A H I ST O R Y

T H E H E B R EW P EO P L E

F R OM TH E S E T TLEM E N T IN CA NA A N TO

TH E DI VISION OF TH E K IN GD OM

CH A RL ES F OST ER K ENT , P H D . .

PR OFESSO R I I AL L IT E R A TUR E
OF B B L C A ND H I S TO R Y, B R OW N UNIV ER S IT Y

WITH M A P S A N D P LA NS

I
E GH TH ED I T IO N

NE W Y O R K
SONS

1 90 4
Lib ra ry
Wiiiia m Ca re y Co lle ge
Ha t t ie s b urg Mis s is s ip p i 3 9 4 0 1
,
W I TH W H OM IT W R I TT E N

TH IS H I S TOR Y
L O V ING LY I N SC R IB E D
 P R EFA CE

TH E purpose in the present w o r k is to i n tr o d u c e t h e

general as well as the technical Bible student to the
essential features of the polit ical social and religious
, ,

life of the Hebrew people T o the can di d and thought

.

ful it is a cause for thanksgiving rather than regret that

the earnest scholar ship of to day is carefull y sift in g the
current conclus ions concerning the teachi ng and hi story
contai ned in the Bible A lthough at fir st the res ul ts of
.

thi s critical study seem only destruc t ive and even alarm
ing yet a closer examination demons trates that they
,

are but necessary means to an end That end is the .

acqui sition of the whole inste ad of par t ial truth The .

enveloping masses of cloud must be scattered by the

sun l ight and dr iving gales before the outlin es of the
,

eternal moun tains can be seen i n their true proportions .

That whi ch di spels hum an t ra di tions and m i s c o n c ep ~

tions is of ines t imable value becaus e it di sclos e s the

,

real In reconstructing t he facts of Hebrew hi story in

.

the light of modern biblical research however posit iv e

, ,

rather than negative res ul ts command atte ntion It is .

suffi cient in most cases to ignore the old conceptions ,

whi ch have been proved incorrect and to present ,

e stablished conclus ions .

viii P RE F A CE

R ecogn i zing that some of the ques t ions neces sa r il y

treated are still in the s tate of being answered I have ,

intr oduced into the te xt ful l biblical references tha t ,

the reader may pe r sonally investigate the grounds for

the deductions In the same conn ection special atte n
.

ti on is called to the authorities cited in the A ppen di x ,

where de fin i te page references are given un der each

chapter hea di ng These als o in di cate in part the
.

debt whi ch I owe to those who have laid the fo un d a

tions for the new hi s tory of the Hebre w people In .

the same class may properly be included the many

University and U ni versity E xte ns ion students with
whom it has been my privilege to cons ider thi s i m
portant chapter of human hi s tory and whose valuabl e ,

sugges t ions are here i n incorporated .

No apology is requir ed for devotin g so much a t te n

tion to the hi s torical sources T h e general reader is
.

entir ely j usti fi ed in demandi ng a view of the fo un d a

tion s a s well as of the superstructur e of a hi s tory so
important as that of the Hebrew people A ll te chn i cal .

te rms however are avoided and o nl y those res ul ts

, , ,

presente d whi ch are intelligible to student s of the

E nglish Bible who are familiar with hi sto rical and
literary methods of study For the more deta iled
.

and techni cal tr e atment of each subject the reader is

agai n referred to the A ppen di x .

The early history of the Isra e li t ish tr ibes when ,

viewed in the uncolored li ght of the oldest records ,

appears at fi rst qui te di fferent from that to whi ch we

were in troduced by our parents B ut refl e ction soon .

demons trate s that nothi ng essential to faith or the O ld

 P RE FA CE ix

Testament revelation has been lost In reality the .

diffe rence be t w een the present and the earlier vie w

1s chiefly one of language and form of expression .

The Hebre w s were right in seeing God in everythin g ,

and in attributing all that came to them di rectly to hi s

influence ; but they knew no di s t inction between the
natu ral and the supernatural E ven t he idea associate d .

with the word natural w a s yet unborn T h ey accord .

i n gly classifi ed the most ordinary phenomena of life a s

supernatur al A pestilence or eclipse was regarded
.

as a superlative miracle The di scovery of natural

.

laws has radi cally changed our conception of hi story

as well as of Nature God however is by no means
.
, ,

read o ut of hi s universe b e cause we are able to follow

and understand the methods where by he realiz ed his
di vine p ur pose through the Hebrew people I ns te ad .
,

the old Hebrew conception of God in everythi ng is

expanded and vin di cated .

A n d Go d i s s ee n Go d
In t h e s ta r , in the s to n e, in t h e fl es h , i n t he sou l , a n d the l
c o d .

True Israel was h ewn from the rock by the action

,
“

of much the same forces within and without whi ch

have been employe d in all ages by the Highest to
accomplish hi s supreme ends The win ds that blew .

back t h e wate rs of the R e d Se a were lik e other winds .

If the testimony of tr avellers is to be accepted the ,

phenomenon itself is not without parallel But its .

