the uncertainty attaching to the places indicated by these names. If Tarshish is rightly taken to mean Tartessus in Spain (see p. 65), the expression ship of Tarshish must describe the kind of vessel employed, and not the port visited, for of the commodities named in / Kg. X. 22 as brought by a ship of Tarshish, peacocks are not found in Spain. On the other hand these birds are products of India, and as Ophir was reached from Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, it seems best to identify Ophir with some part of the Indian coast (perhaps the region near the mouth of the Indus) as Josephus does {Ant. viii. 6, 4), and to regard / Kg. ix. 26-28 and x. ii, 22 as referring to the same voyage. Some consider the name Ophir to be a comprehensive term for the south coast of Asia generally, including the Malay peninsula. But other authorities object to the identification of Ophir even with the N.W. coast of India on the ground of its distance; and as LXX. B in 7 Kg. x. 22 omits the mention of peacocks, they would place the region in question either on the E. coast of Africa (Ab>'ssinia or Somaliland) or else in S. or S.E. Arabia. In favour of the latter is the fact that in Gen. X. 29 Ophir is the son of Joktan, the ancestor of several Arabian tribes. In 2 Ch. viii. 18 the ship of i Kg. ix. 26 appears as ships y which Hiram (there written Huram) is strangely represented as sending to Ezion-geber and the neighbouring Eloth for Solomon's use. 4. The high ground, upon which Jerusalem stands at the present day, is surrounded by valleys on the E., S., and W., and is divided by a shallow hollow into two ridges, lying E. and W., which a widening of the depression between them at one point converts into four distinct hills. It was upon the N.E. summit that the Temple, originally contemplated by David, was now built by his successor.^ The architect was a certain * The topography of ancient Jerusalem is much disputed, and only the principal data can be given here. The present city stands on both of the ridges, which, united at the north, are parted towards the south by the shallow depression alluded to in the text. On the E. it is bounded by the valley of the Kidron, and on the W. by the valley commonly known as the valley of the son of Hinnom^ which joins the former on the south of the THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 301 Hiram or Hiram Abi,^ who is described as the son of an Israelite mother (froni Dan in Naphtali) and a Tyrian father (cf. i Kg. vii. 14, 2 ck. ii. 13).^ The ground plan of the building was a rectangle measuring 80 cubits by 30. The walls were 5 cubits thick at the base, and the internal space enclosed was consequently 70 x 20 cubits. This was divided into three sections: (i) a porch (10x20) facing eastward; (2) a central hall (40 X 20) ; (3) an inner sanctuary or oracle (20 x 20). The height of these several sections varied, the central portion being 30 cubits high, and the sanctuary 20. The height of the porch, according to 2 Ch. iiu 4, was 120 cubits; but this can scarcely fail to be an error, and a correction of LXX. A gives 20. In front of the porch were two pillars (hollow) ^ 12 (LXX. 14) cubits in circumference, the shafts of which were 18 cubits* high, surmounted by capitals 5 cubits ^ high. These latter were city. South of the eastern ridge was the pool of Siloanty fed from the spring of Gihon (the modern "Virgin's fountain") in the Kidron valley. The city of David or 7Aon certainly occupied the eastern hill, for its outer wall was on the west side of "Gihon in the valley" (see 2 Ch. xxxiii. 14, cf. also xxxii. 30, which should perhaps be rendered brought them (the waters of Gihon) straight doxon^ westwards, to the city of David), and the steps or stairs that descended from it were near the pool of Shelah (Shiloah or Siloam) (see Neh. iii. 15). The southern extremity of the eastern hill was called Ophel, near which was the water gate (leading presumably from Gihon). On the northern portion of the same hill stood the Temple, which was at first outside the ancient city, since its site was originally a threshing-floor (see 2 Ch. iii. i, 2 Kg. iii. I, viii. i, ix, 24). Whether the city in O.T. times extended at all to the western hill is very doubtful, the description of the walls in Neh. ii., iii. being in favour of the view that it was altogether confined to the eastern ridge (see p, 480, note). In later times the central valley was termed the Tyropceon, and the western (as has been said) is generally identified with the valley of the son of Uinnom ; but if ancient Jerusalem was situated on the eastern hill only, the valley of the son of Hinnom probably designated the Tyropoeon (which otherwise is not referred to in the O.T. ). If this is the case, the name must have extended to the open space formed by the junction of the E. and W. valleys, for in Josh. xv. 8, xviii. 16 En-rogel, which is probably the modern Bir Eyub, a well in this locality, is associated with the valley of Hinnom. To the conclusions just stated respecting the site of the "city of David" the evidence of Josephus is in contradiction, for he implies {B.J. v. 4) that the Jebusite stronghold (to which, according to 2 Satn. v. 9, the name of the "city of David" was applied) was on the western hill, which is also the higher and more defensible of the two. ^ This should probably be read for of Hiram my father'' s in 2 Ch. ii. 13. ^ Since in / Kg. vii. 14 his mother is termed a widow, it is possible that the "man of Tyre" was his stepfather. • SiQtJer. Iii. 21. ^ In 2 Ch iii. 15 thirty five cubits. • So in 7 Kg. vii. 16, Jer. Iii. 22, but in 2 Kg. xxv. 17 three cubits. 302 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY adorned with various embellishments described as "nets^ of checker work and wreaths of chain work," around which hung double rows of pomegranates; whilst surmounting all were ornaments termed "capitals of lily work," 4 cubits in height, the precise nature of which is obscure. These columns have been thought to be of kindred import with the twelve pillars which Moses erected by the side of the altar at the foot of Sinai (see Ex. xxiv. 4), and with the pair which, according to Herodotus (ii. 44), stood in the temple of Heracles (so termed) at Tyre. To the two that fronted the Temple at Jerusalem the names of Jachin (" He will establish ") and Boaz (" in Him is strength") were given. Around the sides of the Temple were built three stories of side-chambers, each 5 cubits high, but varying in breadth, the lowest being 5 cubits broad, the next 6, and the uppermost 7, the increase being obtained by reducing the thickness of the Temple walls. The entrance into the lowest story (so LXX. of i Kg. vi. 8(13)) was on the right {i.e. the south) side of the house. In the Temple walls above these chambe rs' and consequently at least 15 cubits from the ground, there were inserted windows of lattice work (7 Kg. vi. 4). "Upper chambers " are also mentioned in 2 Ch. iii. 9 (cf. i Ch. xxviii. n) ; but their existence seems very questionable. Surrounding the whole structure was an open enclosure (" the court before the House" of I Kg. viii. 64) where the sacrifices were offered, and to which the people were admitted ; the dimensions of this are not given. The Oracle or Most Holy Place was lined with cedar and overlaid with gold. It was entered from the central part of the Temple by folding doors of olive-wood, elaborately carved, across which hung chains of gold (7 Kg. vi. 32, 21), and before which was an embroidered veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, presumably to screen the oracle when the door was opened (2 Ch. iii. 14). This chamber was intended to contain nothing but the Ark of the Covenant, which was overshadowed by two figures of Cherubim^ carved of olive-wood and overlaid with gold, whose extended wings together stretched across the oracle from wall to wall. In the main hall (distinguished as The Holy ^ In / Kg. vii. 17 (5) for seven read two (with the LXX.) ; cf. ver. 41. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 303 Place) were placed several objects connected with the Temple service. These were, in addition to smaller articles, (i) a golden altar, probably for the offering of incense {i Kg. vi. 22, vii. 48); (2) a golden table ^ to receive the Shewbread; (3) ten golden candlesticks, placed, five on the right side, and five on the left side, of the door of the oracle. In the outer enclosure were situated the altar of burnt-offerings, and a large laver (called " the Molten Sea"). The first of these was of brass, and measured 20 cubits square, the height being 10 cubits (according to 2 Ch. iv. i). The space within was presumably filled with stone or earth; and it was perhaps approached by an inclined plane.^ The "Molten Sea" measured 10 cubits across (the circumference, if the diameter is stated correctly, being inaccurately given as 30 cubits), and was 5 cubits high. It stood upon twelve brazen oxen, so arranged that three of them faced each of the four quarters of the sky; and these rested upon bases supported by wheels, so that it could be moved wherever it was required. Its capacity is given as 2,000 baths (more than 16,000 gallons), though the figure is greatly in excess of the real capacity of a vessel of the given dimensions whether its shape was cylindrical or hemispherical. 8 In addition to this there were ten smaller lavers, moving on wheels, and containing forty baths (320 gallons) each. All these receptacles were intended to hold the water needed for the various acts of purification inseparable from the Temple ritual, the " Molten Sea " being for the ablutions of the priests, and the ten lavers for cleansing the implements connected with the burnt- offerings {2 Ch. iv. 6). The brass used in making the various utensils was cast in a piece of clay ground in the Jordan valley between Succoth and Zarethan (i Kg. vii. 46). The construction of the Temple occupied seven and a half years, being begun in the second month of Solomon's fourth year and finished in the eighth month of his eleventh year. The materials of which it was built were hewn and shaped at a distance, so that it was not necessary to use any iron tool in putting them together. When it was completed, the Ark of the ^ In 2 Ch. iv. 8 ten tables. * Steps to the altar are prohibited in Ex. xx. 26. ' In 2 Ch. iv. 5 its capacity is still greater — 3,CXX) baths. 304 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Covenant of Jehovah was brought into it, ^ and it was dedicated by the king with splendid ceremonial. The time chosen was the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month of the following year, the festival, as usual, lasting seven days.^ The sacrifices offered are said to have amounted to 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep, an estimate incredibly high. At the conclusion of the prayer of dedication, the king, standing before the Altar, blessed the assembled people, and exhorted them to walk in the way and keep the Law of Jehovah their God. The account in / Kg. viii. i-ix. 9 of the Dedication of the Temple, of Solomon's prayer, and of Jehovah's response, is late. The language of the prayer exhibits many of the characteristic phrases of Deuteronomy ^ whilst in viiL i-ii there are a few isolated expressions which recall the Priestly code (notably the distinction in ver. 4 between the Priests and the Levites), most of which LXX. B omits. Some scholars have thought that viii. 46-51, ix. 6-9, which contemplate the possible captivity of the nation and the desolation of the Temple, were written after these had become accomplished facts, and, like the supposed insertions from the Priestly code, are of exilic origin. The Temple was not the only noteworthy building which Solomon constructed. Thirteen years were spent in the erectioh' of a royal residence which embraced several distinct structures/ (i) Th€ house of the forest of Lebanon (so named from the quantity of cedar-wood used in it). This measured 100 x 50 x 30 cubits, and rested upon three rows (so LXX.)^ of pillars (each row being composed of fifteen columns) in addition to the external walls. (2) The porch of pillars, 50 x 30 cubits. (3) 7 he porch of the throne (to which the last mentioned may have served as an ante-chamber), forming a judgment hall where the king's throne (of ivory and gold, with six lions on either side, i Kg. x. 18-20) was placed when he dispensed justice. (4) T?ie kings private palace, surrounded by a court. (5) The palace of Pharaoh's daughter, probably included within the court just * In / Kg. viii. 4 the tent of meeting may be taken to be the tent pitched for the Ark by David (2 Sam. vi. 17, cf. / Kg. i. 39, ii. 28), but in 2 Ch. i. 3-4 a distinction is drawn between the two, the former (made by Moses in the wilderness) being represented as at Gibeon. 2 According to / Kg. viii. 65 (end) the festival on this occasion was pro- longed for an additional seven days ; but the statement is omitted in LXX. B, and contradicted by ver. 66, which relates that on the eighth day the king dismissed the people. 2 Ch. vii. 9, in harmony with the Priestly code {LeVi xxiii. 36), declares that on the eighth day a solemn assembly was held. 3 The Heb. of / Kg. vii. 2 reads /t;«r/ but this is difficult to reconcile with the number of pillars. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 305 named. All these were built of costly hewn stone, the wood employed being cedar. They were in close contiguity to the Temple; and were probably embraced, together with it, within an extensive enclosure, "the great court" of i Kg. vii. 12, constructed of three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams. From its situation the Temple might be almost regarded as an appendage to the Palace; and so long as the "high places " throughout the land were maintained as seats of religious worship, it must have borne the character of a royal chapel as much as gf a national sanctuary. The construction of these edifices and the establishment of the court on a scale of magnificence commensurate with them necessarily involved vast expense and extensive organisation. The aid both in the shape of artisans and materials which Solomon obtained from Tyre and the neighbouring city of Gebal (Byblus) could not be procured without an adequate return. The repayment (as has been seen) was made in part by means of the products of the country. It would appear, however, that such were insufficient to discharge the obligations under which Solomon had been placed by the Tyrian king, the latter (accord- ing to I Kg, ix. 14) sending to Solomon, in addition to timber and craftsmen, 120 talents of gold. The king of Israel conse- quently found it necessary to surrender to Hiram twenty cities in Galilee, probably as a pledge. Hiram, however, was dis- satisfied with them ; and the name of one of them (Cabul in Asher, see Josh. xix. 27), which resembled a phrase meaning "good for nothing," was applied in mockery to the district in which they were situated. But it was not foreign labour alone that was used in connection with the building of the Temple and the royal palaces. Even of native Israelites a levy was made to the number of 30,000 (i Kg. v. 13), who were occupied in cutting timber in Lebanon in conjunction with Hiram's servants. They were divided into three bodies of 10,000 men apiece, under 550 officers,^ which worked in turn for a month at a time. In thus exacting forced labour from his own people Solomon departed from the practice of his father, who employed strangers only {i Ch. xxii. 2). The control of this levy was * 2 Ch, viii, 10 two hundred and fifty, X 306 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY given to Adoniram (or Adoram), who had previously had charge of the levy of foreigners in the time of David (2 Sam. xx. 24, marg.). The number of labourers employed by Solomon is elsewhere (/ A^. v. 15) given as 150,000, under 3300 officers.^ The nationality of these is not stated in Kings ; but in 2 Ch. ii. 17 they are described as "strangers that were in the land of Israel," and agreeably with this, it is denied in / Kg. ix. 22, 2 Ch. viii. 9, that Solomon made bond-servants of native Israelites. But this is contradicted in / Kg. v. 13, (cf. xi. 28) ; and the latter passages are con- firmed by the account of the acute discontent which found expression in the following reign (see / Kg. xii. 4). Of the other state and court officials who had served David, only a few survived to serve his son, though some of those who had been removed by death were succeeded in their duties by their children. Benaiah, who in the reign of David had com- manded the guard of mercenaries, the Cherethites and Pelethites {2 Sam. viii. 18), had been promoted to the command of the host in place of Joab. Zadok, who had been priest in David's time, but had held a position inferior to Abiathar, took (as has been seen) the place of the latter when disgraced ; and when he died he appears to have been succeeded by his grandson Azariah.^ Zabud, the son of Nathan, who is styled "priest and the king's friend,"^ perhaps occupied a position analogous to that of a modern ecclesiastical Privy Counsellor. Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, who is perhaps to be identified with the Sheva (2 Sam. XX. 25) or Shavsha (7 Ch. xviii. 16) who was scribe in the reign of David, discharged that function under Solomon. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, who was recorder under David, re- tained the position under his successor. The steward of the household was Ahishar. The support and maintenance of the court was committed to a body of twelve officers, presided over by Azariah, another son of Nathan. Each of these was respon- sible for supplies for one month, and had charge of one of twelve districts into which the country was divided. In the division the boundaries of the tribes were to a certain extent ignored, perhaps of set purpose, with a view to weakening the tribal * 2 Ch. ii. 18 three thousand six hundred. * The Azariah of i Ch. vi. 9 (not of ver. ID, to which the description of the High Priest of Solomon's time has been erroneously transferred). * Cf. 2 Sam. XV. 37, xvi. 16. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 307 feeling which had manifested itself in a troublesome and even dangerous form in the previous reign. The several districts were (i) the hill country of Ephraim ; (2) Shaalbim and other parts of the territory of Dan and N.W. Judah; (3) Socoh and part of the lowland of Judah ; (4) Dor ; (5) the plain of Esdraelon ; (6) Bashan and N. Gilead; (7) Mahanaim; (8) Naphtali ; (9) Asher; (10) Issachar; (11) Benjamin; (12) S. Gilead (Gad).i Of Solomon's chief state officials, LXX. B furnishes two lists, which differ in some respects both from the Hebrew and from one another. The same MS. also departs from the Hebrew in its account of the officers and districts that supplied the court with provisions. Of the names given in / Kg. iv. 9 foil., several {Ben-hur^ Bm-dcker^ Ben- hesed, etc.) are patronymics, the real names being lost. The quantity of provisions supplied every day to the court (see I Kg. iv. 22, 23) implies that the king supported a large number of dependants. Many of these were doubtless foreigners "attached to the various princesses whom Solomon wedded. Men- tion has already been made of his marriage with the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh; but besides her, he took as wives and concubines numerous women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites. According to the almost in- credible statement of J Kg. xi. 3, his wives numbered 700 and his concubines 300.2 The maintenance of this huge harem must have entailed a heavy burden upon the country at large. Part of the royal revenue. was derived from subject provinces (cf. I Kg, iv. 21 end), and from the foreign trade previously ., described (7 Kg. x. 28-29); but it must have been largely sup- plemented from internal sources, to the serious impoverishment of the people. Perhaps still more irksome, if not actually more oppressive, was the system of the corvee which the king (as has been said) was the first to apply to his Israelite subjects ; and before the end of the reign, much sullen dissatisfaction began to prevail amongst the mass of the people. Equally grave must have been the resentment felt by the more religious spirits of the nation at the introduction into the land of the foreign fbrna^pf worship practised by Solomon's wives. To gratify the Moabite, ^ In r Kg. iv. 19 the description of this as being formerly the territory of Og, king of Bashan, is obviously incorrect. ^ Compare Rehoboam's eighteen wives and sixty concubines {2 Ch, xi. 21). 