O pportu neness was the result of no mere chanc e So .

also not o nl y at the crises but thr oughout Hebrew

, ,

hi story we recogni ze the hand of God in the wind and

,

storm in the confi guration of the land of Canaan in

, ,
x P RE FA C E

the environment of the Israelites i n the events o f ,

their national experience and in the voices of their

,

e n lightened prophets priests and wise men Not a ll

, , .

at once but by a long and pain f ul process were the

,

barbarian noma ds developed i nto a nation wi th a

m essage and mission to humani ty It does not there .
,

for e a t all shake our faith in that message to fi n d

,

that in life and thought the early Hebrews were very

like other races in the c o rrespondi ng stages of their
development .

Whi le we have lost nothi ng in adoptin g the modern

point of view our new hi story of the Hebrew people
,

becomes living and real Its heroes seem at home in

.

their surroun di ngs They com mand our admiration

.
,

not becaus e they were perfect but becaus e laboring , ,

un der all the lim i tations of their age they were ,

struggli n g though afar toward perfec t ion

, , With a .

true hi storical perspective not a few of the perplex ,

i n g questions whi ch have caused so many in the past

to s t um ble are easily and satisfactorily an s were d In .

thi s new light als o we are able for the fi rst time to
appreciate justly the work and te achings of the H e
brew prophets The evide nce of a progressive de
.

v e 10 p m e n t running through Israel s hi story brings it

’

into closer relatio n s with all hi story and with the

universe wh e re God s law of progress is dom i nant
,
’
.

In thi s simple way we are led to realize that the

ancient Hebrews are not creations of t h e fancy ; nor
are they dead but still live as they fi rmly believed
, ,

they would in the aboundin g lif e of humanity There

,
.

fore we w atch w ith a personal interest the faint glim

,
 P RE FA C E

m ers of Spiritu al light which broke through the dark

ness of heath enism and gradually became bright er and
,

brighter until inspired prophets were able to herald

in the di stance the rising Sun of R ighteous ness in
whose full light we stand to -day .

It is perhaps nee dl ess t o add that I am fully aware

of the diffi culties of the task wh ich has been under
taken and how imperfectly it has been pe r formed
, , .

No one who b elieve s that through the life and litera

ture of the Hebrew race the most precious revelation
of God is conveyed to man can m aintain for a moment
,

that he or any age has grasped more than a part of the

truth therein contained Therefore the conclusions
.
,

which I present are la id before the public w ith the

earnest hope that where they are entirely or partiall y
incorrect they may be speedily disproved by the fuller
truth .

C . F
. K .

P R OV I D E N C E , Ma r c h , 189 6 .
 C O NT E NT S

PA R T I

INT R O D UCT O R Y ST UDIES

T HE S C OP E A ND IM P O RTA NC E OF H E B RE W HI S T OR Y
S E C TIO NS 1—3 . PA G E S 3 —6 .

SE C T I O N 1 . T he fiel d o f H e b r ew H i s t o r y . 2 . Mu t ua l re a l ti o n
b et we e n H e br e w , B i b l i c a l ,
a nd C o n t e m p o r a r y O ld T es t a
m en t Hi s t o r y . 3 . Pr e s e n t im p o rt a n c e o f the His to r
y of
t h e He b r e w Pe o p le .

T HE SO U R C ES OF HE B RE W H I S T OR Y

S E C TIO NS 4 — 11 . PA G E S 7- 17 .

SE C T I O N 4 . Th e n ec e s s i t y o f a na lyz i n g th e s o u r c es . 5 . Ch a r
a c t er f t h e p r o p h et i c a
o l li t e r a t ure of the O ld T e s t a m en t .

L ega l li t e r a t u r e W is d o m li ter a t ur e l
'
6 . 7 . . . 8 . D e vo t i o n a
li ter a t ur e . 9 . H i s to r i c a l c o n tri b ut i o n s o f ea c h l
c a ss of O ld
T es t a m en t li t e ra t ur e . 10 . f o r m a t i o n d er i ved fr o m
In th e
a n c i en t m o n u m en t s . 11 . Li g
h t fr o m A r c h aeo l o gy a n d H is
to r i c a l G eo gr a p h y .
 C O NTE NT S

T HE LAND OF T H E HE B RE W S
S E C TIONS 12 -1 9 . PA G E S 1 8 —2 6 .

SE C T I O N 12 . Th e firs t d i vi s i o n Pa l es t i n e
o f , th e c o a st

p l a i ns . 13 . F o o t h i ll s
- . 14 . Ce n t r a l p l a t e a u V a lle y
. 15 .

o f the Jo rda n a n d Dea d Se a . 16 M o a b a n d Gi l e a d

. .

17 . Pl a i n of Es d r a e onl . 18 . Co n t r a s t s i P a les t i n e n .

19 . In fl u en c e of t h ei r la n d up o n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e H eb r e w

p eo p e l .

T HE A N C IE N T T RIB ES IN HABITIN G CANAA N

S E C TIO NS 2 0 —2 4 . PA G E S 2 7 —3 2 .

SE C T I O N 20 . Co n d it i o n s i n Pa l e s t i n e b e t w e en t h e t h i r ti e t h a nd

t welft h c en t u r i es B C 2 1 Ca n a a n i te s a d P h oen i c i a n s
. . . n .

22 P h i li s t i e s 2 3 A r a m e a n s a n d A r a b i a n t r i bes 24
. n . . . .

M o a b i te s A m m o n i t es Ed o m i t es a n d He b r e w s
, , ,
.

T HE GE NES I S OF T HE H E BR E W PEO P L E
S E C TIO NS 2 5 —3 1 . PA G E S 33 —4 5 .

SE C T I O N 25 . The s o ur c es fo r t h e p r e -n a t i o n a l h i s t o r y 2 6 T h e . .

w e s t wa r d m o ve m e n t s o f t h e a n c e s t o r s o f t h e H e b r ew s a n d

t h ei r s o o urnj i n E yp t g2 7 Ex o d u s a. . nd l
w i d er n e s s w a n d er
in g . 28 . Se i zu r e o f t h e e a s t - o r d a n J la n d . 29 . Su gge s t i ve
re li gi o us i d ea s i n th e p e r i o d
c u r r en t of th e j g ud
e s . 30 . The
w k f the h t f t h e d es e rt 31 In fl u en c e o f Mo s es
i
n o r o o
p p e . .

on the H e br ew r a c e.
 C O N T E NT S xv

PA RT II

T HE SET T L EM ENT IN CA NA A N A ND T H E
P R EP A R A T IO N F O R T H E UNIT ED
K ING D O M .

I
HIS T O RI CAL SO UR C ES F OR THI S P E RI O D
S E C TIONS 3 2 3 8 PA G E S 4 9 —5 8 -
. .

SE C T I O N 32 T h e s t r u c t ur e o f t h e B o o k o f J u d ge s 33 O ld
.
. .

h is t o i c a l
r a te ia l i n t h e fi r s t c h a p t er
m 34 W o r k o f t h e
r . .

De uter o n o m i c e d ito r . 35 . T h e t wo n a rr a t i ve s o f the wa r

w i t h t h e Ca na a n i t es . 36 . Oldest a c c o un t o f Gi d eo n ’
s v ic

to ry . 37 . Th e a
pp e n di x . 38 . A n a ys i s l o f I Sa . m ue li . ii
—v .

II

SE TT L E M E N T A ND F IN AL L O C ATI O N O F T HE H E B RE W
TRI B ES
S E CTIO NS 3 9 4 7 PA G E S 5 9 —7 0 - . .

S ECTIO N 39 . T h e fo r c e s i m p e l l i n g t h H e b r e ws e to i n va d e
Ca na a n . 40 . Ex p e r i e n c e s o f the t ri bes o f J ud a h a nd

Si m eo n . 41 . Th e c o n q ue s t s o f the n o r th e r n t r i b es . 42 .

Co n d i t i o n s a t th e l
c o se o f t he con q ue s t . 43 . T h e t ri b a l
d i vi s i o n s . 44 . T er r i t o r y o f J ud a h a nd Si m eo n . 45 . The
h o us e o f Jo s ep h . 46 . T he Da n i te s . 47 . T he J
e a s t- o r d a n

t r i be s .

III
H E BRE W C HAMP I O N S A ND WAR S OF D E LI VE RAN C E
SE C TIO NS 4 8 53 P A G E S 7 1 7 8 — .
- .

SE C T I O N 48 T h e c h a a c t er a d ul e o f a
.
“
Ju d g e 49 Sa m
”
r n r . .

so n . 50 . Eh u d . 51 . Ca n a a n iti s h O p p r es s i o n in the n o r th

a n d t he ra llyi n g c ry of D eb o r a h . 52 . The b a t t l e b et wee n

t h e Ca n a a n i t es a n d H e br e w s . 53 . R e s u lt s of t he vi c to r y.
 C O N TE N T S

O RI GIN A ND HI S T ORY OF T H E KINGD O M OF G ID EO N

S E C TI ONS 5 4- 56 . PA G E S 7 9 —83 .

S E C TI O N 54 . Th e e xp e d i t i o n o f G id e o n , t he Ma n a s s ite , a ga i n st

th e Mi d i a n i t es . 55 . H is c a ll t o th e k i n gs hi p . 56 . Di s s o lu
t io n o f hi s k i n gd o m o wi n g t o t he c r im es of h is son .

T HE P HILI S TI NE YO KE
S E C TIONS 5 7 —6 1 . PA G E S 8 4—88 .

SE C T I O N 57 . The c h r o n o l o gy f t h e p er i o d
o o f the j g ud
e s . 58 .

Gr o w i n g s tr e n gt h o f the Ph i li s t i n e s 5 9 . . De f ea t o f t he He
br ew s a t Ap h ek . 60 . Fa te of the Ar k . 61 . Effe c t s o f the
Phi l i s t in e r u le .