3o8 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Ammonite, and Zidonian princesses whom he had married, the king built "high places" for the rites of Chemosh, Milcom (or Molech), Ashtoreth, and doubtless other deities (i Kg, xi. 8). There was thus more than one cause at work to produce wide- spread disaffection ; and there was only needed a leader to bring the popular discontent to a head. Such a leader was at last" forthcoming in the person of an Ephraimite called Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who though at first meeting with failure, which he did not retrieve as long as Solomon lived, ultimately organised a revolt which deprived Solomon's sob -of >morft. than haJjL-of-^fe; kingdom. Of Jeroboam's origin and first attempt at insurrection the accounts preserved are both obscure and conflicting, but from a comparison of them a few salient facts emerge. He was a native of Mount Ephraim, his mother Zeruah (LXX. Sapcto-a) being according to one version a harlot. As he was capable and industrious, he came under the notice of Solomon j and by him was placed in charge of the forced labour of his own tribe. In this capacity he was engaged upon the king's building projects both at Zeredah (LXX. lapetpa), which seems to have been one of the chariot-cities alluded to in J Kg. ix. 19, and at Jerusalem. The position which he occupied as one of the officers who had direction of the corvee made him acquainted with the popular grievances, and enabled him to turn them to his own purposes. The nature and course of his intrigues is not disclosed; but he seems eventually to have been guilty of some overt net of treason,^ and in consequence Solomon sought to put him to death. To save himself he fled to Egypt where Shishak^ was then in possession of the throne: and he remained in that country until Solomon's death. His subsequent proceedings belong to the history of the next reign. Of the early history of Jeroboam there exists, in addition to the Hebrew narrative in / Kg. xi. 26-40 and its LXX. rendering, a second account preserved only in the Vatican MS. (B) of the LXX The Hebrew represents Jeroboam's treasonable designs as approved, if not suggested, by the prophet ^ According to Josephus {Ant. viii. 7, 8) Jeroboam sought to raise a revolt and to induce the populace to transfer the sovereignty to him. * Shishak (Sheshonk) was a Libyan, who acquired considerable power during the reign of the Pharaoh Psieukhannit H., and eventually succeeded THE REIGN OF SOLOMON 309 Ahijah. The latter met him alone in the field, and rending a new garment, which he himself was wearing, into twelve pieces, he gave ten of the pieces to the young Ephraimite, accompanying this symbolic act by the declaration that Jehovah would rend ten of the tribes of Israel from the hand of Solomon's son, in consequence of the king's worship of heathen deities, and would give them to Jeroboam, and that if the latter would obey the Divine commands, his house should be estabhshed. It is implied that it was because of this that Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam ; but the writer does not explain how information of the prophet's communication came to be conveyed to the king. The second Greek version does not connect Jeroboam's attempt at insurrec- tion during Solomon's lifetime with any prophet ; but (as will be seen) it brings a prophet into relation with Jeroboam s subsequent movements after Solomon's death. This version describes Jeroboam (and not the Edomite Hadad, see p. 296) as marrying the sister of queen Tahpenes, but calls the son she bore, Abijah. Of Solomon's closing years nothing further^ is recorded. His igign is stated to have lasted forty years ; but it is probable that this is merely a round number employed to indicate a consider- able period (perhaps a full generation), and the actual duration of his rule is unknown. From the fact that Adoniram (Adoram), who served his father David, lived to serve his son, it may reasonably be concluded that his reign fell short of the length ascribed to it The year of his death may be approximately fixed between 938 and 916 B.C., a date arrived at (as will be seen) from a consideration of the number of years assigned by the Bible to his successors, corrected by the chronology of certain Assyrian inscriptions. In the view of the Hebrew historian, Solomon was unsurpassed for sagacity and knowledge. On his accession to the crown, it is related that Jehovah appeared to him at Gibeon in a dream, and bade him choose a boon ; and the young king, instead of asking for long life or riches or success in war, prayed to be endowed with an understanding heart that he might judge the people committed to him. His request was granted ; and riches and honour were added thereto, with a promise of length of days if he kept Jehovah's commandments. In consequence of this endowment, he was reputed to be wiser than all men; people flocked from all quarters to hear his wisdom; and the queen of Sheba, in particular, came to prove him with hard questions.^ ^ The "hard questions" were probably of the nature of enigmatical sayings (in the original the same word is used of Samson's riddle, Jtid, xiv. 12, 13), such as (according to Dius, quoted by Josephus, Ant. viii, 5, 3) Hiram and Solomon used to send to each other to solve for wagers. 3IO OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY He was at once a philosopher and a poet. He spake 3,000 proverbs ; his songs were 1,005 l ^"^ ^is utterances embraced references alike to the vegetable and the animal worlds.^ So great, indeed, was his reputation for practical insight that in later times the bulk of the Hebrew Gnomic literature was ascribed to him. In the light of after-events, it is impossible fully to endorse the historian's estimate of his sagacity, or even to clear his memory from imputations of criminal folly. To his oppressive, exactions, in furtherance of his schemes of luxury and magnifi- cence, was due the discontent which in the reign of his son broke his kingdom in two, and ultimately led to the destruction^ in detail, of the Hebrew nation by the power of Assyria and. Babylon. It is clear likewise that, besides being fond of display, he was voluptuous and sensual. On the other hand, his tolerance of his queens' foreign forms of worship, which receives severe condemnation from the historian, was probably not viewed in quite the same way by contemporary IsraeHte thought in general. The more zealous prophets, no doubt, regarded it as disloyalty to the principles of the national faith, and were conscious that the preservation and promotion of true religion demanded the exclusion of all external cults. But it is not likely that there existed as yet any sense of the falsity of polytheism ; and the toleration of the worship of Chemosh and other deities on the soil of Israel could scarcely, to the minds of that age, present itself differently from the toleration of the worship of Jehovah on the soil of Syria (as implied in 2 Kg. v. 17). And apart from the cardinal blunder which eventually caused the dismemberment of his kingdom, Solomon was undoubtedly a powerful and able monarch. The fact that his reign was passed in tranquilUty (except for the attempts by Edom and Damascus to regain their independence) testifies to the care he displayed for the defence of the realm. That he showed no ambition to undertake foreign conquests redounds to his credit : after the exhausting wars of David the nation needed repose. And if he ^ He probably used illustrations from them to give point to ethical maxims as is done in Prov, vi. 6. Josephus {Ant. viii. 2, 5) says ko.Q'' IkolGtov yap eUos oivbpov irapa^okTiv elTev, though he goes on to state ovdefxiav tovtwv (pvatv Tj-yvbrjaev ov8^ traprikdev dve^iraarovy dW iv irdaoui i5e/ca prfyfiara. 314 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY In the above account the second narrative of the LXX.,^ which departs from the Hebrew, has been followed, as it places the events in their most natural sequence. This version, which, as has been said (see p. 309), represents Jero- boam as marrying the sister of Tahpenes, also relates that after Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, but prior to the assembly at Shechem, his little son fell sick ; whereupon he sent his wife to Shiloh to enquire of the prophet Ahijah there whether he would recover. As she approached the city Ahijah, who was blind, sent to meet her and told her that as soon as she returned home, her maidens would come forth to inform her that the child was already dead. The narrative then strangely goes on to say that the prophet predicted the extirpation of Jeroboam's family, adding that the sick child alone should receive the rites of mourning, for in him only was good found. This account of a visit to Ahijah is a variant, inferior in value, of that given in / Kg, xiv. with reference to an occasion after Jeroboam's accession to the throne, for the denunciation of woe against his house is manifestly out of place before he had become king or had caused Israel to sin. The Hebrew narrative in c xii. is inconsistent, for whereas in ver. 3a it states that Jeroboam was summoned home from Egypt by the people, and in ver. 20 implies that the people only heard of his return after the interview with Rehoboam at Shechem, in ver. 3b, 12 his presence at Shechem is expressly asserted. Rehoboam's age at his accession is given by the Heb. of xiv. 21 as forty- one, but this does not agree with the impression produced by xii. 8 : c£ also 2 Ch, xiil 7. The kingdom of Israel, as now constituted, nominally com- prised ten of the twelve tribes, which were Joseph, Simeon, Benjamin, Dan, Issachar, Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, Gad, and Reuben. The kingdom of Judah, as the title indicates, was composed mainly of the tribe of that name; but it must also have practically included Simeon. The frontier between the two kingdoms, moreover, fluctuated a good deal; and the territory of Benjamin was really divided between them, the city of Jerusalem being naturally retained by the Judaean sovereigns, whilst Bethel and Jericho fell to their rivals. Dan also seems to have been partly Judaean, for Aijalon, a Danite city {Josh. xix. 42), remained in the hands of Rehoboam {2 Ch. xi. 10). Of the vassal-states, sovereignty over Edom was asserted at intervals by Judah, whilst Moab was dominated by Israel. Two states so closely connected both by hneage and situation as were Israel and Judah could not fail to affect each other's careers most seriously either for good or evil ; and their fortunes may be conveniently considered together. The interest of the first century of their united history is mainly centred in theii mutual relations with each other, and the relations of both with » See p. 308. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 315 the Syrians of Damascus. A natural desire on the part of the kings of Judah, inheriting as they did the city and throne of David, to recover the territories once attached to that throne, led to' a succession of wars between the two nations which lasted for more than a generation. This attitude of hostility, however, gradually gave way to more friendly feelings as the memory of a past grievance began to fade ; and in the reigns of Ahab and Jehoshaphat the two kingdoms were in alliance, though, as will appear, Israel was the paramount power. Syria, which was in turn the supporter of each against the other, was by her position a more serious rival to Israel than to Judah; and when the mutual relations of the two latter became more amicable, Israel obtained Judah's aid to attack her most formidable enemy. On the west and south-west, the territory of both the Hebrew peoples adjoined that of the Philistines ; and these, after having re- mained tranquil during the last years of their conqueror David and through the reign of his son, once more began to move, though they did not prove particularly dangerous to either Israel or Judah. Moab, which after the division of Solomon's king- dom fell, as has been observed, to Israel, subsequently revolted, and a long series of border campaigns ensued between the Moabites and their former lords. Judah's most important wars, next to those she was involved in with her northern neighbour, were with Edom, which, after beginning a struggle for its inde- pendence as early as the time of Solomon, eventually succeeded in obtaining it. The internal history of Israel and Judah during this period differed considerably. The former, from its extent, was naturally less homogeneous than the latter, and was in consequence more disturbed by the spirit of faction. Its history was marked by repeated dynastic changes, due in many instances to the personal ambition of able and unscrupulous officers, who rose against incapable princes. Religious strife was also a feature in the career of the northern kingdom. The generally low level of the Jehovistic worship which prevailed in it, and the introduction into it, through the influence of the neighbouring Zidon, of the religion of the Phoenician Baal, roused the fierce antagonism of the more faithful of the prophets of Jehovah ; and more than 3i6 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY one of the revolutions which took place seems to have been abetted, if not instigated, by them. On the other hand, Judah was remarkably free from revolutions or usurpations. This was, no doubt, due in part to the personal qualities of some of its early sovereigns ; but in part also to the affection and reverence felt by the people towards the house of David. The character of the prevalent religion, too, was purer than that of Israel, a result to which the existence of Solomon's Temple, and the priesthood attached to it, must, as already remarked, have greatly contributed. In the 8th century, one of the two prophets who addressed themselves to Israel went thither from Judah; and though he found much to censure in his own country, it is manifest from his utterances that its moral and rehgious condition was, on the whole, superior to that of its neighbour (see p. 354). After the reign of Ahab of Israel, the principal feature of the history of the next two centuries is the growing predominance in the politics of Palestine of the empire of Assyria. The hostile attitude of Israel and Syria towards one another con- tinued, indeed, for a time; but the fortunes of the war were largely affected by Assyrian pressure upon one or other of the combatants ; and eventually the two foes had to combine in a futile effort to defend themselves against their common enemy. Another actor on the political stage during the latter portion of this period was Egypt, who, foreseeing the contest for supremacy in the West with which Assyria threatened her, began to encourage the Palestinian states with hopes of support against the encroaching eastern power — hopes which only be- trayed those who trusted to them. Northern Israel, under some of the kings of Jehu's dynasty, for a time enjoyed a considerable measure of prosperity; but when the last of this line fell be- neath an assassin, the country became a prey to anarchy, and the end soon came. Judah, on the other hand, though im- perilled and despoiled by Assyria, outlasted the sister kingdom by nearly 150 years; and even survived to witness the downfall of the Assyrian empire itself. This final period of a century and a half which elapsed between the overthrow of the Northern Kingdom and the de- ISRAEL AND JUDAH 317 struction of Jerusalem was marked by the rise of Babylon, before which Assyria eventually fell. Of Babylon, Egypt became the persistent opponent, as she had previously been of Assyria; and in consequence posed as the friend of Judah against her formidable foe. Internally the history of Judah becomes a record of alternate reformations and reactions, the deterioration in religion and morality ultimately advancing without check, till the prophets came to see that the severest of national chastisements was a necessary condition of their race's spiritual salvation. A list is subjoined of the contemporary kings of Israel and Judah ; and to the names of some of them are attached notices of certain events of known date that occurred during their reigns, from which a general idea of the chronology of the time may be gained. The dates are derived in the main from the Assyrian inscriptions, which in regard to chronology may with good reason be considered trustworthy, as the Assyrians paid great attention to the subject, and had a special officer appointed annually, who gave his name to the year (like the Archon Eponymus at Athens). If to the first of the figures thus obtained (854 B.C.), which falls within Ahab's reign, there is added the sixty-two years covered, according to the O.T., by the reigns of his predecessors, the accession of Jeroboam is fixed for 916 B.C. ; whilst if the sixty-two years just mentioned be increased by the twenty-two years of Ahab's own rule (on the assumption that 854 was nearer the end than the beginning of his reign), the date of Jeroboam's usurpation becomes 938 B.C. ; and between these two limits the Disruption may be approximately placed. Attempts to determine with greater precision both the date of this event and the year of the accession (with the con- sequent duration of the reigns) of the several kings of the Divided Monarchy do not command confidence. The numbers furnished by the Hebrew historians are in many instances incon- sistent both with each other and with the information preserved in the inscriptions ; and it has accordingly not been deemed worth while to construct a scheme resting upon such an insecure foundation. 3i8 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY ISRAEL. Jeroboam I. Nadab Baasha Elah Zimri ( Tibni t Omri Ahab Ahaziah Jehoram Jehu Jehoahaz Joash Jeroboam II. Zechariah Shallum Menahem Pekahiah Pekah Hoshea JUDAH. Rehoboam Abijah (Abijam) Asa Events of Known Date, Jehoshaphat Jehoram Ahaziah Athaliah Joash Amaziah Uzziah (Azariah) Jotham Ahaz In 854 Ahab's troops were present at the battle of Karkar.i In 842 Jehu paid tribute to Shalmaneser II.* > Sec p. 335. « See p. 347. In 738 Menahem paid tribute to Tiglath Pileser.s In 734 Pekah was dethroned, and Hoshea appointed in his place by Tiglath Pileser, to whom Ahaz paid tribute.* » See p. 358. < See p. 362. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 319 ISRAEL. JUDAH. Events of Known Date. Hezekiah In 722 Samaria was taken by Sargon.^ In 701 Judah was invaded by Sennacherib. 2 Manasseh Paid tribute to Ksarhaddon (681-668) and to Asshur- banipal (668-626).3 Amon Josiah Defeated at Megiddo by Pharaoh Necho (610- 594)> Jehoahaz Jehoiakim In 605 battle of Carchemish between Egypt and Babylon Jehoiachin Zedekiah In 586 Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadrezzar (604- 561)-' The following table gives the duration of the reigns of the Israelite and Judoean monarchs, and the synchronism between them as stated in Kings. In general the last year of a reign is likewise reckoned as the first of the suc- ceeding reign, but in some cases the principle seems to have been departed from ; and in consequence of this, and of miscalculations, a number of errors have crept in. Some of the contradictory statements made by the Hebrew historian are indicated in the notes. ISRAEL. JUDAH. ' Yearof Length '' Yearof Length Name. Reign. o/Reign. Name. Reign. o/Reign. Jeroboam I I ... Rehoboam I It 18 ... tAbijah I 17 •> 20 ... \Asa" X 3 Nadab I "} ••• >} 2 >> Baasha X 1- t» 3 Elah I 24\ t> 26 I See p. 363. a See p. 370. » See p. 374. 4 See p. 380. » See p. 386. 320 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY ISRAEL. Jt fDAH. Year of Length /" Vearo/ Length Name. Reign. of Reign. Name. Reign. of Reign. Elah ^1 Zimri 7 days \ ... Asa ^^ Omri I J ... a 27 1 Ahab >i Ahaziah ... \Jehoshaphat 11 38 I 17 41 Jehoram 2| ... ■f Jehoram i82 25 ti ... I >» 12 « ... / » \ Ahaziah 8 I Jehu Athaliah I \Jehoash 6(7) i> 28 ... I Jehoahaz : ... it 23 >> Joash K )> Jeroboam ] [I. I J ... 1 " \Amaziah >> 37 I 15 40 » 27 ... l.U/7,iah (Azariah) i 29 Zechariah mo. J ... n » 38 Shallum I mo.\ 39 Menahem J •*• M » Pekahiah io\ ... II M 50 Pekah 2\ ... l» l> »> »» 52 52 M Jotham I i6 !• 17 ... [Ahaz X Hoshea ^1 ... If 12 tf ... JHezekiah I 16 >i (Samaria taken) 9 .». i» 6 ^ So implied in / Kg. xvi. 15, 16, but in ver. 23 in the thirty and first year of Asa. 2 So in 2 Kg. iii. i ; but in i. 17 in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat. ' So in ^ Kg. viii. 25, but in ix. 29 in the eleventh year ofjoram { Jehoram), * Ct * Kg. xi. 3 with ver. 4. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 321 JUDAH. Length of Name, Reign. Hezekiah . 29 Manasseh . 55 Amon 2 Josiah • • ?' Jehoahaz . 3 months Jehoiakim II Jehoiachin . 3 months Zedekiah . II Jerusalem taken 586 B.C. As Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah were killed at the same time by Jehu, the sums of the reigns of the Israelite and Judsean kings up to this date ought to be equal ; but in point of fact there is a difference of three years (Israel 98, Judah 95). Similarly the sum of the reigns in the same two lines of kings from the accession of Jehu and Athaliah to the fall of Samaria in the sixth year of Hezekiah should be equal ; but between them there is a difference of more than twenty-one years (Israel, 143 years, 7 months ; Judah, 165 years). Moreover, as has been said, the dates implied by these tables do not tally with those ascertained from the Assyrian inscriptions. Since Ahab fought in alliance with the Syrians at Karkar in 854, he cannot have met his death in conflict with them before 853. But in 842, only eleven years after- wards, Jehu was king ; and this interval of eleven years has to include the reigns of Ahaziah and Jehoram. These two kings, therefore, cannot^ have ruled for the fourteen years represented. Again, since Menahem was king of Israel in 738, and Samaria was captured in 722, the interval of sixteen years must cover the reigns of Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea, which are therefore likewise over-estimated (thirty-one years in all) by the writer of 2 Kings. Again, some of the figures given in connection with the kings of Judah, Ahaz and Hezekiah, are inconsistent with the dates of events preceding or following them. On the one hand, the fall of Samaria in 722 is said to have happened in the sixth year of Hezekiah, according to 2 Kg. xviii. 10, which makes 727 the year of his accession. But if Hezekiah was on the throne in 727, and Jotham his grandfather was contemporary with Pekah of Israel (2 Kg. XV. 32), who reigned after 738 (which fell, as shown above, in the reign of his predecessor, Menahem), Ahaz, who came between Jotham and Hezekiah, cannot have reigned the sixteen years ascribed to him. On the other hand, 2 Kg. xviii. 13 places Sennacherib's invasion of 701 in Hezekiah's fourteenth year, and therefore his accession in 714. But this, whilst affording more space for the reigns of his immediate predecessors, conflicts with the figures given for those of his successors, for between 714 and 605, the date of the battle of Carchemish in Jehoiakim's fourth year (jer. xlvi. 2), the interval is only 109 years, whereas the sum of the reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, and Josiah amounts to 117 years. One of the first acts oi JEROBOAM^ on ascending the throne was to increase the defences of his kingdom. Leaving his native Zeredah, he made Shechem, in the pass between Ebal and Gerizim, his capital, and fortified it, though subsequently he appears to have transferred his court to Tirzah (see i Kg. xiv. 17), ^ The names of the kings of Israel are distinguished from those of the kings of Judah by being printed in italics. Y 322 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY which, at a later date, displaced Shechem as the seat of govern- ment (7 Kg. XV. 33, xvi. 9). To protect the district E. of the Jordan he Ukewise fortified Penuel, not far from Succoth. If he maintained his friendly relations with Egypt, it may be assumed that he used his influence to the prejudice of his rival Rehoboam, and that his machinations had something to do with the invasion of Judah by Shishak (to be mentioned shortly). But in strengthen- ing himself against the expected hostility of the Southern King- dom, he did not rely upon material resources only. He knew the attraction which the Temple at Jerusalem would have for the religious spirits of the nation ; and consequently he proceeded to establish rival seats of worship. The chief of these were Bethel and Dan, at the two extremities of his dominions. Both had been sanctuaries since the time of the Judges ; and at Dan Jehovah had previously been worshipped through the medium of an image. In each of these Jeroboam now placed a calf of gold to represent the God of Israel, following the example set by Aaron in the Wilderness. The festival of Ingathering (Taber- nacles) observed in Judah on the fifteenth day of the seventh month was in the Northern Kingdom directed to be kept a month later, on the fifteenth of the eighth month (presumably because the harvest was not so early as in S. Palestine). Jeroboam, how- ever, did not adopt the practice, which was probably now be- ginning to obtain in Judah, of confining the priesthood to members of the tribe of Levi, but, instead, made priests from all the tribes without distinction. Both in this and in the maintenance of a plurality of sanctuaries he was only following precedent. As has been shown in a previous chapter, the prior history negatives the belief that worship had hitherto been re- stricted to a single shrine, or priestly duties to a single tribe.^ And even the adoration of Jehovah under a material emblem, though contrary to the second "word" of the Decalogue, and probably to the teaching of Moses, was, as already indicated, not unexampled. The unqualified condemnation, therefore, which in the books of Kings is passed on Jeroboam, may perhaps be taken to represent the judgment of a later generation rather than that of contemporary thought generally. * Contrast 2 Ch. xi. 14-16. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 323 In I Kg, xiii., indeed, Jeroboam's action is described as receiving im- mediate censure from a prophet. There it is related that when the king was burning incense on the altar at Bethel, he was confronted by a man of God from Judah, who declared that a descendant of David, Josiah by name, should eventually defile the altar by sacrificing upon it the priests of the "high places" ; and as a warranty for the truth of his words, announced that the altar before them should be rent and its ashes poured out. His announce- ment was fulfilled; and the king in attempting to arrest him, found his arm dried up and helpless, and only recovered its use on the intercession of the prophet. The latter, when invited to share the king's hospitality, decUned it on the ground that he had been divinely forbidden to eat or drink in the impious land ; but after his departure, an old prophet, who resided in Bethel, overtook him, and by professing to have received a divine commission to entertain him, brought him back to eat bread. After the meal, the old prophet foretold his death as a punishment for his disobedience, and he was slain by a lion^ on his homeward journey. The narrative presents many difficulties. Both the prophets are nameless ; the precision with which the name of the king destined to accomplish the prediction respecting the altar at Bethel some 3CX) years afterwards is given, is hardly to be paralleled ; and the mention of the "cities of Samaria" (ver. 32) is an anachronism (see / Kg. xvi. 24).'* The fulfilment of the recorded prediction is recounted in 2 Kg. xxiii. 15-20 (see p. 376). Jeroboam's institution of the calf-images is also related (c. xiv. 1-18) to have been denounced by the prophet Ahijah. On the occasion of the sickness of one of Jeroboam's sons, his queen was sent from Tirzah to Shiloh to con- sult the prophet as to the prospect of his recovery. The queen, taking a present with her,* went disguised ; but Ahijah, though blind by reason of his age, recognised her ; and declared that inasmuch as Jeroboam had provoked Jehovah by making for himself other gods and molten images, his whole family should be exterminated, and that the sick child, who should die as soon as the queen returned to the house, should alone receive burial. There is nothing intrinsically incredible in the incident described ; but the narrative as it stands contains a phrase (ver. 9) inapplicable to Jeroboam, and the announce- ment of exile beyond the Euphrates (ver. 15), at a time when Israel had not yet come in contact with the great trans - Euphratene power Assyria, is anachronistic, whilst in the LXX. the story appears (as has been seen) in a different form and connection. The statement that Jeroboam worshipped other gods than Jehovah (ver. 9) is not confirmed by the rest of the history except 2 Ch. xi. 15 ; and it is noteworthy that the name of the son whom he had by the Egyptian princess (according to the LXX. ) contains the element JAH(A/S/a = Abijah). RE HOBO AM, who found his kingdom reduced to a single tribe, seems to have been quite a youth when he came to the throne (one version of the LXX., as already observed, giving his age as sixteen). Like his northern rival, he early devoted much time and attention to the work of defence. The support and protec- ^ For lions in Palestine see Jitd. xiv. 5, i Sam. xvii. 34, 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, / Kg. XX. 36, 2 Kg. xvii. 25. ^ Divine communications through the medium of an angel are a feature of this narrative in common with some of the stories related of Elijah ; cf / Kg. xiii. 18 with xix. 5, 7, 2 Kg. L 3, 15. ' Cf. / Sam. ix. 7, 2 Kg. viii. 8. 324 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY tion so recently afforded to Jeroboam by the Egyptian Pharaoh indicated a direction from which serious danger was to be appre- hended ; and a large number of cities, especially on the S. and S.W. frontiers of his realm, were strongly fortified (2 Ch. xi. 5-12). The threatened storm soon broke; and in the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak (Sheshonk), with a force (according to the high figures of 2 Ch. xii. 3) of 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen, advanced into Palestine. He fell upon, and harried, a number of towns, the names of which are preserved in an inscription on the temple of Amon at Kamak.^ Among these were the Philistine city of Gaza, and the Judaean towns Keilah, Socho, Ezem (or Azem), Arad, Jehud (in Dan, Josh. xix. 45), Aijalon, Beth-horon, Gibeon, and Makkedah; and the invader even penetrated as far as the capital, from which he carried away a vast quantity of treasure taken both from the Temple and the royal palace (including the golden shields which Solomon had made for the use of the royal guards, and which Rehoboam had to replace by others of inferior metal).^ But besides the cities just named, which were either within, or on the borders of, Judaean territory, there are comprised in the list at Karnak a number of others which certainly belonged to Israel. Among these are Rabbith and Hapharaim in Issachar {Josh. xix. 19, 20), Taanach in Manasseh {/ud. i. 27), Shunem in the plain of Esdraelon, and even Mahanaim E. of the Jordan. The conclu- sion to be drawn from the mention of these places is uncertain. It may imply that friendly relations no longer existed between Jeroboam and the Egyptian king, and that the country of the former no less than Judah was the object of thf*' attack. But it may also, though perhaps with less probability, inaicate that the Egyptian sovereign claimed possession of {i.e. suzerainty ovei) Israel, and that Jeroboam had purchased his aid against Judah by becoming his vassal. But whether Jeroboam had been really active in bringing about ^ See Sayce, Egypt of the Hebrews, p. 107, Driver in Authority and Archaology, p. 87. ' According to 2 Ch. jdL 5-8 Shemaiah the prophet declared that Shishak's invasion was due to the nation's abandonment of Jehovah, whereupon the king and his people humbled themselves, and the enemy was not suffered to destroy them altogether. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 325 the invasion of Judah by Egypt, or not, it was impossible for the Judaean king to refrain from making further efforts to recover his lost provinces from the usurper. The frontier of the two king- doms, which in general lay between Bethel and Jerusalem, at this time ran along the valley of Aijalon and the gorge of Michmash ; and when hostilities were renewed, it was across this border-line that the fortunes of the war wavered. But of the course of it no trustworthy information is forthcoming beyond the fact that it was prolonged through Rehoboam's lifetime (z Kg. xiv. 30) and con- tinued into the reign of his son and grandson. Almost as little is known of Rehoboam's internal administration as of the results of his campaigns. Like his father he is said to have had a large harem (comprising eighteen wives and sixty concubines) and to have been the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. During the first three years of his reign he is described as walking in the way of David and Solomon {2 Ch. xi. 17). But subse- quently the religious corruption which had marked the closing years of Solomon's life increased, and some of the worst practices of the Canaanites were introduced into the worship of Jehovah {i Kg. xiv. 24). In this respect a mischievous influence seems to have been exercised by his mother Naamah (an Ammonite princess), and by his favourite wife Maacah {2 Ch. xiii. 2 Micaiah) the granddaughter of Absalom.^ An invasion of Israel by Rehoboam with an army amounting to the enormous figure of 180,000 (LXX. 120,000) men is related to have been prohibited by the prophet Shemaiah in the name of Jehovah : and the force in consequence returned home (/ Kg. xii. 21-24, 2 Ch. xi. I-4). The state- ment is difficult to reconcile with / Kg. xiv. 30. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son ABIJAH or ABIJAM (LXX. A/3lov\ the son of queen Maacah. He appears to have resembled his father in character and policy, but his reign was too brief for it to leave much mark upon his country's history. The war with Israel was continued, and according to the Chronicler (2 Ch. xiii. 19) Abijah captured Bethel and two neighbouring towns, Jeshanah and Ephron.^ But this success ^ According to / Kg. xv. 2 Maacah was the daughter of Abishalom (Absalom) ; but Absalom had only one daughter, Tamar {2 Sam. xiv. 27), and in 2 Ch. xiii. 2 Maacah (Micaiah) is called the daughter of Uriel. ' Identified by many with the Ophrah oi Josh, xviii. 23, / Sam. xiii. 17. 326 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY on the part of Judah, from the facts that no record of it is preserved in Kings^ and that the account of it in Chronicles embraces details which do not command confidence, cannot be considered as beyond question ; and in any case appears from subsequent events to have been only temporary. In 2 Ch. xiii. Abijah is said to have led an army of 400,000 men against Jeroboam, who met him with 800,000. Before the battle was joined, Abijah addressed the Israelite host, and after contrasting the worship of the calves and the maintenance of a non-Levitical priesthood in Israel with the scrupu- lous observance of the Mosaic law (as described in the Priestly code) which is supposed to have prevailed in Judah, exhorted the children of Israel not to fight against Jehovah. Jeroboam, however, had placed an ambush be- hind the Judoeans ; so that the latter suddenly found themselves between two foes. In their dismay, they called upon Jehovah, and the priests who ac- companied them with the silver trumpets of alarm {Xu?n. x. 9) in their hands, sounded with the trumpets ; whereupon God smote Israel before Judah, and there fell of the former 500,000 men, the capture of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron following. In the narrative not only are the numbers of the two armies incredibly large, but the representation of the king as a faithful servant of Jehovah is opposed to the character given of him in I Kg. XV. 3 ; whilst the assumption that the distinctive ordinances of the Priestly code were at this time in existence is against the bulk of the evidence bearing on the subject (see p. 399). Even the capture of the three towns named does not accord well with the fortification of Ramah (south of Bethel) by Baasha shortly afterwards (/ Kg. xv. 17). Abijah was succeeded by ASA, and Jeroboam, who died shortly after Abijah, was succeeded by NADAB. The reign of Nadab was very short and unimportant, the only event re- corded of it being a war with the Philistines, whom the fratricidal conflicts of the Hebrew peoples had encouraged to renew their hostilities. In the course of this war Nadab besieged Gibbethon,^ on the edge of the plain of Sharon ; and there met his death by the hands of a conspirator BAASHA (or BAASA)^ a man of humble rank (7 Kg. xvi. 2) belonging to the tribe of Issachar. To secure the throne, Baasha murdered all the surviving members of Jeroboam's house ;^ but in his policy he did not depart from the principles which Jeroboam observed. He seems to have been the first to make Tirzah (where Jeroboam had built a palace) into the capital of the kingdom. In war he showed himself a capable soldier, and prosecuted with vigour the pro- longed struggle with the Southern Kingdom when it broke out afresh. * A town of Dan, according iojosk. xix. 44, • So the best Heb. text. » Cf. / Kg. xvi. 11, ^ A^. x. il. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 327 In consequence of Baasha's walking in the way of Jeroboam, the prophet Jehu, son of Hanani,^ is represented (in i Kg. xvi. 1-4) as announcing the extermination of his house in terms similar to those put into the mouth of Ahijah with respect to the family of Jeroboam himself (see i Kg. xiv, 7-II). The throne of Judah was at this time occupied, as has been said, by Asa. Asa's conceptions of religion were superior to those of his immediate predecessors; and one of his first acts was to check the prevalent corruption of worship. He en- deavoured to put an end to the immorality which had been adopted in imitation of Canaanite rites, removed the Asherim, and even degraded Maacah, his father's mother, ^ from her position as queen-dowager because she had made an idolatrous emblem. But the worship at the " high places " was not inter- fered with (z Kg. XV. 14) ;^ and even some of the reforms just mentioned do not appear to have been thoroughly executed (see I Kg. xxii. 46). The religious reformation which Asa instituted was, according to 2 Ck. XV. I foil., promoted by the prophet Azariah the son of Oded ; and was ex- tended by the king to some Israelite cities which he is represented as having taken. The removal of the various "abominations" was followed by a festival held at Jerusalem, at which a covenant was made that all should seek Jehovah on pain of death. The spirit of the narrative is that of a much later time ; and the assembling of the whole nation for religious worship at Jerusalem is inconsistent with the retention of the "high places" (/ Kg. XV. 14). It is probable that the beginning of Asa's reign was undis- turbed, as the Chronicler represents it (2 Ch. xiv. i, 6) ; and he was thus enabled to devote attention to the internal condition of the kingdom. But his tranquillity was eventually broken by war. If the Chronicler may be trusted, an invader styled "Zerah the Ethiopian," who is identified by some with the Egyptian king Osorkon II., following in the steps of Shishak, made an inroad into Judah. He was met by Asa at Mareshah, in the Shephelah, and defeated; and Asa, following up his victory, smote a number of cities in the neighbourhood of Gerar, and returned home laden with spoil. But this attack from the S.W. * See 2 Ch. xvi. 7. 2 Maacah, in / Kg. xv. 10, is described as the mother of Asa, but obviously the princess intended was his grandmother. ' The Chronicler states the opposite in 2 Ch, xiv. 3, 5, contradicting him- self in XV. 17. 328 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY gave Baasha in the N. an opportunity of which he was not slow to take advantage. He assumed the offensive, and fortified the town of Ramah, south of the pass of Michmash, and only five miles from Jerusalem, as a menace to the enemy's capital. So formidable a foe did he prove to the Southern Kingdom that Asa felt constrained to invoke the aid of the Syrians of Damascus. Damascus, ever since the days of Rezon,^ had naturally been drawn towards the enemies of Solomon and his dynasty; and at the present time the Syrians were in alliance with Baasha. But Asa, by the sacrifice of considerable treasure, derived in part from what was still left in the Temple, induced Benhadad, the Syrian king, to break his league with Israel and contract one with Judah {i Kg. xv. 19, marg.). The Syrians probably required little inducement, for the exclusive command of the roads leading through Israel to the coast must always have been an object of desire to them. Accordingly they attacked and captured, en the one hand, Ijon and Dan which obstructed their approach to Tyre, and on the other hand, Abel-beth-Maacah (in 2 Ch. xvi. 4 Abelmaim) and the district around Chinnereth, through which passed the road to the maritime plain and the south. This diversion relieved Judah, and enabled Asa to dismantle Ramah; and with the materials thus obtained he in his turn fortified Geba and Mizpah. But the appeal to Syria did not pass without censure, and according to 2 Ch. xvi. 7-10 the prophet Hanani rebuked the king for relying upon such foreign aid instead of upon Jehovah. 