SO C IAL A ND RE LI G I O U S C O ND ITIO N S D U R ING T HE

P E RI O D O F T H E J UDGES
S E C TIO NS 6 2 —7 2 . PA GE S 8 9 -9 8 .

SE C T I O N 62 . T he tr a n s iti o n fr o m th e nom a d i c t o th e a gr i c u l
t ur a l s t a ge 63 H o e a ki g 6 4 T i b a l o ga
. . m -m n . . r r n iza t i o n

s p p l a n t e d b y t h a t o f t h e vi ll a ge
u 6 5 Th e i d e x o f t h e . . n

eth i c a l a n d r e l i gi o u s i d e a s o f t h e a ge 66 Lo w m o a l . . r

s ta n d a d sr 67 . D o i n a c e o f t h e la w o f m i gh t
. m n 6 8 Ex . . .

t e r n a l s i m i l a ri t y b e t w e e t h e e l i gi o n o f B a a l a n d J e h o v h
n r a .

69 . Sa n c t u a i es r7 0 R e l i gi o u s c u s t o m s
. . 7 1 In fl e c e o f . . u n

t h e n a t i o a l c i s e s u p o n t h e n a t i o n a l f a i th
n r 7 2 P r e va i l i n g . .

c o n c e p ti o n s o f J e h o va h .
 C O NT EN T S X VI I

PA RT III

H IST O RY O F T H E UNIT ED K ING D OM

HI STO RI C AL S O UR C ES
S E CTIO NS 7 3 84 P A G E S 1 0 1— 1 12 - . .

SE C T I O N 7 3 T h e o l d e s t s t a t u m o f n a a t i ve i n I Sa m u e l
.
r rr . .

7 4 T h e la te r s ec tio s
. 7 5 Id e a l s o f s b e q u e n t p r o p h e t s
n . . u s

r e fl ec t e d i n I Sa m u e l
- . 7 6 T h e t r e h i s t o ri c a l s o u c e s
. . u r .

7 7 T h e o l d e r a n d l a t er D a vi d n a r a t i ve s
. 7 8 A n a lys i s o f r . .

I Sa m e l x v ii i -x x
. u 7 9 I Sa m u e l x x i x x x i
. . 80 II Sa m
. . .
- . . .

u el i .v i-ii 8 1 . II Sa m u e.l i x — xxi v

. 8 2 T h e s o u r c es fo r . . .

So l o m n s r e i gn 83 A n a lys i s o f I Ki n gs i xi 84 Ré
’ ‘

-
o . . . . . .

s um é of the s o u r c es fo r t h e p e r i o d .

S T E P S LE AD I NG E S TAB LI S HM E N T
T O T HE OF T HE
H E B R E W KINGD O M
S E C TIO NS 8 5-9 2 PA GE S 1 13 122 .
— .

SECT I O N 85 . The n eed o f a ki n g . 86 . Ch a ra c t er a nd s i gn i fi

c a nce o f th e so n s o f t h e p r o p h et s 87 Sa m ue , t h e . . l s e er .

88 . Sa m ue ls
’
c om m i s s i o n t o t h e yo u n g B e n j a m i n i t e . 90 .

T he o c c a sio n whic h ca ll e d Sa u l to the thr o n e . 91 . T he

l
d i ffi c u t i e s w hi c h con f ro n te d t h e n ew ki n g . 92 . Jo n a t h a n s ’

blo w fo r fr e e d o m a n d the r o ut o f the Ph i li s t i n es .

T HE D E C LI NE OF S AUL AND T HE RI SE , OF D AV ID
S E C TIONS 9 3- 10 0 PA G E S 12 3 -12 9 . .

S E C TI O N 93 . T he c ha ra c t er o f Sa u ls ’
r ei gn . 94 . Es t r a n ge
m en t b e t we e n Sa m ue l a nd Sa u l . 95 . T he ki n g s ’
m e a n l
b
xviii C O N T E NT S

c h o li a . 96 . In t r o d u c t i o n o f Da vi d to th e c o ur t . 97 . F l i gh t
o f Da l gh t e f t h e p i e s t s f No b
vi d a n d t he s a u r o l o . 98 . The
fo t u e s o f t h e o t l a w 9 9 H i s m a r r i a g e w i t h
r n u . . A bi ga i l .

10 0 A va s s a l f t h e ki n g o f G a t h
. o .

IV

T HE BATTL E or G ILB O A ,
A ND T H E D E ATH OF S AU L
S E C TI NS O 1 0 1-10 5 . PA G E S 13 0 —13 5 .

SE C T I O N 10 1 . The gr e a t Phi li s t i n e i n va s i o n . 10 2 . Sa u l ’
s vi s i t

t o t h e wi t c h o f En d o r . 10 3 . De fe a t o f t h e Is r a e li tes a nd the
d e a th o f t h eir ki n g . 10 4 . Ch a ra c t er of Sa u l . 10 5 . T he
r es u lt s of hi s l i fe-wo r k .