2 Asa is said to have put his rebuker in prison, and at the same time to have been guilty of some other acts of oppression. His reign was a long one, and before the close of it, he suffered much from disease in his feet. The account of Zerah's invasion only occurs in Chrcniichs {2 Ch. xiv.). Many of the details in it are incredible (for instance, Asa has an army of 580,000, whilst the invaders number no less than 1,000,000, with 300 chariots), but there seems to be nothing inconsistent with historic proba- bility in the fact of an attack from the quarter of Eg)pt, and Osorkon II., of ^ The Hezian, who in i Kg. xv. 18 is represented as the grandfather of Benhadad, is probably identical with the Rezon of xi. 23 (see p. 296). Damascus by this time had probably absorbed many of the S>Tian states which had been conquered by David, such as Zobah, Maacah, and Geshur. ' Cf. the attitude of Isaiah towards an alliance with Assyria {Is. vii. ). ISRAEL AND JUDAH 329 the 22nd dynasty is said to have claimed the submission of the peoples of Palestine. But if Zerah is really Osorkon II., the description of him as an Ethiopian (Heb. a Cushite) appears to be a mistake. * Some, on the strength of the combination of Cushites with Arabians in 2 Ch, xxi. i6, have supposed that Zerah belonged to an Arabian tribe. Baasha was succeeded on the throne of Israel by his son ELAH^ who seems to have possessed nothing of his father's warlike qualities. Of his reign little is related except the con- tinuation, or perhaps the renewal, of the siege of the Philistine town of Gibbethon. The army before the place was commanded by OMRI ; and whilst he was there, the news was brought to him that Elah had been murdered by ZIMRI^ the captain of half his chariot force, in the course of a drunken carousal in his capital Tirzah. Omri was at once made king by the soldiery gathered before Gibbethon; and he thereupon marched to Tirzah, where he besieged Zimri. The latter, who had followed up the assassination of Elah by the destruction of all his kindred, as soon as he saw the city taken by the besiegers, set fire to the palace, whither he had retired, and perished in the flames. Omri, however, did not succeed to the throne without a further struggle, for a large section of the nation supported the claims of TIBNI the son of Ginath (LXX. Gonath). If the chronology given in i Kg. xvi. 15 is to be reconciled with that of ver. 23, the contest between them lasted some four years, and ended with the overthrow of Tibni, with whom his brother Joram (according to the LXX.) likewise perished. Omri, when once in secure possession of the crown, proved an able and successful monarch. Dissatisfied with the position of the capital Tirzah (his own capture of which showed it to be not very defensible), he built on the hill of Shomron, purchased from a certain Shemer, a city which he called by the same name, Shomron or Samaria, and transferred to it the seat of govern- ment. The situation was well chosen, for the new capital stood on a height in the midst of a fertile valley (cf. Is. xxviii. i), and the long sieges it sustained witness to its natural strength. Omri next reasserted Israelite authority over the Moabites^ (who after having been subdued by David, had seemingly attempted to throw off the yoke of his successors) ; and imposed upon them ^ See Sayce, H, C. M., p. 363. * See the Moabite Stone, App. B. 330 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY a heavy tribute, which in the time of his son amounted (if the figures are correct) to 200,000 head of sheep (2 Kg. iii. 4). In regard to Syria, he was not so fortunate, as he had to make a surrender of some territory (presumably on the E. of Jordan), and to set apart " streets " or quarters in his new city of Samaria for the use of Syrian traders and settlers (7 Kg. xx. 34). ^ He contracted a marriage alliance with the Phoenicians by uniting his son Ahab to the Phoenician princess Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of Zidon and Tyre (Jos. Ant. viii. 13, i). Ethbaal, or Ithbaal (EWdt/SaXos or 'I66/3aXos), was originally priest of Ashtoreth, who had obtained the throne by murdering the reigning monarch Pheles (Jos. c. Ap. i. § 18); and the con- nection formed by Omri with his house, though it doubtless had political advantages by uniting the two nations for purposes of common defence against Syria or the Assyrians, and by furthering their trading interests, inevitably had a bad effect upon the religion of Israel, by leading to the introduction and encouragement of the worship of the Zidonian Baal. But apart from this, Omri appears to have promoted the prosperity of his country, and of the firm hold which he secured upon his people's respect some slight indication is afforded by the fact that his dynasty was less short-lived than any of those that had preceded it. It was during the reign of Omri that Israel first became familiar to the Assyrians, for in their inscriptions of this age the land of Israel is regularly termed "the land of Omri."^ This people, after extending their power in the direction of Mesopotamia and Armenia, had, about iioo B.C., under Tiglath Pileser L, reached N. Phoenicia and the Mediterranean Sea. In the time of David and Solomon (about 1000 B.C.) their power had declined; but it rose again under Asshur-nasir-pal III. (884-860), who advanced to Lebanon and threatened Tyre and the other Phoenician cities. It was probably this menacing advance on the part of Assyria that drew Omri and Ethbaal together, and led (as has been related) to the cementing of an alliance by the marriage of Ahab and Jezebel. Asa of Judah and Omri of Israel died within a year or two ^ Different trades seem to have had their own "streets"; seejer. xxxvii. 21. ' Schrader, Cuneiform Inscriptions ^ i. 179, 180 (ed. Whitehouse). ISRAEL AND JUDAH 331 of each other, and were succeeded respectively by their sons JEHOSHAPHAT and AHAB, Jehoshaphat, in the internal conduct of his kingdom, continued the early policy of his father. He carried on the religious reforms which the latter had initiated; and put an end to what still remained of the immoral practices that defiled religious worship, though the abolition of the " high places," the chief seats of such practices, was not yet contem- plated (i Kg. xxii. 46, 43).^ By the Chronicler {2 Ch. xvii.) he is represented as ensuring security and justice at home, and enforcing respect among the PhiHstines and Arabians abroad; but though the facts in general may be as stated, the particulars furnished are not such as to command implicit confidence. It is clear, however, that on his southern frontier he tightened his hold upon Edom, which was ruled by a deputy or nominee of the Judsean king : whilst on the north the protracted war with Israel was brought to a close (i Kg. xxii. 44). The conditions upon which peace was made are not known ; but the subsequent relations of the two peoples seem to imply some degree of subor- dination on the part of Judah.^ The peace was ratified by the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son to the daughter of Ahab {2 Kg. viii. 18). The measures of defence ascribed to Jehoshaphat in 2 Ch. xvii. include the placing of garrisons not only in the cities of Judah but also in the cities of Israel taken by his father (cf. xv. 8) ; whilst his army is estimated at the enormous total of i,i6o,0(X), in addition to the garrisons of the fortresses. The fact that in the subsequent history Jehoshaphat uses to the king of Israel language suggestive of vassalage (/ Kg. xxii. 4, 2 Kg. iii. 7, cf. i Kg. xx. 3-4) negatives the belief that he possessed such resources as described. The measures he is said to have adopted for the improvement of his people com- prised (i) a mission of princes, Levites, and priests, to teach a knowledge of •'the book of the law of Jehovah"; and (2) the establishment of local courts of justice in every city, with a court of appeal at Jerusalem, the latter consisting of Levites, priests, and heads of houses, and sitting in two divisions, under Amariah the chief priest and Zebadiah the ruler of the house of Judah, to hear ecclesiastical and civil causes respectively {2 Ch. xvii. 7-9, xix. 4-1 1). The distinction drawn here between Levites and Priests belongs to a later period than this ; and the judicial arrangements seem to reproduce the legisla- tion of Deut. xvii. 8-1 1. The control which Jehoshaphat secured over Edom (as attested by i Kg. xxii. 47-48) was perhaps the result of some signal disaster sustained by the Edomites, of which a highly -coloured and idealised account is given in a Ch. xx. 1-30. There it is related that a combined force of Moabites, * Contrast 2 Ch. xvii. 6, which is contradicted in xx. 33. * See further, p. 335. 332 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Ammonites, and Edomites,^ made a circuit of the southern extremity of the Dead Sea, and following its western marge as far as Engedi, advanced into Judah across the wilderness of Tekoa. Jehoshaphat, in spite of the 1, 160,000 men with which he is credited in 2 Ch. xvii., was so alarmed that he pro- claimed a general fast, and offered in the Temple a solemn prayer for protec- tion. Upon this Jahaziel, a Levite, encouraged him to expect the Divine intervention ; and the next morning the army advanced towards the enemy, headed by a body of minstrels. As these sang to Jehovah, He caused a quarrel to arise among the confederates, and they destroyed one another, so that when the Judaean army came upon them, they found them all dead. After spending three days in gathering the spoil they assembled to bless Jehovah in the valley of Beracah* (whence its name, "blessing"), and then returned with joy to Jerusalem. Of the reign of AHAB, Omri's son and successor on the throne of Israel, more information has been preserved than is the case with many. It was rendered memorable by two protracted conflicts. The first was the war with Syria, which occupied, with intervals of tranquiUity, a large part of it, and was characterised by remarkable fluctuations of fortune. The other was a struggle between the national religion of Jehovah and the religion of the Zidonian Baal introduced by queen Jezebel. Ahab, like Solomon, permitted to his wife the practice of her native worship; and erected in honour of Baal an Asherah and a pillar (i Kg. xvi. 32, xxi. 26, 2 Kg. iii. 2). The importation into Israel of the rites of the deity of a powerful state like Zidon was a much more serious danger to the purity of Jehovah's worship than any that could arise from the imitation of the customs observed by the survivors of the Canaanites within Israel's own borders; and it accordingly provoked more vehement antagonism to the throne from the prophets of Jehovah than had been manifested during the lifetime of any previous king. Among the minor incidents of the reign which may be mentioned here is the fortification of the town of Jericho (which must have been rebuilt as early as David's time, 2 Sam. x. 5) by a certain Hiel of Bethel, in the loss of whose children during the progress of the work the curse long ago imprecated by Joshua on anyone who should restore it {Josh. vi. 26) was thought to have had its fulfilment. The immediate cause of the Syrian war is unknown; but it may be conjectured that Ahab made an attempt to throw off the 1 See 2 Ch. xx. 10. ' The valley of Jehoshaphat xn. Joel iii. 2, 12 is supposed by some to be an allusion to this. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 333 Syrian yoke which had been imposed upon his father Omri. His early operations must have been unfortunate, for Benhadad II. (called Hadadezer in the Assyrian inscriptions), son of the Ben- hadad who had exchanged the alliance with Baasha for one with Asa (i Kg. XV. 18), invaded the territory of Ahab with a large force, including thirty-two subject kings. Samaria was invested ; and the Israelite sovereign was prepared to acquiesce once more in a condition of vassalage (i Kg. xx. 3-4) ; but the final terms imposed (the surrender of the city to indiscriminate plunder) ^ were too humiliating to be accepted; and with the support of his people, Ahab determined to defy the invader (xx. 6-9). He was further encouraged by a prophet who, in the name of Jehovah, foretold his success. The promised deliverance was brought about by a sally made from the city by a band of 232 youths, attached to the persons of the provincial governors, whose adventurous surprise of Benhadad, when the latter was carousing with his vassals, was followed up by the attack of Ahab and his army (numbering 7,000 men). The Syrian king effected his escape ; but a great slaughter was inflicted upon his troops. The war, however, was renewed the next year. An equally large force was collected by the Syrians, in which the thirty-two vassal kings, who were perhaps held responsible for the previous disaster, had to resign their commands to other officers. The preceding defeat having taken place on the high ground upon which Samaria was situated, the Syrians concluded that Jehovah, the God of Israel, was a god of the hills ; and they therefore chose, as the scene of the next battle, the more level country near Aphek, a town E. of the Lake of Chinnereth, of which they held possession. After facing each other for seven days, the two armies engaged, the Syrians being again defeated with great slaughter.^ Many of the survivors took refuge in Aphek, but lost their lives when the walls were breached and the city stormed. Benhadad was now compelled to sue for his Hfe, which Ahab granted, but imposed on him as the price of peace the same terms as those exacted from his own father previously, the Syrians agreeing to restore the cities taken from Omri, and * In 7 Kg. XX. 6 for in thine eyes the LXX. (xxi. 6) has in their eyes. ^ The number of the slain (100,000 foot) is doubtless much exaggerated. 334 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY to allow Israel to enjoy in Damascus similar rights to those which had been conceded to themselves in Samaria. The mercy shown to so dangerous a foe was regarded with disfavour by some in Israel, and a prophet condemned the king's conduct in the name of Jehovah. The prophet is said to have directed a companion to smite and wound him, and on his refusing, declared that for his disobedience a lion should slay him, a pre- diction which was shortly accomplished. Inducing another to carry out his wishes, he next disguised himself, and in this con- dition appeared before Ahab. Then professing to have been entrusted in the recent battle with a prisoner whom he was bidden to keep on peril of his life or the payment of a fine, but whom he had suffered to escape, he appealed to the king for redress against the man whom he alleged to have treated him with violence on account of his negligence. The king, however, declared that he was self-condemned; whereupon the prophet, stripping off his disguise, announced to Ahab that the divinely- appointed destruction from which he had preserved Benhadad would in consequence overtake himself (see i Kg. xx.). The narrative relating the nameless^ prophet's denunciation of Ahab's clemency to Benhadad has certain features in common with the story in J Kg. xiii. (see p. 223), e.g. the punishment of disobedience through the agency of a lion, and the use of the phrase said {cried) by the word ^Jehovah (xx. 35, xiii. 2, 5, 17, 18) ; and its historical value has, in consequence, been suspected by some scholars. The real reason for Ahab's forbearance towards Benhadad was doubtless the danger that now began to threaten from the Assyrians. These, under Shalmaneser II. (the son and successor of Asshur-nasir-pal III.), who reigned from 860 to 825, again entered upon that advance towards the West which ultimately proved so disastrous to the smaller monarchies of the Palestinian coastland; and Syria and Israel for a time were united in the face of the common foe. The peril that menaced them became acute when Shalmaneser in his westward progress, after receiving the submission of the Hittites of Carchemish, attacked the king- dom of Hamath ; and both Ahab and Benhadad (Hadadezer) combined for its defence. A large force, consisting of 10,000 ^ Josephus {Ant. viii. 14, 5) identifies the prophet with Micaiah ; cf. / -A^. xxii. 8. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 335 Hamathites (with 700 chariots and 700 horsemen), 20,000 Syrians (with 1,200 chariots and 1,210 horsemen), and 10,000 Israelites (with 2,000 chariots), together with contingents from Arvad, Ammon, Musre,^ and other smaller states, encountered the Assyrians at Karkar, a city lying to the north of Hamath near the Orontes (b.c. 854) ; and these were defeated with heavy loss (if the Assyrian account may be trusted), 14,000 men being slain. This broke up the confederacy, and Hamath was left to its fate. A further consequence was the crippling of Damascus, which was more exposed to Assyrian vengeance than some of its neighbours ; and this in turn affected the relations of Israel and Judah. The latter no longer had an ally to counterbalance the preponderating strength of the Northern Kingdom ; and in conse- quence had to make terms with its adversary, and accept the position (which seems to be indicated in i Kg. xxii. 4, 2 Kg. iii. 7) of a dependent state. As already mentioned, the peace was cemented by the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. The union between Ahab and the Zidonian princess Jezebel gave, as has been previously implied, a strong impulse to the cult of the Zidonian Baal. Baal did not, indeed, take the place of Jehovah as the national god, or even attract to himself the entire worship of the court, as appears from (a) the names (compounded with JAH or JO) which were borne by some of Ahab's children (Ahaziah, Jehoram, Joash, Athaliah), {b) the attendance upon Ahab of Obadiah (who both by his name and by his own con- fession {i Kg. xviii. 12) was a servant of Jehovah), and {c) the assembling in his presence, even at the close of his reign, of prophets who professed to speak in Jehovah's name (i Kg. xxii. 12). But the influence of Jezebel not only led to the protection 2 and toleration of Baal worship, but to its active dissemination, and to the persecution of those prophets of Jehovah who opposed her religious zeal. The chief of these was Elijah, a native of Tishbeh in Gilead,^ a man of passionate temperament and dauntless spirit, who, reared in the freedom * See below, p. 343. 2 q^ j jcg^ xviii. 19 (end). * In 7 Ki^. xvii. i for of tht sojourners (of Gilead) the LXX. has U Qeapuv, Josephus {Ani. viii. 13, 2) ix t6\€w$ Qea^uvrji. 336 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY which prevailed in the uncultivated districts E. of the Jordan, and accustomed to a rough garb and hard fare, was equally proof against favour and fear. Many stories in which he is the central figure, testify to the impression he made upon the nation at large, and depict, more or less faithfully, leading incidents in the con- test he maintained against an alien religion. According to the narrative contained in / Kg. xvii,-xix., Elijah predicted, as a penalty for the nation's disloyalty to Jehovah, a three years' drought ; * and thereupon was directed to hide himself by the brook Cherith E. of Jordan (which was seemingly not yet dried up) where he found water, and was fed for a time by ravens. On the brook becoming dry, he went to the city of Zarephath (lying between Tyre and Zidon) where he was received by a poor widow, whose scanty store of meal and oil he declared should not fail until rain came. During his sojourn with her, the widow's only son died, but was restored to life by the prophet. In the third year, Elijah, whom Ahab had sought for everywhere, suddenly presented himself before the king, and challenged him to summon the prophets of Baal ' to mount Carmel, and there let a solemn decision be made between their god and Jehovah. Ahab consenting, the prophets assembled and sacrifices were prepared, and in the presence of the people appeal was made to Baal by his votaries and to Jehovah by Elijah to demonstrate their power by consuming the offerings by fire. Elijah's confidence was signally justified ; and he thereupon bade the people put the idolatrous prophets to death. The victory thus gained for the national faith was further confirmed by an immediate fall of abundant rain upon the thirsty land. But when Jezebel heard of the slaughter of Baal's prophets, Elijah once more had to flee for his life, and withdrew in dejection to the wilderness of Beersheba (in Judah). Thence he was bidden by an angel to proceed to mount Horeb, where, after wind and earthquake and fire had passed and failed to convey to him a sense of the Divine presence, a sound of gentle stillness^ revealed Jehovah. By Him he was told that his despair for the cause of Jehovah in Israel was baseless ; and was bidden to return and anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Elisha of Abel-meholah ■* to succeed himself in his prophetic office. The last-mentioned he found following the plough, and cast his mantle upon him, which Elisha took as a sign to leave his home and become Elijah's minister. These chapters form part of a series of narratives concerning Elijah, which, ^ Josephus {Ant. viii. 13, 2) quotes Menander as recording the occurrence ot a drought in the reign of the Tyrian king Ithobalus (Ethbaal), lasting a year. ' The prophets of the Asherah named in xviii. 19 are not mentioned sub- sequently in ver. 22, 25, and 40; and the clause has been suspected to be interpolated. ' In c. xix. the passage gb-iia substantially anticipates 13b- 14, and the address of Jehovah to the prophet seems out of place before the theophany described in ver. lib. Wind, earthquake, and fire are elsewhere often the accompaniments of God's presence {Ex. xix. 18, Fs. xviii. 8-10, Ezek. i. 4, Job xxxviii. i), but here a more refined representation is substituted, though the conception is still physical, not purely ethical (LXX. 'ptians had been hired to attack them. In their panic they abandoned their camp, which was discovered to be deserted by four leprous wretches who found their way into it ; and its supplies became the spoil of the beleaguered citizens. The incredulous officer was appointed by the king to have charge of the city gate, and so great was the throng of people who poured through it that he was crushed to death, thus verifying the word of EUsha (2 Kg. c. vi., vH.). Next, Elisha gave warning to the woman, whose son he had raised to Ufe, of the approach of a seven years' famine ; whereupon she retired to the land of the Philistines. At the end of the period she returned, but found her property appropriated by others. The king of Israel was being told by Gehazi of EUsha's great deeds when the woman made her appeal for the restoration of her possessions ; and when Gehazi informed him of what EUsha had done for her, the king commanded that all she had lost should be made good. After this Elisha went to Damascus, where Benhadad the king of Syria was sick ; and the latter sent his servant Hazael to him to enquire whether he would be restored to health. In answer, Elisha declared that he would recover of his disease,'^ but would nevertheless surely die; and then, weeping, explained to Hazael, who asked why he wept, that he ^ In 2 Kg. vi. 33 it has been proposed to read the king for the messenger (the diff"erence in the original being slight) ; cf. Jos. Ant. ix. 4, 4. * So one reading in 2 Kg. viii. 10 (followed by Jos. Ant. ix. 4, 6) ; but another reading gives Say^ Thou shalt not recover. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 343 i^ias destined to do much evil to Israel, and would become king over Syria. Hazael reported to Benhadad the first part of the prophet's predic- tion, and next proceeded to bring about the second part by smothering the sick man with the coverlet of his bed ; and then became king in his room (^ Kg. viii. 1-15). These stories are somewhat disconnected, and in places inconsistent. For instance the alleged cessation of the Syrian invasions (vi. 23) is contradicted by the siege of Samaria (ver. 24), whilst of the life-long leprosy of Gehazi affirmed in v. 27, no consciousness is shown in the later narrative viii. 1-6. The king of Israel is nowhere named ; but presumably Jehoram is meant. The war with Syria that has been alluded to seems to have borne a general resemblance to the earlier conflict which took place in the reign of Ahab. Samaria, for the second time, sus- tained a siege, and for the second time the besieging forces failed to reduce it. On the last occasion, if one of the stories just related is to be accepted in its main details, the withdrawal of the Syrians is represented as due to the fear of a relieving force of Hittite and Egyptian mercenaries. The combination, however, is rather a strange one; and it has been conjectured that Egypt {Mizraim) is a mistake for Musre^ a country near mount Amanus, and adjoining the land of the Hittites, which is mentioned in the Assyrian account of the battle of Karkar (p. 335). The raising of the siege of Samaria, however brought about, must have been followed by the almost complete evacua- tion by Syria of the Israelite territory, for the scene of the next incident in the war was the remote eastern frontier. Meanwhile Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, had been suc- ceeded by his son JEHORAM. As has been already stated, he had married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab; and her evil influence quickly showed itself in the deterioration of the national religion. His reign was marked by two disasters. An outbreak of hostilities on the part of the PhiUstines resulted in the loss of Libnah; whilst Edom, which had doubtless been long disaffected, revolted, and in spite of a defeat inflicted upon it by Jehoram at a place called Zair,^ where he was surrounded by the enemy, succeeded in gaining its independence. These public calamities were accompanied by personal bereavements, all his sons, with the exception of the youngest, being cut ofi" by a raid made by some Arabian marauders {2 Ch. xxi. 16-17). ^ Identified by some with a wady on the S.W. shore of the Dead Sea; the name is omitted in Chronicles {2 Ch. xxi. ). 344 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Broken by misfortunes and disease {2 Ch. xxi. 18-19), he seems to have occupied the throne only a few years. According to 2 Ch. xxL 2-4 Jehoram had six brethren, who are said to have received from their father Jehoshaphat gifts of money and fenced cities ; but Jehoram, as soon as he came to the throne, put them all to death. The calamities which befell him subsequently are further related to have been announced in a writing which came to him from the prophet Elijah, in which they were described as a punishment both for his fratricides and his idolatry. The fact that Elisha figures in the history of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram's father, makes it very improbable that EUjah was at this time alive. The statement {2 Ch. xxi. 20) that Jehoram was not buried in the sepulchres of the kings is opposed to the natural sense of 2 Kg. viii. 24 ; and is open to suspicion (c£ the similar discrepancies between 2 Ch. xxiv. 25 and 2 Kg. xii. 21, and between 2 Ch. xxviii. 27 and 2 Kg. xvi. 20). Jehoram's successor was his only surviving son AHAZIAH (or JEHOAHAZ^), who became king at the age of twenty-two. His mother was Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, and to the religious practices which she had introduced into the nation the new king adhered. But his reign was too short to be eventful, and the only incidents in it which claim attention are those connected with his death. It has already been related how Benhadad the king of Syria was murdered by his servant Hazael, who thereupon raised him- self to the throne. His accession made no change in the hostile relations which had so long prevailed between the Syrians and Israel ; and the possession of Ramoth Gilead was once more disputed between the two nations. The city at this time appears to have been in the hands of Israel; but it was attacked by Hazael, and in the war that ensued Jehoram, like his prede- cessors, called upon the king of Judah to furnish him with help. In the course of the campaign Jehoram received wounds which necessitated his return to his palace at Jezreel,^ the defence of Ramoth Gilead being entrusted to his officers. In the king's enforced retirement from the army the resentment provoked amongst the followers of Jehovah by Jezebel's persecution of the prophets and her murder of Naboth at length found its oppor- tunity. Amongst those present with the army at Ramoth was ^ See 2 Ch. xxi. 17. In 2 Ch. xxii. 6 he is called (probably by a textual error) Azariah. His age at his accession is stated as forty-two, though his father was only forty when he died. * The Ramah of 2 Kg. viii. 29 must be the same as Ramoth Gilead. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 345 Jehu,^ who had been one of the body-guard of Ahab, and who had heard EHjah's denunciation of the execution of Naboth (P- 337) > ^"d to h^"^ Elisha sent a messenger declaring him divinely commissioned to destroy the house of Ahab, and to avenge the murdered prophets. The envoy privately anointed him king ; and when Jehu related to his fellow-officers what had happened, he was by them at once acknowledged as sovereign. Thereupon preventing any from leaving the city to carry tidings of the revolution, he proceeded with all haste to Jezreel, where Jehoram lay. Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit his relation and ally; and when the messengers, despatched to enquire the import of Jehu's hasty approach, were detained by the usurper, the two kings went forth to meet him. Jehu soon revealed the purpose of his arrival ; and as Jehoram turned to flee, he slew him with an arrow, directing his body to be cast on to the land so wrongfully appropriated by his father Ahab, to become, hke Naboth's, the prey of dogs. Ahaziah, as he endeavoured to escape, was pursued by Jehu and by his orders smitten in his chariot. He fell mortally wounded, and died at Megiddo, whence his corpse was afterwards taken by his servants to Jerusalem and buried there. Jehu then returned to Jezreel, and as he entered the city he was observed by Jezebel from a window, who tauntingly saluted him as a second Zimri. Jehu thereupon ordered some eunuchs, who appeared in answer to his call, to throw her down ; and this being done, he drove his horses over her body, which, like the king's, was devoured by the dogs.2 In regard to the death of Ahaziah the Chronicler differs from the writer of Kings, and states that he had concealed himself at Samaria, and being captured there, was brought to Jehu, who ordered him to be executed (-2 Ch. xxii. 9). His death is represented as a judgment for allying himself with Joram. With the double purpose of completing the vengeance due for the murder of Jehovah's prophets and of securing his newly-won *• Jehu, though often styled the son of Nimshi (/ Kg. xix. i6 etc.), was really son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi {2 Kg, ix. 14). "^ In 2 Kg-, ix. 36 Elijah is represented as stating that the dogs should devour Jezebel t'n the portion of Jezreel (LXX. iv t-q /xepldi IcrpaT^X), but in / Kg. xxi. 23 the scene of her doom is by the rampart of Jezreel (LXX. [xx. 23] iv ry irpomx^GiKxri rod 'la-pai^X). 346 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY throne from possible rivals, Jehu next proceeded to destroy all the remaining descendants of Ahab. These, numbering seventy per- sons (many of them, no doubt, sons of Jehoram), were at Samaria under the care of guardians ; and by them were all executed under Jehu's orders, who thus made some of the leading citizens of the capital accomplices in his overthrow of the royal house. He then put to death all the friends and adherents of the dead king whom he found at Jezreel. Jehu's bloodthirstiness did not stop here. Going in person from Jezreel to Samaria, he en- countered certain relatives of Ahaziah, king of Judah, forty-two in number,- who, unaware of what had happened, were on their way to pay a visit to the court at Jezreel, and directing them to be seized, had them slaughtered, and their bodies thrust into a well. He next took measures to carry out the religious reformation which the dynastic revolution was intended to promote ; and in this work he joined to himself a certain Jehonadab, son of Rechab, belonging to a Kenite family, which had not only remained faithful to Jehovah during the recent apostasy, but even dissociated itself altogether from the vintage festivals which were a special feature of Baal worship {Jer. xxxv.). To accomplish his purpose he stooped to craft. Professing to be, like his pre- decessor on the throne, a votary of Baal, he summoned all the prophets, priests, and devotees of the deity ^ to a festival in a large temple, of which he secured the doors; and then sent in a body of his guards with orders to massacre them. The symbols and shrines connected with Baal worship were after- wards destroyed, and the site of them desecrated. The religion of the Phoenician Baal, together with the dynasty that introduced it, was thus extirpated by bloodshed; and the approval which the violence attending its suppression received from the prophets shows what fierceness still entered into the religion of Jehovah. Another generation had to pass before ^ In 2 Kg, X. I the rulers of Jezreel must be an error for the rulers of Samaria (see ver. 6) as read by the LXX. The Vulgate has optimates civitatis. "^ Described in 2 Ch. xxii. 8 as sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, i.e. sons 01 the eldest sons of Jehoram who had been slain by Arabian marauders {2 Ch. xxii. i). ^ In spite of the statement respecting Jehoram in 2 Kg. iii. 2, the influence of Jezebel still maintained in the land the cult of the Zidonian Baal, and it was this that Jehu proceeded to extinguish. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 347 a higher conception of God began to prevail in Israel, or Jehu's mercilessness met with a fitting condemnation from His ministers (see Hos, i. 4). At the same time it must be recog- nised that the religion of Baal, under the influence of the foreign princess Jezebel, had become highly aggressive ; and that in the contest which the prophets of Jehovah waged against it, the severe measures they employed are, even if judged by a higher standard than theirs, not without excuse. JEHU, when securely seated on the throne, restored the worship of Jehovah to its former supremacy. But it retained the sensuous form under which it was practised in the tim.e of Jeroboam, the golden calves set up by that king being still the objects of popular veneration. The continued association of Jehovah's service with such coarse emblems must have material- ised, if not brutalised, the religion of the nation, and proved a serious obstacle to ethical and spiritual progress. And if Jehu's usurpation thus failed to accomplish a complete religious refor- mation, it had, from a political point of view, wrought positive mischief. The overthrow of Ahab's house was not effected without the destruction of many of its adherents ; and the loss of strength which this entailed on the nation weakened it for the conflicts with foreign powers which were in store for it. As has been already stated, Assyria had become active in the reign of Jehoram, though it was not Israel but Syria which first became embroiled with it. In 842 Shalmaneser II. inflicted a severe defeat upon Hazael, the Syrian king, in the neighbourhood of mount Senir (Hermon), and besieged Damascus. He then advanced to the coast and received tribute from several Phoenician cities, Tyre, Zidon, and Byblus. The relations which had existed between Ahab and Zidon would prevent Jehu from uniting with the latter in defence of Phoenicia; and the hostility of Shalmaneser towards Syria, which had so long been Israel's most formidable enemy, would dispose the Israelite king to make friends, if possible, of the invader. Accordingly Jehu also gave tribute to the Assyrian king; and on one of the cuneiform inscriptions of Shalmaneser^ there appears a list of the gifts he sent — bars of silver and gold, a golden bowl, golden goblets, * On the Black Obelisk found at Nimroud, and now in the British Museum. 348 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY golden pitchers, and other articles. The enumeration suggests that the " tribute " (as the inscription terms it) was rather of the nature of a present, made with a view to secure the favour of Assyria. Any hope, however, which Jehu cherished of obtaining Assyrian protection against Syria proved illusory. Hazael, when he recovered from the defeat alluded to above, attacked Israel, and overran the whole of Gilead and Bashan {2 Kg. x. 32-33), committing great barbarities {Am. i. 3, cf. 2 Kg. viii. 12). Details of the war, however, are lacking,^ and the rest of Jehu's reign is passed over by the historian in silence. He was succeeded by his son JEHOAHAZ, who, in the conduct of religion, followed in his father's footsteps. Under him the political fortunes of Israel sank to a very low ebb. The .Syrian war was continued by Hazael and his son Benhadad III. ; and eventually Jehoahaz was reduced to a condition of subserviency, being only allowed to maintain an army of a certain strength (10,000 infantry, 50 horsemen, and 10 chariots). It is possible that to this reign also belongs the barbarous raid of the Ammonites referred to in Am. i. 13; but no particulars of the disasters sustained have been preserved. Meanwhile, the family of Ahab, after losing the throne of Israel, continued to enjoy, on the death of Ahaziah, a short period of power in Judah, and sheltered there the Baal worship which for a time had been extinguished in the Northern Kingdom. ATHALIAH, the daughter of Ahab, had, as the queen-mother of Ahaziah, already occupied a position of influence and dignity; but on the death of her son, her ambition led her to seize the crown. She secured her possession of it by putting to death all her surviving grandchildren with the exception of the youngest, Joash, who was saved by Jehosheba, half-sister ^ of the dead king and wife of Jehoiada the chief priest (2 Ch, xxii. 11), and was concealed by her in the Temple. Of Athaliah's tenure of power nothing is recorded save her protection of Baal worship, by the side of which, nevertheless, the religion of * The loss of the cities of Jair, mentioned in / Ch. ii. 23, probably took place at this time. * This is implied by Josephus {Ant. ix. 7. i) who styles her 'Oxofi^ (Ahaziah) hfioTrdrpios d5eX07;. The Chronicler gives her name as Jehoshabcath {2 Ch. xxii. II). ISRAEL AND JUDAH 349 Jehovah maintained its existence. Her usurpation was brought to an end by a revolution organised by the priest Jehoiada. He formed a plot with the captains of the Carian guards and other officers who were on duty at the Temple, and appealed to their instincts of loyalty by showing them the youthful heir to the throne. After having concentrated at the Temple a larger number of their troops than usual by arranging that those whose turn it was to be relieved should not withdraw, and placing some of them to watch the communications with the Palace and the other entrances of the Temple, whilst disposing the rest around the person of the young prince, he proceeded to crown the latter^ and to display him to the people who thronged the Temple courts. Athaliah, hearing the shouts with which the king was saluted, hastened to the scene, crying " Treason ! " ; but by the direction of Jehoiada, she was at once seized and hurried forth from the sacred precincts, and then put to death. The arrangements made by Jehoiada in connection with the coronation of Joash and the death of Athaliah, as described in 2 Kg. xi. 4-16, are obscure. In ver. 5, 6, the "three parts" of the guards are probably subdivisions of the one company which, in ordinary course, was to relieve the other two which kept watch at the Temple on the Sabbath. Some think that this company was posted at the Palace, to confine Athahah there, whilst the two, which would otherwise have been relieved, were alone kept at the Temple. But ver. 9 suggests that all the guards were collected at the Temple, and ver. 13 shows that Athaliah was free to leave the Palace. The presence, in the Temple and by the altar, of soldiers and even foreign mercenaries is altogether inconsistent with the regulations of the Priestly code of the Pentateuch ; and the Chronicler, in consequence, whilst naming the " captains of hundreds " represents them as collecting from all Judah a body of Levites^ who, with the priests, were alone to enter the Temple to protect the king (2 Ch, xxiii. 1-15). The accession of JEHOASH or JOASH was followed by a religious reformation. During the king's minority (he was only seven when he came to the throne) the chief power was in the hands of the priest Jehoiada, who acted as his guardian ; and the first care of the latter was to put an end to the false worship which had gained an entrance into the land during the previous three reigns. He then brought about a renewal of ^ In -2 Kg. xi. 12 for put upon him the crown and {gave him) the testimony should probably be substituted, by a slight alteration in the Heb. , put upon him the crown and the bracelets (for the combination of crown and bracelets as the insignia of royalty cf. 2 Sam. i. 10) ; see Wellhausen, Proleg. p. 393 note. 350 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the solemn covenant whereby the king and the people bound themselves to serve Jehovah; made a compact between the sovereign and his subjects; and effected a restoration of the Temple, which had fallen into disrepair, and even (according to 2 Ch. xxiv. 7) been wantonly injured. Of the external history of the country during this reign little is recounted in detail. But before the close of it the inroads of the Syrians into the territory of Israel (previously related) began to threaten Judah. Hazael, advancing along the maritime plain, penetrated south- wards as far as the PhiHstine city of Gath, whence he con- templated an attack upon Jerusalem. He only relinquished it on receiving from Joash a quantity of treasure, to provide which both the Temple and the royal palace had to be despoiled. Joash subsequently fell a victim to assassination. Two of his servants, named Jozacar and Jehozabad, conspired against him and slew him ; but as he was succeeded in the normal way by his son, the murder was probably due to private malice and not public discontent. In regard to the repair of the Temple undertaken in this reign, it is represented in 2 Kg. xii. 4 foil, that the priests were expected to apply to the purpose the money which they ordinarily received for (i) the provision of articles dedicated to the Temple service, (2) the redemption of vows (of. Lev. xxvii. 2 foil.), (3) free-will offerings. They failed, however, to devote the money to this object, and the duty of restoration was accordingly taken out of their hands, whilst they were forbidden to receive from the people anything except what was paid for guilt- and sin-offerings. Then the expense of the repairs, instead of being met as originally intended, was defrayed by offerings contributed by the people for this special end, and put into a chest placed near the altar. According to 2 Ch. xxiv. 4 foil., the king at the outset sent the priests and Levites throughout the country to collect the money ; but they were so dilatory that the king made arrange- ments for the people's contributions to be received at the Temple gate. In their contributions (according to the same authority) the half-shekel paid by every Israelite (see Ex. xxx. 13) was also included. Of the latter part of the reign of Joash a much more extensive account is fur- nished by Chronicles {2 Ch. xxiv. 17 foil.) than is contained in Kings. After the death of Jehoiada, the princes gained the king's ear, and idolatry began to prevail again ; and when Zechariah the son of Jehoiada raised his voice against it, he was stoned in the Temple court by the command of the king. The Syrian invasion mentioned above (which is described as consisting of a small company, into whose hands Jehovah delivered a very great host of Judseans) is regarded as a judgment upon Joash ; and his death by his two servants (here called Zabad and Jehozabad) is ascribed to revenge for the son of Jehoiada. The historian of Kings not only does not relate, but could not have known what is here stated, which else must have prevented him from applying to Joash even the qualified praise implied in xiv. 3. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 351 In Israel Jehoahaz^ was succeeded by JEHOASH^ under whom the degradation which the Northern Kingdom had suffered at the hands of Syria began to be removed. This was largely due to the renewal of activity on the part of Assyria. The successors of Shalmaneser II. were Samsi- ramman IV. (823-811) and Ramman-nirari III (810-782), and in 803 the last-named besieged Damascus ; and the pressure of this war made Syria less able to retain its hold upon the territory of Israel. Jehoash, though, like his predecessors, he maintained the calf - worship, had friendly relations with the prophet Elisha, who was now a man of advanced age; and to the king Elisha announced that he would obtain a series of victories over the oppressors of his country. As he lay on his death-bed, he sent for Jehoash, and directing him to take bow and arrows, he bade him shoot through the window eastward; and as he shot, the prophet predicted Israel's coming success over the eastern power. Then he commanded the king to smite with the arrows upon the ground, and Jehoash smote thrice and stayed; whereupon Elisha, angry at his desisting, declared that the king's victories should be limited to three. The result of these triumphs was the recovery from the Syrians of those Israelite cities on the E. of the Jordan ^ which they had captured from Jehoahaz. It is probable that Jehoash, in the course of this contest with Syria, found it expedient to tender his sub- mission to the Assyrians; and Ramman-nirari, in his inscrip- tions, represents Israel, together with Tyre, Zidon, Edom, and Philistia as paying tribute to him, though the tribute may well have been merely nominal. The Syrian war carried on during this reign gave the Moabites an opportunity for inflicting injury upon their Israelite neigh- bours, of which they were not slow to take advantage; and it seems probable that their raiding expeditions extended even to the district west of Jordan. 1 See p. 348. * The Aphek named as the scene of Joash's victory in 2 Kg, xiii. 17 is probably identical with the Aphek of / Kg. xx. 26, which was on the E. of Jordan. 352 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY It is related that during one of the Moabite raids, alluded to above, a party of men who were carrying a corpse to burial, on perceiving the approach of a plundering band, hurriedly cast the body into the grave of Elisha (now dead), and that on touching the bones of Elisha, the dead man revived. The site of Elisha's sepulchre is not stated, but if he was buried at his native place Abel- meholah, which was situated near Bethshan, the presence of Moabites in its neighbourhood indicates that the invaders had crossed the Jordan. The contemporary of Jehoash on the throne of Judah was AMAZIAH, who succeeded to the crown on the death of his father. The murderers of the latter he at once executed; but the higher ethical standard of this age, as compared with earlier times, is shown by the fact that the punishment which was inflicted upon the guilty conspirators was not extended to their children. The first military venture of the new king had as its object the re-conquest of Edom. This country, as mentioned above, seems to have felt the power of Assyria ; and Amaziah, in consequence, may have found his task of subjugating it light- ened. He defeated the Edomites with great loss, and captured the city of Sela (Petra),^ which he re-named Joktheel. This success, coupled with the calamities sustained by Israel in the reign of Jehoahaz, encouraged Amaziah to renounce the sub- servient position which Judah had so long occupied towards the Northern Kingdom ; and he proposed to Jehoash a deliberate trial of strength with a view to settling their political relations. In spite of the candid advice which Jehoash gave him in the form of an apologue {2 Kg. xiv. 9), he persisted in his purpose ; and the forces of the two nations met at Bethshemesh. In the battle which ensued, Amaziah was not only defeated but captured. The victorious enemy proceeded with him to Jerusalem, where part of the wall facing the north was dismantled,^ so that the Judaean capital might be undefended on that side ; and Jehoash only returned home when he had received a heavy indemnity, as well as hostages as security against further provocation. Amaziah himself, when the conditions of peace were fulfilled, was restored to the throne, and if the synchronism of Kings is even approxi- mately correct, outlived his conqueror by several years. Eventu- 1 The loss sustained by the Edomites is placed at 10,000, and the same number are said {2 Ch. xxv. 12) to have been killed in cold blood. ' 2 Kg. xiv. 11 from the gate of E^hraim unto the corner gate, four hundred cubits. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 353 ally a conspiracy was formed against him at Jerusalem, to escape which he fled to Lachish. He was pursued thither and slain, but his body was brought back to the capital and buried in the sepulchre of his fathers {2 Kg. xiv. 1-22, 2 Ch. xxv). In 2 Ch. xxv. 6 foil, it is related that Amaziah, when making preparations for the invasion of Edom, hired for lOO talents of silver a body of ioo,cxx> Israelites to reinforce his own army of 300,000 men ; but on the remonstrance of a prophet, who urged that Jehovah was not with Israel, discharged the troops he had engaged. The abrupt dismissal enraged the Israelite soldiers, and they took their revenge by attacking and despoiling several Judsean cities (strangely described as lying between Samaria and Beth-horon, but see xv. 8) on their homeward march. The numbers given above are obviously out of all reason ; but it is conceivable that the account is a distorted version of the fact that the Israelite king, as suzerain of Judah, sent troops to take part in the conquest of Edom, and that the dismissal of them by Amaziah was preliminary to a formal renunciation of Israelite paramountcy. The disaster which attended Amaziah in the subsequent war is attributed to his having brought home the gods of Edom, and offered worship to them. Jehoash of Israel was succeeded on the throne by JERO- BOAM II., under whom the progress in material strength which the nation had made during the reign of his father was more than maintained. Unfortunately it is impossible to follow in detail the course of events by which this king won back for his people the possessions of which they had been despoiled. Taking advantage of the weakness of Syria, he not only secured the trans-Jordanic province of Gilead (which in Hosea vi. 8, xii. 1 1 is regarded as being as much a portion of the kingdom as any other district) but extended his rule southward to the "brook of the Arabah " {Am. vi. 14) (generally identified with the Wddy el Ahsa^ flowing into the lower end of the Dead Sea). This implies the subjugation of the Moabites, whose raids (as has been related) harassed Israel in the time of his father, and who (if Is. xv., xvi. 1-12 has in view this time) now made an appeal for protection to Judah, which seemingly was unsuccessful. Northward his territory reached to " the entering in of Hamath " (the gorge be- tween the Lebanons). In 2 Kg. xiv. 28 his conquests are even represented as including Damascus and Hamath itself, but this is probably unhistorical. Damascus is spoken of by Amos (i. 3-5) as an independent state ; and the acquisition of the more remote Hamath is inherently unlikely. This enlargement of Israel's dominions to their former limits was, no doubt, largely due to 2 A 354 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY the ability of the Israelite sovereign ; but it was facilitated by the ill-fortune or incapacity of the three contemporary Assyrian kings Shalmaneser IIL (781-772), Asshur-dan-il (771-754), and Assliur- nirari II. (753-745). These, who in the order named succeeded Ramman-nirari III., made no effort to maintain the claims which the latter had asserted over the smaller Palestinian states, and their indifference gave Jeroboam an opportunity which he showed himself capable of turning to account. The successes he obtained are said to have been predicted by a prophet, Jonah, son of Amittai, of Gath-hepher on the border of Zebulun {Josh. xix. 13), but the prophecies which announced them are not preserved. Happily a dii^erent fortune has befallen the utterances of two other prophets who Uved during this reign. Of both Amos and Hosea written records have survived; and from them much informa- tion is obtainable respecting the social and moral condition of the Northern Kingdom. Amos was a native of Judah, but Israel was the country in which both laboured, and which both made the chief subject of their prophetic utterances. Amos was rather the earlier of the two ; for whilst his prophecies seem all to have been comprised within the lifetime of Jeroboam, Hosea's, though begun in Jeroboam's reign, were continued into the reigns of his imme- diate successors. From the review of contemporary life thus afforded, it is manifest that it was to Jehovah that the religious service of the people was, for the most part, directed ; and it was in the permanence of the bond between Jehovah and Israel that the nation placed its confidence in time of adversity. But little distinction was popularly drawn between Jehovah and the local Baalim^ and little appreciation shown of Jehovah's character. The golden calves were still retained as symbols of Him; and the worship rendered to Him was formal and unspiritual, and was even profaned by licentious rites imitated from Canaanite usage. Nor was it the worship of Canaanite deities alone that con- taminated that of Jehovah : the relations which the earlier sovereigns of Jehu's dynasty had had with Assyria had led to the introduction of Assyrian gods, and Amos expressly alludes to two of these as objects of Israel's adoration {Am. v. 26). And whilst religion, even when loyal to Jehovah, was identified with external ceremonial, the laws of social morality were outraged by ISRAEL AND JUDAH 355 violence and cruelty. The appropriation of the land by the harsh exaction of debts (Am. ii. 6-7, v. 11), the growth of luxury and debauchery (vi. 3-6), the refusal to heed the protests raised in the name of religion (ii. 12, v. 10), dishonesty in trade (viii. 5-6), and corruption in the seat of judgment (v. 7) are amongst the counts of the prophetic indictment. And in consequence of the perversion of justice and the oppression of the poor that every- where prevailed, both prophets declared that vengeance awaited the guilty nation, which was to undergo captivity in a foreign land. The prediction of Amos came to the ears of Amaziah the priest of Bethel, who informed the king that the prophet had conspired against him, at the same time advising Amos, with con- temptuous kindness, to get him back to Judah and prophesy there — counsel to which Amos retorted by describing in explicit terms the fate which, in the overthrow of the country, would overtake Amaziah himself. In the Southern Kingdom the murdered Amaziah^ was suc- ceeded by his son UZZIAH (or AZARIAH),^ who, since it is specially noticed that he was chosen by the people (2 Kg. xiv. 21), was probably not the natural heir. In respect of religious worship, whilst he receives a favourable estimate from the historian of Kings^ he appears to have followed traditional usage, the high places being still retained. In the field of external politics, the only incident recorded by the same writer is the recovery and fortification of Elath, where a renewed attempt was doubtless made to develop the Red Sea trade. ^ The author of Chronicles^ however, adds a number of other particulars relating both to the conduct of foreign wars and the provision of internal defences. He engaged in hostilities with the Philistines, in the course of which he dismantled the fortifications of Gath, Jabneh (perhaps the Jabneel of Josh, XV. II and the later Jamnid)^ and Ashdod, further ensuring himself against aggression by erecting fortresses to command the enemy's country. His operations in this quarter brought him also into conflict with the Arabians of Gurbaal and the 1 See p. 353. 2 For the same two names applied to one individual see / Ch. vi. 24 and 36. ' Cf. p. 339. 356 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Meunim (LXX. MciVatoi), who are probably to be identified with the Minaeans of S. Arabia. He received presents from the Ammonites ; and it is to this reign that the appeal sent by the Moabites under stress of invasion, as described in Is. xv. xvi., may reasonably be assigned.^ To complete the defence of the realm he constructed additional fortifications in the capital, and repaired the damage caused by Jehoash of Israel.^ The army was carefully organised and equipped (its numbers being given as 307,500, under 2,600 officers, "heads of fathers' houses"); whilst the protection of the pastoral districts in the Lowland and the Wilderness was secured by the erection of watch-towers (2 Ch. xxvi. 5 foil.). There is no serious improbability, though there may be exaggeration (especially in the figures of the army) in the description here given. It is not suggested that any change was effected in the relations of Judah to Israel which Amaziah previously had sought, with so little success, to re-adjust, and during the Hfetime of Jeroboam 11. the attempt to alter them was Hkely to meet with failure. If the unsuccessful appeal of the Moabites to a Judcean king, quoted in Is. xv. xvi., just referred to, was really made to Uzziah, the rejection of it agrees with the supposition that Judah was still subservient to Israel, and that her king could not venture to protect Moab against his own suzerain. Such enterprises as Uzziah is actually credited with were all confined to the South, where his interference with the Philistine states only anticipated the pohcy of Hezekiah. And the prosperity of the country which is related in Chronicles re- ceives independent corroboration from the prophet Isaiah Csee c. ii., especially ver. 7, 15, 16), whose ministerial call is dated from the last year of Uzziah (vi. i). But the prophet's descrip- tion in c. ii. (which probably in strictness belongs to the reign of Uzziah's immediate successor), whilst confirming the account of Judah's material progress, qualifies the impression left by the book of Kings of the religious condition of the people. Isaiah implies that the country had become infected with the practices of idolatry and sorcery (perhaps from intercourse with the Philis- tines and eastern tribes like the Ammonites, see ii. 6), and that arrogance, luxury, and the oppression of the poor were rife in * See p. 353. ^ See p. 352. ISRAEL AND JUDAH 357 it (ii. 8, 11). Judah, in fact, reproduced many of the features which Amos and Hosea show to have prevailed in Israel; and in consequence Isaiah anticipated for his countrymen a severe judgment from an offended God. A premonition of the Divine anger was doubtless discerned in the occurrence of a shock of earthquake which took place in this reign (Zech, xiv. 5, Am. i. i), and which possibly suggested the imagery of Isaiah in ii. 19-21. Uzziah^ in his later years was afflicted with leprosy, and the duties of government were discharged for him by his son Jotham, who held the office of treasurer or steward. ^ In the books of Chronicles {2 Ch. xxvi. 16-21) Uzziah's leprosy is attributed to his having attempted to usurp the office of the priesthood by burning incense in the Temple. Possibly the king's action (if the account is based on fact) was rather the assertion of an old right than the assumption of a new one. There is evidence (as has been seen) that in earlier times the kings sometimes exercised sacerdotal functions,' which their successors had come more and more to resign to the official priesthood. Uzziah's relinquishment of the reins of power into the hands of his son as regent probably synchronised roughly with the death of Jeroboam, who was succeeded by his son ZECHARIAH. Israel now entered upon the final stage of its history. The throne became the prize of a succession of conspirators, whose tenure of it was, for the most part, very brief (cf. Hos, vii. 7, Is. ix. 19, 20); and whose rivalries and misgovernment aggravated still further the moral and religious corruption of the people. Hosea, part of whose book (c. iv.-xiv.) probably relates to this time, paints a lurid picture of the conditions prevailing in the country, which he describes as stained with the worst crimes, perjury, debauchery, and bloodshed (iv. 2, vi. 9, vii. 1-5). And the internal disorders were accompanied by external dangers, the strife of factions affording opportunity for foreign interference. During this period Assyria, under Pul or Tiglath Pileser III.* 1 The Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser (744-728) mentions in one of his inscriptions that he received tribute from Azriyalm of Jaudi^ and by some scholars Uzziah (Azariah) of Judah is supposed to be meant ; but many authorities take /audi to denote a country in N. Syria and deny the proposed identification : see Maspero, Passing of the Empires, p. 150, note. 2 For the office filled by Jotham cf. Is. xxii. 15. • See pp. 283-4. 'In / Ch. V. 26 Pul and Tiglath Pileser (there called Tilgath Pilneser) are represented as two different persons. 358 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY (745-728), the successor of Asshur-nirari, was again becoming aggressive. Pul seems to have been a usurper, who, on coming to the throne, assumed the title of an earUer Assyrian sovereign; but he proved himself a vigorous ruler, and under him the weakness displayed by Assyria in the course of the three previous reigns was arrested, and its earlier successes were renewed. In his reign the Assyrian invasions of Palestine ceased to be isolated inroads, ending, at most, with the imposition of tribute, and had as their object the thorough subjugation of the country. This forward policy awoke the fears of Egypt, which now, after a long interval of quietude, once more began to interest herself in the affairs of Palestine. It was to one or other of these powers that the different parties into which the Northern Kingdom now became split, turned for support (cf. Hos, vii. 1 1, xii. i). Zechariah after a reign of only a few months was murdered by SHALLUM, who mounted the throne, but occupied it for a still shorter period. He was attacked in Samaria by MENAHEM^ who had seized Tirzah, and there slain. His successful rival, however, was not able to gain possession of the crown without a further struggle, in the course of which he stormed the town of Tiphsah (a place not otherwise known ^), and committed there great barbarities. To render his position more secure he placed himself under the protection of the Assyrian king (cf. Hos, v. 13), paying him a thousand talents of silver, which he exacted from the wealthiest men of the kingdom. By means of the help thus purchased, Menahem was able to maintain himself in power for some years, and finally to transmit the crown to his son PEKAHIAH. The new king had only a brief reign, and fell, with two of his attendants, Argob and Arieh, by the sword of one of his oflJicers, PEKAH^ the son of Remaliah, who with a body of Gileadites attacked him in his palace at Samaria. Pekah represented a faction which was anti-Assyrian, and pursued a policy which brought Israel for the last time into conflict with Judah. In that country JOTHAM, who was first the vice-gerent, and afterwards the successor, of his father, is represented as following * In -? Kg. XV. 16 for Tiphsah (which cannot be the city named in i Kg. iv. 24) it has been proposed to read Tappuah {Josh, xii 17). ISRAEL AND JUDAH 359 in the footsteps of Uzziah, remaining faithful to Jehovah's worship, and strengthening the defences of the kingdom. The writer of Kings ascribes to him the construction of the upper gate of the Temple-court (probably the gate of Benjamin, Jer. XX. 2) : and the Chronicler {2 Ch, xxvii. 