D AVID KING O V E R UD AH A ND T HE F ALL

J , OF T H E
H O U SE O F S AUL
S E C TIO NS 10 6-11 2 . PA G E S 13 6 -14 2 .

SE C T I O N 10 6 . D a vi d
’
s r e c ep t i o n o f the n ews of th e d ea th o f
Sa u l a n d Jo na th a n . 10 7 . Da vid c ro wn ed k i n g o f J ud a h .

10 8 . T he ki n gd o m o f Is h b a a l . 10 9 . R e l a t i o n s b e t we e n t h e
t wo k i n gd o m s . 110 . Da vi d s gr o w i g
’
n
p r es ti e g 111 T h e
. .

m ur d e r o f A b n er . 1 12 . D a vi d c a ll e d t o t h e t h r o n e o f a ll
Is r a e l .

D AVI D ES TABLI S HE D AS KING O V ER A LL I SRA E L

SE C TIO NS 1 13 - 1 1 6 . PA G E S 14 3 - 14 6 .

S ECTIO N 113 . T he o ve r t h r o w o Ph i l i s t i e p o w e r i t h e
f th e n n

n o rth . 114 . The Ca na a n i t i s h s t o gh o l d o f J e b u s

r n 115 . .

Jeb us ca p t u red a n d m a de t h e c a p i t a l o f t h e u i t d He b w n e re

s ta t e . 116 . T ra ns fer en c e o f t he A rk t o th e c i ty o f D a vi d
a nd i ts si g n i fic a n c e .
 C O NTEN T S

D A V ID S F ORE I GN WAR S A ND C O N UES T S

’
Q
S E CTIONS 1 17-12 0 PA G E S 14 7 15 0 .
- .

SE C T I O N 117 . O r ga n i za tio n o f Da vi d s
’
a rm y . 118 . Co n q u es t
o f the Mo a b i t e s a nd Ed o m i t es . 11 9 . Wa rs w i th t h e A m

In o n i t e s a nd A ra m ea n s . 120 . Fo r ei gn a lli a n c es .

T HE O R GA N I%ATI O N O F D AV I D S KINGD O M ’

S E C TIO NS 12 1 12 4 PA G E S 1 5 1 15 3 - .
- .

S E C T I O N 12 1 T h e n i fi c a t i o n o f t h e H e b e w r a c e 12 2 T h e
. u r . .

c a la m i ty a tte d a n t o n t h e t a ki g f t h 1 2 3 O
’

n e u
c e n s u s r n o
p . .

ga n i za t i o n o f t h e c o u r t 124 T h e p o s i t i o n o f J o n a t h a n s
’
. .

D AV I D S FAMIL Y HI S T ORY
’

S E C TIO NS 12 5- 13 3 P A G E S 1 5 4-1 6 0 . .

SE C T I O N 12 5 gr o w t h o f D a vi d s h a e m 126 D a vi d s
. The ’
r . .
’

g a t c i m e 127 B e gi n i n g o f t h e t a ge d y i n t h e r ya l
re r . . n r o

f a i ly 128 A b s a lo s i t i gu e 12 9 Hi s r e b e lli n 130

m . . m
’
n r . . o . .

H i fa t a l
s i s t a ke m131 H i s d e fe a t a d d a t h
. 13 2 D a vi d
. n e . .

r es t o e d t o h is c a p i t a l
r 13 3 J e a l o u s y b e t we e n t h e n o r t h a d
. . n

the s o ut h .

T HE C HARA C TE R A ND W O RK OF D AVID
S E C TIONS 134 - 13 8 . PA G E S 16 1- 1 6 8 .

SE C T I O N 134 . T he fa u l ts of Is r a e l ’
s gr e a t ki n g . 13 5 . His
s t r en gt h a nd gr e a t n e s s 13 6 . . H is r ep u t a ti o n a s a psa m l
wr iter . 13 7 H i s c o n c ep t i o n
. o f Je h o va h . 13 8 . His a b i i ty l
a s a r u er l .
XX C O N T E NT S

T HE A C C ESS IO N OF SO L O MO N
S E C TIO NS 13 9 -14 2 . PA G E S 1 6 9 - 17 5 .

SE C T I O N T h e q ue s t i o n o f t h e s u c c es s i o n
13 9 . 140 Co n s p i . .

r a c y o f A d o n ij a h a n d t h e c r o wn i n o f So o m o n 141 Ex g l . .

e c u t i o n o f t he ki n
’
s en e m i es 142 g
Ch a r a c t e r a n d c o ur t . .

o f th e n e w r u er . l

T HE F ORE I GN A ND H O ME P O LI C Y OF SO L O MO N
S E CTI ONS 143 - 153 . PA G E S 1 7 6 -18 8 .

SE C T I O N 143 . T he s uc c e s s f ul re b ell i o n s in Ed o m a nd Syr i a .

144 . The s tro n gh o l d s o f Is r a e l . 14 5 . Fo r e i g n c o m m er c e .

146 . ll
A ia es nc . 147 . R es u t s l of c o m m er c e a n d a lli a n c e s .

148 So l o m o n s l do r T he b o n d a ge of his s ub
’
. s
p e n . 14 9 .

j T h ei r 15 1 So l o m wis d o m
’
e c ts . 15 0 . d is c o n te n t . . on s .

152 . So l o m on a s a p r o ve r b -m a ke r . 153 . The f r u i ts of his

fo lly .

T HE P ALA C E A ND T E MP LE OF SO L O M O N
S E C TIO NS 15 4 -1 5 9 . PA G E S 1 89 - 19 5 .

SE C T I O N 154 . So l o m on s
’
a im in b ui l d i n g the T e m p le . 15 5 .

Lo c a ti o n o f t he ro ya l b u i l d i n gs . 15 6 T he p a a c e
.
1 57 l . .

T he Tem p le . 15 8 . It s e n vi r o ns . 159 It s a r c h i t e c t u r a
. l
d e s i gn .
 SO C IA L A ND RE LI G I O U S C O ND ITI O N S U ND ER T HE
UN IT E D KINGD O M
S E C TIO NS 16 0 - 169 . PA GE S 1 9 6 -2 0 6 .

SE C T I O N 1 60 . Gr o w t h of a n ew nobi lity . 16 1. St a t u s of the

i n d i vi d u a l Is r a e li te . 16 2 . B a r ba r i s m s fl Cc e e d e d b y c i vi li
za t i o n . 16 3 .

%
Sa nc tua ries a nd sa c ri fic e . 16 4 . The o ri gi a l
n

fu n c t i o n s of t h e p r i es t s 16 5 .T h e i r p o s i ti o n i n t h e
. ki g
n

do m . 16 6 . Se e r s a n d t h e s o n s o f t h e p r o p h et s 167 . . T he
ea r l i er p r o p h e t s . 168 .Im p e r e c t f re l i gi o u s c o n c e p t io n s .

169 . T h e d e ep e n i n g o f t h e n a t io n s
’
f a i t h i n Jeh o va h .

A PP E N D I X 2 0 9- 22 0

LI ST O F MA P S .

T HE A NC I ENT SE M I T I C W OR L D
T E RR I T OR IA L D I V I SI O N O F C A N AA N A F T E R THE CO N

Q UEST 60

T H E H E B R E W EM P I R E U N D E R D A V I D 148

P L A N O F S O L O M O N S T E M P L E ( A CC OR D I NG T O S T A D E ) 1 90
’

R E S TOR A T I O N O F S O L O M O N S T E M P L E ( A CC O R D I N G T O
’

S T A D E)
SC OPE A ND IMP O RTA NC E O F T H E HI S T O R Y OF T HE

H EB R E W P EO PLE

1 .southwestern A sia lying between the easte rn

IN ,

Shores of the Me di terranean Se a and the A rabian des

ert is a little te rritory to day called Palestine but

,
-
, ,

known in antiquity a s Canaan A t the time when the

.

civilization of E gypt had already reached its height ,

when the rich life of Greece was just beginning to u n

fold and when the R oman E mpire was as yet unborn
, ,

there lived among these hi lls and valleys a Semi tic

people known in hi story as the B e n é-Israel By th e ir .

neighbors they were designated as the Hebrews the ,

people from beyond the river. The roots of their hi s

”

tory are found in the life of certain nomadi c Sem i tic

tribes who after dwelling for a few generations in
, ,

the neighborhood of the Nile Delta broke away from ,

the enthr alling yoke of E gypt and turned eastward ,

to seek their former home ; But their history as a

“

people fi rst assume d de fin ite form when ceasing from ,

their d esert wande rings they s e ized the territo r y e ast

,

o f the Jordan and b e gan to cross the river in quest

,

of a settled abode It therefore properly begins

.

with the settlement in Canaan ( about 1 2 0 0 B and .

3
4 A HI S TO R Y O F T HE HE B RE W P EO P L E

extends dow n to the fall of Jerusalem in 5 8 6 B C . .

,

when the distinct national life of the Hebrews came

to an end T h e remnant whi ch came back from the
.

C a ptivity at Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and foun d

a new state were Jews and with them Jewish h istory

begins .

.2 The hi story of t h e He b rew people considers not

only the political but also the religious forces and con
d i t i o n s whi ch moulded and charac t e rized their life t .

focuses the att e ntion upon a c e rtain nation C ous e .

quently it is distinguished on the one hand from O l d

,

Testament hi story which records God s self-revelation

,
’

and activi ty among men ; and on the other from the

contemporary h istory of the O l d T e stament which ,

considers the national life of the peoples who touched

and influenced the H e brews and who as a result are , , ,

mentioned in the canonical writings T h e necessity .

of keeping these di stinctions constantly in mind is o h

vions for not only the content b ut also the a i m and
method of investigation in each is di ffere nt O ld .