4 foil.) adds that he built much on the hill of Ophel, and in various parts of the land. The latter writer further states that he also engaged in war with the Ammonites, and compelled them to pay a tribute or in- demnity in silver and corn. Before the close of his reign, the contest with Pekah of Israel, previously alluded to, became imminent. This contest differed in character from those in which the Northern Kingdom had taken part for so long, the change noted in the policy of Assyria producing a rapprochement between the various Palestinian states (previously mutually hostile) which felt themselves chiefly endangered. Syria and Israel, in particular, had been bitter foes for more than a century, and had inflicted upon each other much suffering and humiliation. But the fear of Assyria at last drove them to unite (as they had once before done in defence of Hamath) ; and Pekah the Israelite king formed a league with Rezin (or Rezon) the sovereign of Damascus, with a view to common action. This confederacy they desired to strengthen by the inclusion in it of Judah, which had so long been subservient to its northern neighbour; and they were prepared to enforce their wishes by an appeal to arms. Jotham, however, died before the crisis actually occurred; and hostilities did not break out until the accession of his son AHAZ (or JEHOAHAZ).! Ahaz, who succeeded his father probably at an early age,^ proved a weak and corrupt sovereign. In respect of religion, he is condemned by the historian in terms which are applied to few of his predecessors ; and though he doubtless did not renounce the worship of Jehovah (as the name of his son Hezekiah, among other things, indicates), he introduced some of the worst practices of the neighbouring nations, not only making molten images for the Baalim, but causing one^ of his sons to pass through the * This is the form in which the king's name appears in the Ass ian inscriptions. ^ jjg ^^s twenty, according to 2 Kg, xvi. 2, of. Is. iii. 4. ' 2 Ch. xxviii. 3 has his children. 36o OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY fire. Upon the state of religion and morals in the country at large light is thrown by the prophecies of Isaiah and MicalL The former, in those parts of his writings which may be assigned to the early part of this reign (viz. c. iii.-v.), assails the luxury and extravagance prevalent among the upper classes (iii. 16-23, ^» 11-12, 22) and encouraged by the youthful and frivolous king (iii. 12), and the grinding oppression to which as a consequence the poor were subjected (v. 8, 23) : whilst Micah bears even stronger testimony to the social iniquities of the time (ii. 2, iii. 2-3). The principal political event of the reign was the conflict with Israel and Syria, by which these two nations sought to coerce Ahaz into joining their coalition against Assyria. Ahaz, encouraged by the weakness produced in Israel by the recent conflicts for its throne, defied his suzerain and refused to enter the combination ; and in consequence Pekah and Rezin proceeded to invade Judah and its dependency Edom, with the view of dethroning Ahaz and replacing him by someone more amenable to their wishes. The successor whom they had chosen is only known as the son of Tabeel, the latter name indicating that he was of Syrian extrac- tion. The operations of the two invading armies were at the outset distinct, Rezin first advancing into Edom, where he seized Elath and restored it to the Edomites (see the LXX. of 2 Kg. xvi. 6) ; whilst Pekah's approach would naturally be from the north, the two forces eventually uniting before Jerusalem. According to 2 Ch. xxviii. 17 foil., the Edomites themselves also took part m the war, whilst the Philistines attacked the cities of the Lowland, and occupied Bechshemesh, Aijalon, Gederoth, Soco, and Timnah. The further details of the losses sus- tained by Judah which are given by the Chronicler must be greatly overstated;^ but if Is, c. i. relates to this period,^ it is clear that the country was ravaged by fire and sword ; and Ahaz was besieged in his own capital. In his distress he determined to appeal for help to Tiglath Pileser. In taking this step, he ^ Pekah is said to have slain in Judah 120,000 in one day, and to have taken captive 200,000, women, sons, and daughters. The latter, at the instigation of a prophet named Oded, were restored {2 Ch. xxviii. 5 foil. ). * It is doubtful whether Is. i. relates to the invasion by Syria and Israel in the time of Ahaz or to that by the Assyrians in the reign of Hezekiah (701 B.C.); but the description of the prevalent corruption (ver. 21-23, 29) seems to suit the former better than the latter (though see pp. 365-6). ISRAEL AND JUDAH 361 disregarded the counsel tendered him by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah, who, as has been said, entered upon his ministry at the close of Uzziah's reign, and had raised his voice against the increasing vices that manifested themselves in the reign of his successor, now came forward to advise Ahaz in the crisis that confronted him. Appreciating better than Ahaz the distracted condition of the Northern Kingdom, and recognising that Assyria would account for both Israel and Damascus from purely self- regarding motives, he recommended the king to trust in Jehovah and pursue a policy of detachment from external alliances, asserting in the name of Jehovah that the designs of the two confederates would miscarry. In order to dispel the king's distrust, he challenged him to ask a sign, the occurrence of which might reassure him : and on his declining, he himself offered as a sign^ a prediction of the dispersal of the danger, then threatening, within a period of two or three years. Before a child, about to be born and to be named by his mother Immanuel^ would begin to show tokens of intelligence, the priva- tions which the land was undergoing would come to an end, and the two hostile countries would be kingless. But the prophet realised that Ahaz had decided to appeal to Assyria ; and accord- ingly he added that evil was in store for Judah from the very source from which deliverance was anticipated {Is. c. vii.). These two predictions (i) that within so brief a period as the infancy of a child born at the time of the prophet's declaration Samaria and Damascus would be the spoil of Assyria, and (2) that Judah's request for Assyria's intervention would lead to evils exceeding in mischief those sustained from Israel and Syria, were renewed on other occasions and in other terms {Is, viii. i-x. 4). But the prophet's assurances were unheeded; and the policy upon which Ahaz had resolved he carried out. A present of treasure was sent to Assyria to procure support ; and the gift was accepted as tribute. Tiglath Pileser then proceeded to attack both Israel and Syria, In 734 he invaded the former, and made himself master of Gilead, Naphtali,^ and the district of Galilee. 1 See p. 433, note. ' The/anoah of 2 Kg. xv. 29 is not the Janoah oi Josh. xvi. 6 (which was on the border of Ephraim) but a place in Naphtali. 362 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY The Ass3Tians, who have been sometimes styled, rather un- deservedly, the Romans of the East, were more concerned to secure their conquests than to convert them into contented dependencies, and with this end in view adopted the barbarous, if efifective, expedient of deporting a subjugated population to a distant region, and replacing it by immigrants drawn from various quarters. This system was now applied to the conquered districts of Israel, whose inhabitants were carried away into Assyria.^ In the year following this success, Tiglath Pileser directed his forces against Damascus, which he captured in 732, its people being deported to Kir, 2 and its king Rezin slain. At Damascus Ahaz appeared before his suzerain, and there was attracted by the altar used by the Assyrian king. The fashion of worship practised by so powerful a sovereign doubtless impressed him as being itself potent and effectual ; and he therefore sent a copy of the altar to Urijah the priest at Jerusalem, with instructions to build one like it. On his return he ordered it to be used regularly for oflfering sacrifice,^ the brazen altar erected by Solomon being retained only for purposes of divination. He made other altera- tions in the arrangements of the Temple, including the removal of the Molten Sea from off the twelve brazen oxen {i Kg. vii. 25), and its replacement upon a pavement of stone. The brazen oxen and similar works of art were probably concealed, lest they should excite Assyrian cupidity.* Pekah did not long survive his confederate Rezin. He fell a victim to a conspirator named HOSHEA, who was allowed by the Assyrians to raise himself to the throne on condition of pay- ing tribute {2 Kg. xvii. 3). Tiglath Pileser himself died in 728, * C£ / Ch. V. 26. Tiglath Pileser in his inscriptions (Schrader, i. 248) exaggeratedly states that he deported the whole of the inhabitants of the "land Beth Omri." Some of the depopulated districts E. of the Jordan were eventually appropriated by the neighbouring Ammonites {see/er. xlix. i). ' The LXX. (B), however, omits /. the crown) shall be no more until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him." The language resembles the rendering presented by some versions of Geri. xlix. 10, "until he come whose it is." But if the refer- ence is to an Individual, it is not further elucidated ; though it may be presumed that the prophet's conception of the king who should have (in a moral and ideal sense) a better right to the crown than the last of Judah's sovereigns was, in general, similar to that of his predecessor Isaiah, which has already been explained. 4. The Age of the Exile. The Exile could scarcely fail to produce upon the Jewish com- munity a great alteration both in the outward conditions of their worship, and in their internal disposition and character. The loss of nationality would naturally lead the more patriotic amongst them to cherish the more highly their distinctive religious faith ; and the circumstances under which they were constrained to maintain it, since they did not extinguish it, helped to purify it Severance from the Holy Land, and from Jerusalem, the sole legitimate sanctuary, brought with it a suspension of the system of sacrifice, so that, failing a wholesale adoption of heathen practices, the religion of Jehovah was not exposed to the subtle dangers of contamination. The public ceremonial which had hitherto constituted so much of the religious life of the people was replaced by private devotions, in which confession of sin was prominent (cf. 2 Is. Ixiv. 6) ; and general fasts were observed on the anniversaries of the various calamities that had attended the RELIGION FROM SOLOMON TO THE EXILE 453 siege of Jerusalem (see Zech. vii. 2 foil.). As a special mark to distinguish Jehovah's people from those amongst whom their lot was cast (cf. Ezek, xx. 20), stress was laid by the religious leaders of the nation upon the observance of the Sabbath {2 Is. Iviii. 13, Ivi. 2, 4, 6) (perhaps post-exilic). Moreover, the interruption of the nation's independent life tended to transfer interest from the present to the past and the future, and the narrower sphere within which their activities were confined gave leisure for reflec- tion, for which their new circumstances afforded such ample material The fall of Jerusalem and the captivity of its inhabi- tants had strikingly vindicated the warnings of the prophets, and could not fail to invest them with increased authority when they continued to assert a connection between the fortunes of their race and its religious and moral condition, or declared that its prosperity was dependent upon its faithfulness to Jehovah. And when eventually the signs of Babylon's approaching overthrow became evident, the splendour of its religious worship only threw into greater relief the ignorance and impotence of its divinities as contrasted with the power and foreknowledge of Israel's God. Jehovah's supreme and solitary godhead became now the subject not merely of dogmatic affirmation, but of reasoned argument; and the prophets were enabled to expose the futility, whilst denouncing the disloyalty, of idol-worship. In consequence, there was brought about during the comparatively brief interval of the Exile, a conspicuous change in the religious tendencies of the Jewish people, who, whatever the errors into which they subse- quently fell, never again manifested the same pronounced inclina- tion towards alien forms of worship which had distinguished their forefathers. Of the prophetic writers of this era one, namely Ezekiel, has previously come, in part, under consideration in connection with the preceding age; and it has already been remarked that in certain respects a considerable difference of spirit exists between him and Jeremiah. An equally wide divergence in another direction is observable between those sections of his book which now call for notice and the writings of his younger contemporary who has been styled the Second Isaiah, and who, in many ways, is the most eminent of the prophets of the Exile. Though certain 454 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY ideas are common to both (especially such as are developments of thoughts current in the previous age) they are expressed very differently by each ; and the actual additions made at this time to Hebrew religious beliefs are individual and not common contributions. In examining the teaching of the prophets re- ferred to and others, it will be convenient to view it as it bears upon the two subjects previously indicated — the character and attributes of Jehovah, and His relations to Israel and the peoples outside it. I. (a) It was pointed out in an earlier chapter that even in the ages when the existence of other gods than Jehovah was generally accepted, the superiority of Israel's God over the gods of the surrounding peoples was affirmed in the national songs (see Ex. XV. II, and cf. i Sam. ii. 2, Ps. xviii. 31), whilst His power with- out as well as within the limits of His own land and nation was attested by many stories of wonder. By the time of the Assyrian supremacy, the religious faith of the prophets of the period had become, to all intents and purposes, monotheistic. But by the prophets of the Exile, and especially by the Second Isaiah, monotheism was expounded and enforced with unpre- cedented explicitness and directness. Jehovah (it was declared) is the Creator of the world and the supreme Ruler of the ele- ments ("y^r." X. 12 foil., 2 Is. xl. 26, xlii. 5). He has made the earth and created man upon it (2 Is. xlv. 12, 18); He is the Author of all things {2 Is. xliv. 24), the Incomparable, the Unsearchable (2 Is. xl. 18, 25, 28, xlvi. 5). He is the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity (Ivii. 15) ; the God of the whole earth is He to be called (liv. 5). He knows the future, and alone can predict unerringly things to come (xlii. 9, xlviii. 3, 5); He declares the end from the beginning (xlvi. 10); He speaks things that are right (i.e. correct) (xlv. 19, cf. xli. 26). He directs the fortunes of men, raising up Cyrus to fulfil His purposes, and crowning him with success (xli. 2, xlv. i). He is the only Saviour (xliii. 11), to whom all the ends of the earth are bidden to look (xlv. 22). Finally, He is the only God; beside Him there is none other (xliv. 6, 8, xlv. 5-6). And consequent upon this profounder sense of Jehovah's sole god- head, iheie is displayed a vehement scorn for idols and their RELIGION FROM SOLOMON TO THE EXILE 455 worshippers. Idols are nothing ; they are invited in vain to do good or to do evil ; if one cries to them, yet they cannot answer him, nor save him out of his trouble (xli. 24, xlvi. 7). They that fashion a graven image are all of them vanity; they have no knowledge, who pray unto a god that cannot save (xliv. 9, xlv. 20). Mockery and derision are heaped upon the folly of those who from the same timber fashion a god for worship and procure fuel for preparing their food (xliv. 10-20, cf. "/ Amram, ioi Amraphel, 76, 83 Anakim, 73, 119 Anamim, 67 Anath, 85 Anathoth, 85, 376, 385 Angels, 94, 508-9 Animal sacrifices, 144-7 Anshan, 393 Antiochus I.-IV., 488-90 Anu, 43, 85 Aphek (various places), 210, 234, 333, 351 Aphik, 183 Apocalyptic prophecies, 428, 451 Apologue, Jotham's, 203-4 Apsu, 43 Arabah, 70 [355 Arabia, Arabians, 299, 331, 343, Arab, 120, 324 Aram, 72, 73, 79, 196, 253 (see also Syria) Araunah, 250 Archites, 266 Arioch, 76, 83 Ark, Noah's, 57 ,, of the Covenant, 115, 139, 141, 158, 211-2, 248, 265, 280-1 Arka, 68 Arnon, 69, 125 Aroer, 181, 206 Arpachshad, 71 Arses, 486 Ariahshashta, 469 Artaxerxes I., 473 II., 486 „ HI.. 486 Arvad, 68, 335, 370 Asa, 326-8 ASENATH, 80 AsHDOD, 67, 211, 355, 367, 370 ASHER, ASHKRITES, 79, 183, 185, 241 Asherah, Asherim, 88, 138, 141, 327, 332, 336, 365. 373, 377, 398 ASHKELON, 67, 17s, 209, 369-70 Ashkenaz, 65 Ashtar-chemosh, 86, 139, 515 ashtoreth, 85, 160, 308, 4oo ashurites, 241 AssHUR (god), 85, 86 „ (locality), 71, 73 ASSHUR-BANI-PAL, 363, 373*4 ASSHUR-DAN-IL, 354 ASSHUR-ETIL-ILANI, 379 ASSHUR-NIRARI, 354 ASSHUR-NASIR-PAL, 33O ASSYRIA, Assyrians, 316, 330, 334, 347, 354, 357-64, 367-74, 378-80 Assyrian Age, Religion in the, 403-5, 422-36 ASTYAGES, 393 Asylum for rash homicides, 152 Ataroth, 181, 338, 514 Atonement, Day of, 149-50 Atonement for undetected murder, 153 Atoning sacrifices, 146 Athaliah, 335, 348-9 Ayephim, 266 Azariah (i), 306 (2), 327 (3), see UzziAH Azazel, 149 Baal, Baalim, 84, 91, 278-9, 359 Baalah, 85 Baalah, see Kiriath Jearim Baal-berith, 203-4 Baale-judah, see Kiriath Jba&im Baal-hazor, 263 Baalis, 387-8 Baal-meon, 181, 514 Baal-perazim, 246 Baal-peor, 128 Baal-zebub, 339 Baal-zephon, 109 Baal of Zidon, 315, 330, 332, 335 Baasha, 326-8 Babel, 73 „ Tower of, 63-4 Babylonia, Babylonians, 73-4, 167-8, 317, 380-93 Babylonian Age, Religion in the, 436-52 Babylonian religion, 85 Bagoses, 486 Balaam, 127-9 Balak, 127-28 Barak, 198-9 INDEX 521 Baruch, 383 Barzillai, 267, 270 Bash AN, 69, 205, 348 Bath^ 516 Bathsheba, 262, 271, 294 Bathshua, see Bathsheba Bealiah, 279 Beer-lahai-roi, 77, 78 Beeroth, 169, 177, 221 Beersheba, 75, 181, 217, 336 Beka, 516 Bel, 59, 85 Bela, 76 Belshazzar, 26, 393 Benaiah, 260, 271, 295, 306 Benhadad, 328, 333-4, 342 Benjamin, 79, 80, 182 Benoni, 80 Beracah, Valley of, 332 Berothai, 252 Besor, 239 Bestiality punished, 156 Beth-anath, 86, 185 Bethel, 75, 76, 79, 2>'^, 92, 176, 179, 217, 281, 314, 322-3, 325, 378 Beth-horon, 177, 182, 297, 324 Bethlehem, 85, 223, 228, 246, 281 Bethmerhak, 265 Bethrehob, see Rehob. Bkthshan, 166-7, 185, 235-6 Beth-shemesh, 86, 185, 212, 352, 360 Bethuel, 74 Bezalel, 142 Bezek (i), 174 (2), 216 Bezkr, 188 BiDKAR, 337 Bilhah, 79 Birthright, 78, 156 BiSHLAM, 477 BiTHRON, 242 Blessing (of Isaac), 82 „ (of Jacob), 82, 97, 292 ,, (of Moses), 131 Blood, Drinking of, 145, 219 Blood-feud, 159 Boazy 302 BOAZ, 186, 223 Brazen Serpent, 124, 365 Brook of the Arabah, 353 „ Egypt, 181 Bui, 518 Burnt-offerings, 146 Byblus, 347 (see also Gebal) 2 L 2 Cab, 5^6 Cabul, 305 Cain, 54-6 Caleb, 119, 174, 175 Calf, an object of worship, II4, 160, 322, 347, 351, 398, 403 Cambyses, 469 Canaan, 68, 165-70 „ Conquest of, 170-89 Canaanites, 69, 70, 73, 169-70, 179, 180, 198, 277-8 ,, Religion of the, 84-90 Caphtorim, 67 Carchemish, 68, 334, 383 Carmel, 222, 231 Mount, 69, 182, 336, 398 Carians, 349 Casiphia, 474 Casluhim, 67 Chaldeans, 26 (see also Baby- lonians) Chebar, 384 Chedorlaomer, 76, 83 Cheniarim, yj"] Chemosh, 86, 207, 278, 308, 341, 5M-5 Chephirah, 169, 177 Cherel kites, 239, 251, 259 Cherith, 336 Cherubi77i, 49-50, 139, 302 Children, their relation to their parents, 154, 159, 443 Children of Solomon^ s servants, 466 Chimham, 270 Chinnereth, Lake of, 69 C his lev, 518 Chiun, 403 Christ and O.T. criticism, 32 Chronicles, lo-il, 15, 16 Chronology of the Patriarchal Age, Sj , , , , the Mosaic Age, 98 II II J^i'Sy 195-6 „ Kings, 317-21 Circumcision, 77, 93, 103, 17 1-2 Clean and unclean animals, 93, 146 Cloud, Pillar of, no, 140 CoNiAH, see Jehoiachin Conquest of Canaan, 1 70-89 Consecrate, To, 143 Cor, 516 Corpses, Pollution conveyed by, 151-2 Covenant between God and man, 61, 76, 115, 427, 445, 483 Covetousness prohibited, 138, 1 57 522 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Creation, The, 39-4^ ,, Biblical narrative compared with modern science, 41 „ Theological truths implied in the narrative, 44-8 Cubit, 517 CusH, 42-3, €^, 67, 450 CUSHAN-RISHATHAIM, I96 CUTHAH, 363, 368 Cyaxares, 379, 3S0 Cyrus, 393, 465 Dagon, 209, 21 1-2, 236 Damascus, 69, 253, 296, 315, 328, 335, 342, 351, 353. 359, 362, 419 Dan, Danites, 79, 182-4 „ (town), 76, 183, 184, 281, 322, 328 Daniel, 24-7, 503-4 David, his relations with Saul, 223-33 ,, king of J udah, 240-3 ,, king of all Israel, 244-72 ,, his wars, 245-55 , , his territory, family, and court, 256-62 ,, his domestic troubles, 262-72 ,, his character, 272-6 Darius I., 469-70 „ II., III., 486 Darius the Mede, 26, 394 Dathan, 122 Daughters, Inheritance of, 156 Day of Jehoz'ah, 403, 414, 427, 499 Dead, Belief respecting the, 89-90, 94-5, 159, 509-11 Dead Sea, 69 Debir, 175, 178 Deborah, 198-200, 289-90 Decalogue, The, 137-8 Dedan, 67 Dedication of the First Temple, 304 ,, ,, Second Temple, 470 Deioces, 379 Delilah, 209 Deluge, see Flood Deportation, 362, 363, 370 Deuteronomy, 6, 7, 131, 141, 1 43, 149, 150, 152-3. 