Testament history for example gives little heed to

, ,

hi storical proportion ; political and social ev e nts are

of secondary importanc e O n the co ntrary t h e revela
.
,

tion of Jehovah whi ch it treats as its central them e is

, ,

regarded as only one of many elements in the hi story

of the Hebrew people Since the latter i s a part of
.

the world history the same scientifi c metho ds which

,

have approved themselves in the study of the histo ry

of other nations should be appli e d h e re Though .

quite di stinct i n subject and aim th es e thr e e relate d ,

d e partments of history overlap e ach oth e r T h e text .

book o f O ld T e stam e nt history the Bible is also t h e

, ,

gr e at sourc e of information r e specting the Hebrew

 IMP OR TANC E OF H E BR E W HI S T ORY 5

people Hebrew history howeve r gathers its material

.
, ,

from oth e r so ur ces as well as from t h e B ibl e O ld .

Testament history on the oth e r hand does not con fi ne

, ,

its attention e xclusively to any one race Conte m po .

rary history although in a sense broader than both the

,

prece di ng is chiefly valuable for the light whi ch it

,

sheds upon the life of the H e brew people .

% 3 Two great currents of thought and influence

.

flow out of t h e past United th e y dete rmine to a

.
,

O hi
gre at e xtent t h e characte r f that w ch is to day —

”
called civilization H e llenism contribute d t h e e le
.

m e nts of philosophy art and political organization

, , ,

and the canons of sci e ntifi c thought ; but thi s fair

stream aboun di ng in so much that s ti m ulated human
,

progress was pitiably destitute in that whi ch is the

,

basis of higher good This was religion . R ising .

farther back in hum an history there came from the ,

barren hills of Canaan that other current whi ch fu r

nished thos e absolut e essentials to the highest civiliza
tion ,
re ligion ethics and t h e e le m e nts of t h e laws
, ,

whi ch r e gulate t h e re lations o f man to m a n and to his

God In the hi story of the H e brew p e ople therefore
.
, ,

one m a y follow t h e unfoldi ng in the mind of man ,

under the influence of the Divine of those great ,

religious ideas which have beco m e the main s pring

of humanity s progress and whi ch have d e t e rm ined
’
,

the nature of the faith of more than half manki nd .

For crystallizing they became the religion of t h e

, ,

Jew ; being perverted they degen e rated into M o ham

,

m e d a n i s m ; and expan di ng th e y d e veloped into Chr is

, ,

t ia n ity T h e H e brews also fi r st taught m a n that t h e

.

supreme goal of life is righteousn e ss Cons e qu e ntly .

,

they are the great ethi cal teachers of humanity Hand .

6 A HIS T ORY OF T HE H B E RE W P EO PL E

in hand wi th ethics went i t s objective expression ,

law To -day t h e elements of the H e brew l e gislation

.

’
have become the bone and m arrow of the world s
greatest legal systems In grappling with the social
.

problems of their age the enlightened Hebrew p r o p h

,

e ts, priests and wise men deduced social laws whi ch

,

are as applicable in the present as they were twenty

fi v e hun dr ed years ago Therefore for the student of
.
,

religion law and social science Hebrew history pos

, ,

sesses a pre -e m i nence Shared with no other It also .

furnishes the hi storical background without which the

literature and thought of the O ld Testament is only
half i nte lligible To one who recognizes in that
.

unique history the unique revelation of God to man ,

it is the hi s tory of all histories .

 THE SO UR C ES OF H EB R E W HI S T O RY

4 . historian V o n R an k e when asked ho w it

THE ,

was that he was able to write history which stood the

test of time replied I do not go back t o but back
, , ,
”
of the documents
, By thi s he meant that he di d not
.

at once incorporate i nto hi s history every monkish tale

whi ch came withi n hi s reach Instead he fi rst dete r .
,

mined the age and p o int of V iew of each ancient manu

script from whi ch he gleaned hi s information Then .

he was a ble by maki n g due allowance for the personal

,

and time equation to sift out and us e the elements of

,

fact whi ch it contained T h e rul e is e qually a p p li

.

cable to all history B efore a lasting structur e can be

.

reared a fir m foundation must be laid In order to

,
.

do thi s all the material which is to go into the fou n

,

dation must fi rst be tested E special care in siftin g .

the sour ces is demanded in the case of Hebrew history ,

for the reason that its events are so far removed from
the present O f its many sources by far the richest
. ,

is the O ld Testament Thi s is in reality a great

.

’
library containing the re m n ants of a nation s litera
,

ture It consist s of books a n d parts of books com i ng

. ,

from many di ff e rent epoc hs and author s who write ,

from di fferent points of vi ew and with di ff erent ai m s .

The modern O ccidental student often fin ds it con

fus ing and almost unintelligible b ecause the material ,

7
8 A HI S T O R Y OF T HE H E B RE W P EOPL E

is not arranged systematicall y Cl a ssi fi cation is there

.

fore the fi rst r e qui site A quota t ion from t h e mouth

.

of the ene m i es of the prophet Jere m i ah (Jer xviii 1 8 ) . .

s ugg e sts a system both fu ndamental and practical

For the law Shall not perish from the priest nor ,

”
counsel from the wise nor the word from the prophe t
,
.