155, 157, 376-8, 437-41 Devotion, Practice of, 138-9, 173 290, 515 Dinah, 79-80 Divination, 81, 89, 282 Dishonest measures forbidden, 154 Divorce, 155 DODANIM, 66 Doeg, 230 dophkah, iii Dor, 183 DOTHAN, 80, 235, 342 Dreams, 79, 80, 89, 255, 309 Duration of Life, Exceptional, 55, 82,98 Ea, 43, 85 Ebal, 178, 179, 281 Ebed-melech, 386 Ebenezer, 210, 217 Ecclesiastes, 20, 311, 508 Ed, Altar of, 188-9 Eden, 42 Edom, Edomitks, 74, 79, 82,87, 123, 128, 220, 254, 296, 314, 315, 331, 340, 343, 351, 352, 360, 385, 386 Eglon (king), 196-7 „ (town), 178 Egypt, Egyptians, 67, 75, 80-1, 98-106, 121, 168-9, 297, 308, 316, 317, 324, 342, 358, 367, 369, 380, 382, 38s, 387, 388 Ehud, 197 Ekron, 67, 175, 211, 225, 369-70 El, 84 Elah, 329 Elam, Elamites, 71, 76,83,167,368 Elath, 124, 183, 255-6, 355, 360 Eldad, 118 Eleazar (i), 124, 142, 188, 283 (2), 212 (3), 260 Elhanan, 225, 251 Eli, 210-11 Eliakim, see Jehoiakim Eliashib, 478, 484 Eliezer, 102, 113 Elihoreph, 306 Elijah, 35, 335-9, 344, 401, 499 Elim, III Elisha, 35, 336, 339, 341-3, 351-a Elishah, 65 Elisheba, 124 Ellasar, 73, 76 Elohim, 46, 86 Elon, 207 El-Shaddai, 92, 104 Eltekeh, 370 Elparan, 76 Elul, 518 INDEX 523 Elyon, 91 Emim, 74, 126 Endor, 185, 235 Witch of, 235 Engedi, 76, 232, 332 En-hakkore, 209 En-mishpat, 76 (see also Kadksh) Enoch, 54, 55, 56 Enosh, 54 En-rogel, 267, 271, 272, 301 Ephah, 516 Ephes-dammim, 225 [402 Ephod, 143, 144, 184, 202, 230, 282, Ephraim, Ephraimites, 80, 182, 185, 203, 207 Ephraim, Mount, 178 ,, The Forest of, 186, 268 Ephron, 325 Erech, 73, 368 Esar-haddon, 363, 373 Esau, 78, 79 Esdraelon, Plain of, 165, 170, 182, 185, 198, 234 ESHBAAL, 241-3, 279 ESHTAOL, 182, 209 Espial of Canaan, 119-20 Esther, 473 Esther, 11 Etham, 108 Ethbaal, 330, 336 Ethiopia, 369 (see also Cush) Eve, 49 evil-merodach, 39o, 393 Exile, The, 386-94 „ Religion in the Age of, 452-64 Exodus, The, 98-110, 162 Exodus, see Hexateuch EZEKIEL, 384, 416, 418, 419, 441-52, 453-64 Ezekiel, 24 Ezion-geber, 124-5, 255-6, 297, 339 Ezra, 474-8, 483, 486 Ezra, lo-ii, 15 Fall, The, 48-53 t. The historical and theo- logical value of the narrative, 50-2 False swearing prohibited, 139 False witness prohibited, 137, 153-4 Familiar spirit, 89, 235, 378 Fasting, 149, 285 Finger, 517 Fire, Jehovah manifested in, 103, 104, .158, 336 Firmament, The, 40 First-born, The sacrifice of the, 90, 93, 95-6, 341 ,, The right of the, 156 First-fruits, Feast of, 148 Flood, The, 57-62 „ The historical and theo- logical value of the narrative, 60 Forest of Lebanon, House of, 304 Forty years, I2I, 1 95-6, 416, 467 Future life. The, 159, 509-11 Gaal, 204 Gad, Gadites, 79, 127, 171, 181, 188, 220, 514 Gad (prophet), 250, 292 Galilee, 185, 361, 434 Gashmu, 481 Gates of Jerusalem, The, 480 Gath, 67, 211, 225, 229, 232, 251, 295. 350, 355 Gath-hepher, 182, 354 Gaza, 67, 175, 209, 296, 324, 366, 367, 487 Gebal, 168, 370 (see also Byblus) Gedaliah, 387-8 Gederoth, 360 Gehazi, 341-3 Genealogies, 64-6, 7 1 , 74 Genesis, see Hexateuch „ The historical value of, 12, 38-9 (see also Creation, Fall, Flood) Genubath, 296 Gera, 516 Gerar, 67, 77, 78 Gerizim, 178, 179, 203, 485 Gershom, 102, 103, 113 Geshur, 241, 263 Gezer, 168, 178, 184, 233, 297 Gibbethon, 326, 329 Gibborim, 260 Gibeah, Geba, 191-2, 218, 287, 328 ,, of Phinehas, 188-9 GiBEON, 169, 177, 246, 258, 281-2, 309, 324, 388, 397 GiBEONITES, 177, 184, 220-1, 245 Gideon, 200-3, 283 Gihon, 272, 301, 370 GiLEAD, GiLEADITES, 69, 186, 20$, 207, 218, 348, 353, 358, 361 524 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY GiLBOA, 20I, 235 GiLGAL (l), 171, 172, 217, 281 (2), 339 GiRGASHITES, 70 GOBRYAS, 26, 393 Gog, 450 Goiim, 76, 180 Golan, i88 Goliath, 225, 251 GoMKR, 65, 450 Gomorrah, 70, 'jS, 77 Gopher-wood, 57 Goshen, 75, 81 GozAN, 363 Guilt oflferings, 147 Habakkuk, 441 folL Habakkuk, 29 Habor, 363 Hachilah, 232 Hadad, 254, 296 M (god), 87 Hadadezer, Hadarezer, 252, 253 Hadoram, 255 Hagar, 76, 77 Haggai, 469, 496-502 Haggai, 30 Hagrites, 220 Halah, 363 Ham, 62, 64 Hamitic peoples, 64, 66-70 Haman, 473 Hamath, Hamathites, 68, 255, 334-S. 353, 364 Hamor, 79 Hanani (i), 328 (2), 479, 483 Hananiah, 483 Hand breadth^ 517 Hanun, 252 Hapharaim, 324 Haran, 73, 75, 78 Harod, 201 Harosheth, 198 Harvest^ Feast of^ 148 Havilah, 66 Havvoth Jair, 205 [350 Hazael, 336, 342-3, 344, 347-8, Hazeroth, 118 Hazezon Tamar, 76 Hazor, 179, 185, 198, 297 Heave thigh^ 151 Heber, 199 Hebrew y Meaning of, 71 Hebron, 75, 76, 80, 175, 178, 188, 240, 243, 244, 24s, 264, 281-2 Helam, 253 Helbah, 183 Helkath Hazzurim^ 242 Hermon, 68, 347 Heshbon, 126-7, 181 Heth, see Hittites Hexatetuh, The, 6-8 , , Analysis of the, 5 1 2-3 Hezekiah, 365-73 Hezion, 296, 328 HiEL, 173, 332 High places, 323, 327, 365, 373, 377, 401, 404, 437, 514 Bill of the foreskins y 171 Hills as sanctuaries, 88 (see High Places) HiLKlAH, 376 Hin, 516 Hinnorn, Valley of 300-I, 377 Hiram, 255, 299, 305 Hiram Abi, 186, 301 Hittites, 68-9, 99, 169, 334, 342-3 HiVITES, 70, 169 Hobab, SeejETHRO Hobah, 76 Homer, 516 Homicide, 152 HoPHNi, 2S3 HoPHRA, 38S-9, 393 HoR, Mount (i), 123, 124 (2), 130 Horeb, see Sinai HoRiTEs, 74 Hormah, 120, 175, 182 Horonaim, 338, 515 HosEA, 354-5, 417, 422-32 Ho sea, 27 Hoshea, 362-3 Host, The, 259 Host of heaven, Worship of the, 377, 403, 437 Hosts, Jehovah of 279 HULDAH, 376 Human sacrifices, 90, 93, 95-6, 206, 285, 341 HUR, 113 HUSHAI, 258, 266, 267 Hydromancy, 81 Hyksos, 75, 98 i am that i am, io4 Ibleam, 185 \ INDEX 525 Ibzan, 207 IDDO, 474 IjON, 183, 328 Image worship prohibited, 137, 160, 423-4, 439, 454-5 Immanuely 361, 433-4, 43^ Ingatherings Feast of, 148, 285, 322 Inheritance, 156 Intermarriage with foreigners pro- hibited, 138, 475-6, 484-S Ira, 259, 284 Isaac, 77, 78 Isaiah, 356, 360-1, 365, 367-72, 414-15, 417, 418, 422-36 Isaiah, 21-3 2 Isaiah, 21-2, 392, 419, 453-64 ISHBI-BKNOB, 25 1 IsHBOSHKTH, see Eshbaal ISHMAEL (l), ISHMAELITES, 74, 77, 80, 200 (2) 387, 388 ISHTAR, 85 ISHVI, 236 Israel, Meaning of name, 79 „ History of: Migrates from Babylonia to Canaan, 74- 5 ; removes into Egypt, 75 ; is oppressed there and escapes, 99-109; wanders in the wilderness, 1 1 1-25 ; occupies Eastern Canaan, 126-7 ; conquers Western Canaan, 170-87;! ruled by judges, 190-212; ruled by kings, 213-76, 294-386; divided into two king- doms, 313 ; deported into exile, 363, 384, 386 ; re- turns from exile, 465, 473 IssACHAR, 79, 182, 198 Ittai, 265, 268 Iye-abarim, 124 lyyar, 518 Jabal, 54 JABBOK, 69, 127 Jabesh-Gilead, 191, 215, 236, 240 Jabin, 179, 198 Jabneh, 355 Jachiuy 302 Jacob, 79-80 ,, Blessing of, 82, 97, 292 Jaddua, 487 Jael, 199, 290 JAH, 91 Jahaz, 126, 338, 515 Jair, 183, 205 Janoah, 361 Japheth, 62, 64 Japhetic peoples, 64-6 Jarmuth, 178 Jashar, Book of, 14, 177, 178 Javan, 65 JE, 6, 41, 55, 91, 107, 128, etc. Jebusites, 70, 169, 184, 246 Jeconiah, see Jehoiachin Jedidiah, see Solomon Jehoahaz (i), see Ahaziah (2), 348 (3), see Ahaz (4), 381 Jehohanan, 478 Jehoiachin, 384, 390 Jehoiada, 348-9 Jehoiakim, 381 Jehonadab, Jonadab (i), 263 (2), 346 Jehoram, Joram (i), 343 (2), 340-5 Jehoshaphat (i), 258, 306 (2), 331-2, 338, 340 Valley of, 332, 501 Jehovah, 91-2, 104 Jehovah of Hosts, 279 Jehovah nissi, 113 Jehovah Shalom, 200 Jehozabad, 350 Jehu (i), 327 (2), 336, 337, 345-8, 401 JEHUD, 324 Jephthah, 205-7 Jerahmeelites, 240 Jeremiah, 376, 379, 382-9, 415-6, 417, 441-52 Jeremiah, 23 Jericho, 170, 173, 197, 314, 332 Jeroboam I., 308, 313-4, 321-3 n., 353-5 Jerubbaal, see Gideon Jerusalem, 76, 168, 175, 178, 184, 185, 246-7, 265,270,281,300-1,352, 369,371,384,386,477-8,480-2 Jeshanah, 325 Jeshua, 467, 506-7 Jesse, 223 Jethro, 102, 113, 114, 117 Jezebel, 330, 332, 335, 337, 345, 400 Jezrbel, 23s, 241, 344, 346 526 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY JOAB, 241-3, 247, 249, 253, 263, 265, 268, 270-2, 294 JOASH, JEHOASH, (l) 349-5O (2) 351-2 Job, 18-19, 507-8, 510 JOCHEBED, 92, lOI Joel, 217 Joel, 27-8, 498-501 TOHANAN (l), 3S8 (2), 486 JOKTAN, 72 Jokthekl, 352 Jonah, 354 Jonah, 29, 502-3 Jonathan (i), 184 (2), 218-20, 226-8, 235-6 (3), 251, 258 JOPPA, 167, 299 Jordan, 69, 166, 171-2, 339, 341 ,, Passage of the, 171-2 Joseph, 13, 80-1, 182 Joshebbeshebeth, 260 Joshua (i), minister to Moses, 113, 116, 118, 120, 140, 143 ; succeeds Moses, 129, 130; establishes Israel in Canaan. 1 70- 80 ; his parting address and death, 187-9 (2) see Jeshua Joshua, 6 JosiAH, 375-81 Jotham (i), 203 (2), 357-9 JOZACAR, 350 JUBAL, 54 Jubilee, Year of, 1^6 [269 JUDAH, 79, 80, 174-5, 181, 196, 209, ,, Kingdom OF, 313-86 Judges, The, 190-212 the nature of their authority, 193-4 Judges, 9 Justice enjoined, 157, 425, 49S Kadesh, 76, 119, 121, 181 Kanah, 165, 182 Karkor, 201, 335 Kaush, 87 Kedemoth, 126 Kedesh (i), 188, 198, 199 (2), 199 Keilah, 230, 324 KeNITKS, 92, 102, 128, 199, 222, 239 Keturah, 78 Khabiri, 168 Kibroth hattaavah, 118 Kid, Seething of a, 157 Kidnapping punished, 153 KiDRON, 300 Kindness enjoined, 157, 439-40 Kings, 9-10 „ Chronology of, 317-21 KiR, 73, 362 Kirhareseth, 341 KiRIATHAIM, 181, 514 Kiriath-Arba, see Hebron KiRiATH - Baal, see Kiriath - Jearim Kiriath-Jearim, 169, 177, 182,212, 248 Kiriath-Sannah, see Debir Kiriath-Sepher, see Debir Kishon, 69, 165, 198 Kitron, 185 KiTTIM, 65 KoRAH, 122 Laban, 79 Lachish, 178, 353, 371 Laiimi, 225, 251 Laish, see Dan (town) Lamech, 54, 55 Lamentations, 23, 24, 391 Land, Tenure of, 156 Lasha, 70 Law, The, 114-7, 134-64, 286-7, 399, 483-4, 492-S Leah, 79 Lebanon, 68, 165 Labashi-merodach, 393 Legislation of Moses, 114-7, 134-64, ,, „ Ezra and Nehemiah, 483-4, 492-5 Lehabim, 67 Leprosy, 151 Leshem, see Dan (town) Lethech, 516 Levi, Levites, 79, 80, 142-3, 283-4, 322, 349, 399, 438, 456, 474, 483-4 Levirate marriage, 155 Levy, 258, 305 Lex talionis, 153, 154, 159 Libnah, 343, 371 Lions, 209, 323, 334, 364 LO-DEBAR, 244 Log, 516 Lot, 74, 75, 77 INDEX 527 LuD, 7« LUDIM, 67 Luz, 176 Maacah (locality), 252 (person), 325, 327 Maccabees, 490 Machir (i), 186, 198 (2), 244, 267 Machpelah, 78, 81 Madai, 65 Madon, 179 Magog, 65, 450 [324 Mahanaim, 79, 181, 236, 241, 267, Makkedah, 177, 178, 324 Malachi, 472, 496-9 Malachi, 31 Malcah, 85 Malchijah, 479 Male children, Destruction of, 100 Manasseh (i), Manassites, 80, 81, 127, 181-2, 185-6, 200-3, 205 (2), 373-S (3), 485 Afaneh, 516 Manna, 112, 172 Manoah, 208, 284 Maon, 231 Marah, III Markheshvan^ 518 Maremoth, 475, 479 Mareshah, 327 Marriage, 154-5 Mass AH, 112 Mattaniah, see Zedekiah Medad, 118 Medeba, 253, 338, 514, 515 Medes, 379, 393 [380 Megiddo, 168, 185, 234, 297, 345, Melchizedek, 76 Melchi-shua, 236 Meleck^ 84 Menahem, 358 Mephibosheth, see Meribbaal Merab, 226, 236, 245 Merciful conduct enjoined, 157, 440 Mercy -seat ^ 14 1 Meribah, 112, 123 Meribbaal, 244, 266, 269, 279 Mernptah, 99, 121, 168 Merodach, 43, 85, 86 Merodach-Baladan, 367-9 Merom, 69, 179 Meroz, 194 Mesha, 338, 514-S Meshech, 66 Mesopotamia, 196 (see also Aram, Syria) Messianic Prophecy, 53, 97, 292-3, 419, 431-6, 451-2, 463-4, 505-7 Meiheg-Ammak, 251 Meunim, 356 MiCAH (i), 184, 283 (2), 360, 365, 418. 422-36 Micah, 29 MiCAiAH, 338 MiCHAL, 226, 231, 236, 242, 248 MiCHMASH, 2X8, 325 MiDIAN, MiDIANITES, 74, 78, 80, 92, 102, 129, 200-3 MiGDOL, 108 Mighty men, David^s, 260 Mz/com, S7y 207, 254, 308 Afi//o, 247 MiNNITH, 206 [173, 178 Miracles, 32-5, 107, 109-10,112, 171 -2, Miriam, ioi, 119, 122 „ Song of, 109 Misappropriation of property, 154 Mithredath, 477 MizPAH (i), 206 (2), 217, 281, 328, 387, 388 Mizraim, 67 Moab, Moabites, 74, 77, 126-8, 196-7, 220, 229-30, 252, 314, 315, 329,337, 340, 351. 353, 356, 383, 385 Moabite Stone, 514-5 Molech, 84 Molten Sea, The, 303, 362 Monarchy, The, 213-76, 294-386 Monotheism, 158, 278, 424, 439, 454 Mordecai, 473 Moreh, Terebinth of, 88 ,, Hill of, 201 MORIAH, 77 Moses, Early life of, 101-2; sojourns in the desert, 102-4 5 leads Israel out of Egypt, 105-8 ; leadership and legislation in the Wilderness, 108- 29; death and character, 130-33 Mosaic Age, Religion in the, 134-64 Murder prohibited, 137, 152 Musre, 335, 343 Naaman, 341 Nabal, 231 Nabopolassar, 380 528 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Naboth, 337 Nabdnahid, 393 Nacon, 248 Nadab (i), 124 (2), 326 Nahalol, 185 Nahash, 215 Nahor, 74 Nahum, 415, 418, 441 Nahum, 29 Naioth, 227 Naphtali, 79, 183, 185, 198, 203, 361 Naphtdhim, 67 Nathan, 262, 271, 291, 292 Naziritesy 152, 208, 286 Nebo (god), 85 „ (locality), 130, 181, 338, 515 Nebuchadnezzar, see Nebuchad- rezzar Nebuchadrezzar, 25, 382-7, 392 Nebuzaradan, 386-7 Necho I., 374-5 .. II., 380-83 Negeb, 166, 182 Nehemiah, 479-86 Nehemiah, 10, il, 15 Nekushtan, 365 Nephilim, 57 Nergal, 85, 87 Nergal-sharezer, 393 Nethinim 466, 474 New Moon, Feast of the, 149, 228, 285 NiMROD, 67 Nineveh, 73, 379-80 Nisan, 516 Noah, 57, 58, 62 ,, Sons of, 62, 64 No-Amon, see Thebes Nob, 229-30, 281 Nody Latidof, 54 Northern Israel, Kingdom of, 321-64 Numbering the people, 249 Obadiah (I), 33S (2), 441 foU. Obadiah, 28 Obed-edom, 248 Og, 126, 127 Olives, Mount of, 266, 281 Omer^ 516 Omri, 329-30, 514 On, 122 Ophel, 301, 359 Ophir, 300, 339 Ophrah (i), 200, 202, 281 (2), 218 Oppression of the poor prohibited, 157 Oracles, 88-9, 143, 282, 402 Ordeal for unfaithfulness, 155 Oreb, 203 Ornan, 250 Othniel, 175, 196 Ox, dangerous, 153 P, 5-6 (see also Priestly Narrative, Priestly Code) Paltiel, 231, 243 Parables, 406-7 Paran, 117 Passover, The, 106, 108, 146, 148, 149, 172, 366, 379 Pathros, Pathrusim, 67 Patriarchal history, 63-83 Peace-ofFerings, 147 Pekah, 358-62 Pekahiah, 358 Peleg, 72 Pelethites, 251, 259 Pentateuch, 3-8, 492 Penuel, 79, 194, 201, 322 Perez, 80 Perizzites, 70, 169 Personal injuries, 152-4 Pethor, 127 Pharaoh, 76,80 (see also Egyptians) Philistines, 67, 82, 108, 169, 183, 197, 20S-12, 217-20, 224-6, 229, 230, 232-6, 240-1, 245-6, 251, 315, 329, 331. 343, 350, 366-70 Phinehas (i), 129, 188-9, i92| 283 (2), 210, 283 Phraortes, 379 PlHAHIROTH, 108 Pillar of cloud , IIO, I40 Pillars, Religious use of, 88, 92, 138, 141, 302, 332, 365, 398, 404, 438 PiSGAH, 130 PiTHOM, 99 Plagues of Egypt, 105-7 Poles, Religious use of, 88 (see also Asherah) POTIPHAR, 80 Predictions of prophets, 4 1 3-2 1 Prehistoric world. The, 37-62 Priest, Priesthood, 142-4, 282-4, 322, 326, 331, 357, 398-9, 492-4 INDEX 529 Priestly cities, 150, 188-9, 285 „ dues, 150-1, 285, 484, 493 ff narrative, Priestly code, 5, 6, 92, 122, 129, 141-2, 143-4, 146-7, 149-50, 151, 152-3, 156,157,286-7,399,492-3 Prophetic narrative, 6 (see also JE) Prophets, Prophecy, 89, 163, 287-93, 402,405-36,441-64, 491-2,496-507 Proverbs^ 19, 311 Psalms, 16-8, 275-6, 373, 391, 495-6 PSAMMETICHUS I., 380 11., 388 Pseudo-Smerdis, 469 psieukhannit ii., 296 Ptolemy I.-VIL, 488-90 PuAH, 100 PuL, 357 Purifn, 473 Purity, Sensuous conceptions of, 159, 287, 457 Put, 67-8, 450 Quails, 112, 118 Queen-mother, 294 Raamah, 66 Raamses, 99 Rabbah, 253 Rabbith, 324 Rabsaris, 371 Rabshakeh^ 37 1 Rachel, 79 Rachel's tomb, 215 Rahab, 171 Rainbow, 62 Ramah, 213, 214, 217, 227, 281, 328 Ramathavn-zophim^ 213 Ramath-lehi, 209 Rameses II., 99, 168 „ III., 169, 196 Ramman, Rimmon, 85, 87 Ramman-nirari III., 351 Ramoth-Gilead, 188, 338, 344 Rebekah, 78 Rechabites, 92, 383 Red Sea, Passage of the, 109 Refuge, Cities of, 152-3, 188-9 Rehob (i), 183 (2), 252 Rehoboam, 312-3, 323-5 Rehum, 477 Religion in the Patriarchal Age, 84-97 „ in the Mosaic Age, 134-164 Religion from the Conquest to David, 277-93 ,, in the Syrian Age, 397-402 ,, in the Assyrian Age, 403-5, 422-36 ,, in the Babylonian Age, 436- 52 ,, in the Age of the Exile, 452-64 „ after the return from the Exile, 491-5 1 1 Rephaim, Valley of, 181, 246 Rephidim, 112 Resurrection, Belief in the, 509-10 Return from the Exile, 465-7 „ Religion after the, 491-51 1 Reuben, Reubenites, 79, 80, 127, 171, 180-1, 188, 220 Reuel, see Jethro Rezin, 359-62 Rezon, 296 RiBLAH, 381, 386 Riphath, 65 River of Egypt, 296 Rizpah, 245 Roads, 166-7 Route from Sinai to Moab, 1 17-25 Ruth, 186, 223 Rutk^ 9 Sabako, 363, 367 Sabbath, The, 43, 44, 87, 93, 137, 147, 149, 161, 457, 485 Sabbatical year, 156, i6i, 484 Sabtah, 66 Sabteca, 66 Sacred Days and Seasons, 147-50, 285, 322, 399, 483 Sacrifice, 54, 58,61, 93, 144-7, 284-5, 426, 497 Salem, 76 Samaria, 329, 333, 342-3, 363, 364, 374, 388 Samaritans, 468, 481 Samson, 208-10 Samuel, 213-7, 221-3, 227, 233,290 Samuel, 9 Sanballat, 481, 485 Sanctuaries, Plurality of, 140, 281-2 (see also High Places') Sarai, Sarah, 75, 76, 77 Sargon, 363, 364, 367 Satan, 508 Satyrs, 52, 377 530 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Saul, chosen to be king, 214-217; his wars, 2 1 7-20 ; his estrange- ment from Samuel, 221-2 ; his relations with David, 224-32; his death and character, 235-8 Scribes, 258, 474 Scythians, 376, 379, 380, 417 Seak, 516 Seba, 66 Seduction, 155 Seer, 217, 288 Seir, 74, 79 Sela, 352 Seleucds I.-IV., 488, 489 Semitic peoples, The, 64, 71-2 ,, Religion of the, 84-91 Senir, 68, 347 Sennacherib, 367-72 Sepharvaim, 363 Seraiah, 258 Serbal, 102, 113 Serpent, The, 52-3 „ The Brazen, 124, 365 Servant of Jehovah, The, 461-3 Seth, 55 Seventy, 416, 467 Sexual immorality in religion, 91, 161, 327, 331, 365, 373, 398,400 Shaalbim, 184, 185 Shaaraim, 225 Shabatak, 369, 373 Shaddai, 91 Shallum, 358 Shalmaneser II., 334, 347 » ni., 354 IV., 363 Shamash, Shemksh, 85 Shamgar, 197 Shammah (i), 223 (2), 260 Shaphan, 376 Sheba (person), 270 ,, (locality), 67, 299, 309 Sh^bat, 518 Shebna, 369, 371 Shecaniah, 476 Shechem, 75, 79, 80, 186, 188, 203, 204, 313, 321, 388 Shekel, 516 Shelah, Pool of, 301 Shem, 62, 64 Shemaiah (i), 313, 324 M (2), 390 (3). 482 Sfuol, 94-5, 159 Shephelah, 165 Sheshbazzar, 466 Sheva, 258 Shewbread, 14 1, 144, 229, 284-$ Shibboleth, 207 Shihor, 181 Shihor-libnath, 183 Shiloh (personal name), 97 „ (locality), 97, 179, 180, 191, 210-11, 280-1, 314, 388 Shimei, 266, 269, 272, 295 Shimron, 179 Shimshai, 477 Shinar, 72, 76 Shiphrah, 100 Shishak, 186, 296, 308, 322, 324 Shittim, 170 Shobi, 268 Shobach, Shophach, 253 Shunem, 324 Shunammite woman, 341 Shur, III Shushan, 480 Sibbecai, 251 SiCCUTH, 403 SlDDlM, 76 Signs, 105, 107, 200, 215, 361, 433 Significant names, 407, 433 SiHON, 126, 280 SiLOAM, 301 [181 Simeon, Simeonites, 79-81, 174-5, Sin (god), 85 Sin, The wilderness of, hi Sin-offerings, 147 Sinai, 102, 113 Sinaitic legislation, I14-7, 134-58 SiNITES, 68 SiN-SHAR-ISH-KIN, 379 Sion, 68 SiRION, 68 SiSERA, 198-200 Sivan, 518 Slavery, 156-7 So, see Sabako SocHO, Soco, 324, 360 Sodom, 70, 76, 77 sogdianus, 486 Solomon, 263, 271-2, 294-311, 395; his territory, 296; his justice, 298; his trade, 298-300; his buildings, 30Q-5 Song of the Bow, 240 Song of Miriam, 109, 158 „ Moses, 131 INDEX 531 Song of Songs ^ 19, 311 ( Songs the source of early history, 13-4 Sons of God, 57 Sons of the prophets i 340, 342, 402 Sorcery prohibited, 139 SoREK, Valley of, 181, 182, 197 Span, 517 Stealing prohibited, 137, 154 Stubborn son. Punishment of a, 153 SuccoTH (i), 108 (2), 79, 194, 201 Sumerian, 73 Symbolic actions, 407-8 Syria, Syrians, 196, 299, 315, 328, 330, 332-5, 338, 341-4, 348, 351. 353. 359-62, 383 (see also Aram) Syrian Age, Religion in the, 397-402 Taanach, 185, 324 Tabeel, 477 Taberah, 118 Tabernacle, The, 115, 140-2,211,229 Tabernacles y Feast of, 148, 150, 304, 322, 399, 468, 483, 502 Tabor, Mount, 198 ,, Terebinth of, 215 Tadmor, 297 Tahpanhes, 389 Tahpenes, 296, 309 Talent, 516 Talmai, 263 [i, 18 Talmud on the authorship of the O.T., Tamar (locality), 297, 456 ,, (person) (i), 80 (2), 263 (3), 268 Tammuz, 382 Tammuz, 518 Tappuah, 182 Tarshish, 65, 300 Tartan, 371 Tebeth, 518 Tekoa, Wilderness of, 332 Telaim, 222 [168, 170 Tell-el-Amarna Tablets, 12, 73, 99, Temple, The First, 300-4, 316, 350, 378, 386, 396, 399, 401 „ The Second, 467-71, 495 Ten Tribes, Kingdom of the, 321-64 Tent of Meeting, see Tabernacle Terah, 74, 75 Teraphim, 79, 80, 89, 95, 227, 282, 378 Thaumaturgy of Moses, 103, 105, 107 Thebes, 374 Thebez, 204 Theft, see Stealing Thirty, The, 260 Thothmes I., 99 » in., 99 Three, The, 260 Thummim, see Urim Tidmat, 43 Tibni, 329 Tidal, 76, 83 Tiglath-Pileser, 357, 360-2 Timnah, 208, 360 [188 Timnath-heres, Timnath-skrah, Tiphsah (i), 296 (2). 358 TiRAS, 66 Tirhakah, 370, 373, 374 Tirshatha, 466 Tirzah, 321, 326, 329, 358 TlSHBEH, 335 Tishri, 518 Tithes, 150, 151, 484, 497 Tob, 205, 252 Tobiah, 481, 484 Togarmah, 65, 450 Toi, Toil, 255 Tola, 205 Topheth, 377 Trade, 166-7, 255, 298-300 Trees, Worship at, 87-8 Trumpets, Feast of, 149 Tubal, 66 Tubal-cain, 54 Tyre, 183, 255, 299, 330, 347, 351, 370, 385, 392, 487 Tyropoeon, 301 Uncleanness, 15 1-2, 286 Unclean animals, 93 [149 Unleavened Bread, Feast of , 106, 148, Ur, 73, 74, 75 Uriah (i), 262 (2), 382 Urijah, 362 Urim and Thummim, 89, 143, 219, 282, 402, 468 Usury prohibited, 157, 482 Uzzah, 248 UzziAH, 355-7 Vain use of Jehovah's name, 137, 139 Valley of Salt, 254 Visible representation of Jehovah forbidden, 137, 139, 160, 423 532 OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY Visions, 410-11, 503 Vows, 152, 206, 285-6 Wanderings in the wilderness, iii- 29, 163 IVars of Jehovah, Book of the, 14 Wave breast, 151 Weeks, Feast of 148, 149 Wisdom, 311 Witch of Endor, 235 Xerxes I., 472 „ 11. , 486 Zabad, 350 Zabud, 306 [306 Zadok, 259, 265, 269, 271, 283, 295, Zair, 343 ZaLMUNNA, 201 Zamzummim, 74 Zaphenath Paneah, 80 Zaphon, 207 Zarephath, 336 ZeBAH, 201 Zeboiim, 70, 76 Zeboim, 218 Zebul, 204 Zebulun, 79, 182, 185, 198, 434 Zechariah (i), 350 (2). 357-8 (3)1 469, 496-502 Zechariah, 30-1 Zedekiah, 384-6 Zeeb, 203 Zelah, 236, 245 Zemara, Simyra, 68 Zephaniah, 441 foil. Zephaniah, 30 Zephath, 120, 175 Zerah (i), 80 (2), 327-9 Zered, 124 Zeredah, 308, 313 Zerubbabel, 466, 505-7 Zeruiah, 223 ZiRA, 244, 266, 269 ZiDON, 68, 183, 315, 330, 332, 347 351, 370, 374, 385,400 ZlKLAG, 182, 233, 239 ZiLLAH, 54 ZiLPAH, 79 Zimri, 329 ZiON, 301 ZiPH, 231 Zipporah, 102, 103, 119 Ziv, 518 ZOAN, 75 ZoAR, 76, 77 Zobah, 220, 252, 296 ZORAH, 182, 208 \V. Brendon and Son, Limited, Plymouth 3 1158 00141 5230 ."•; ;w:! 11! !ll liil ill iiiiiii iiM' !* illiii'ililliliililiiiiii mm ■'ti'" »;'f'i;."im:;'ii I 1'^ i! ■"ilpiiiii i iililil ^SmB I'm^mgi Si' Still I!) >« 111 % m i iiiii .|tesp i; :tM iil'l' I • ',MI Hi ! .if ,;ai! I '1 i ill .111 tl ■ ■ '.J',!l M IlliiiiiiPiiiiii 1 liih;^, . fill !ihl Mill Ml j iiii!iP!l!ll!l I ll i HlilHIliiilliin