It introduces the thr ee great classes of workers who

guided and mo ul de d Hebrew life and refers to their ,

characteristic literary products .

5 Superior to their contemporaries in consecration

.
,

inte lli gence and earnes t ness and enlightened by Je

, ,

hovah the H e brew prophe t s s a w facts and truths u n

,

known to their contemporaries They were by V irtue .

o f the poss e ssion of this deeper knowledge equipped

a n d commissioned to proclaim to th e ir countr ymen as ,

hi s ambassadors the m e ssage of the Highest

, A di .

vi n e ly insp i red ideal of righteousness and perfection

fil led their souls Their eager endeavor to re ali ze that

.

i deal in their nation so u nwise in its poli cy and so

corrupt in its character made them statesmen social ,

r e form ers and religious a n d ethi cal t e achers By stir

, .

r ing address by public tabl e t and by sym bolic action

, , ,

they sought to impr e ss the great truths which had been

revealed to them upon their l e ss enlightened contem
p o r a r i es
. In time also they wer e led to commit the i r
“
word to writing Thus it was in di vine providence
.

that the oral prophecies became a part of the O ld

Testament .

The li t erary activity of the proph e ts however di d , ,

not cease h e r e Suggestions of another type of tea c hi ng

.

are foun d ev e n in the oral proph e cies It is u n fo r t u .

nate that to-day the meaning of the word prophe t

i s so sadl y restricted for it leads to much popular
,
 P RO P H E C Y O F T HE PA S T 9

misconception A ccor di ng to its derivation the word

.

”
does not necessarily mean one who for e tells but
“
,

”
merely one who Speaks for another The Hebrew .

word simply signifi es a speaker E xodus V i i 1 2 . .

,

refers to A aron as the prophet of Moses when h e acts ,

as the latter s spokesman and representati ve before the

’

people A s has been well said the Hebre w prophets

.
,

were not foretellers b u t fo r t h t e ller s Sometimes their .

message took the form of a pre di ction respectin g t h e

“

future ; more frequ e ntly it consiste d of burning a d

d r esses on the living political social and reli gio u s , ,

q ues t ions of their day O ften the. prophet r ec o n iz

g ,

ing that his hearers had failed to grasp the great

truths and principles whi ch he was endeavori ng to
present w ould paus e and introduce some famili ar ill u s
,

t r a ti o n whi ch would make hi s meani ng patent to t h e

mind of the most obtuse O r di naril y he d r ew his .
,

illustrations from t h e rich storehouse of his nation s r e ’

s

markable exp e rience Thus for the moment he woul d

.

be t e ac hi n g not by proph e cy of the fut u r e nor of the

,

present but of the past The last may be de fi n e d as

, .

the use of past history narrative or tradition to i m

, ,

press and ill ustr ate propheti c t ruth This lucid and .

e ffi cient method of teachi ng was very popular with

both people and prophet Several of the O ld Testa .

ment books may be classi fi ed as p ur ely prophecy of

the past The Jews in their older arrangement of t h e
.

scrip t ures r e c o gm zm g thi s fact d e signated Joshua

, , .

Judges I and II Samuel and I and II Kings as the

,
. .
, . .

”
E arlier Prophets t o di stinguish them from the other
,

prophecies ( Isaiah to Malachi inclusive ) whi ch th e y

“ ”
styled t h e Later Prophets To the fi rst class m a y .

properly b e added the little B ook of Ruth (whi ch i s

 10 A HI S T ORY OF T HE HE BR E W PEO PLE

parallel t o the narratives of the B ook of Judges ) a n d ,

parts of the Penta t euch Si mi larity in language and

.

li te rary sty le and communi ty of ideas and contents

, ,

distin guis h these books and parts of books from other

portions of the O ld Testament and indicate clearly
,

that they are from propheti c writers A comm on a i m

.

appears in them a ll Historic proportion is quite dis

.

regarded For example in the B ook of Samuel the

.
,

i mporta nt battle of Gilboa is treated in a few verses ,

while the rela t ion s between Samuel (the prophet ) and

Saul occupy several chapters .

This and k i n dr ed facts are explained when the aim

of the prophetic write r is fully appreciate d For hi m .

e vents in themselves were of li ttle importance since ,

his pur pose was not merely to wri te a history of hi s

p pe O l e ; ins te ad i t,was primari l y and s i mply to teach
Spiritual tru th . To attain thi s ex a lted end he was ,

as ready t o employ a late tradi tion as an early narra

t ive. O fte n when he foun d two account s of the same
event he introduced both of them even though thi s i n
,

volved small contradictions and hi s toric i naccuracies .

If he had had the data at hi s command whereby he

could de te rm i n e whi ch of the two was the older
and therefore the more authentic record he probably ,

wo ul d not have deemed it worthy of h is atte ntion for ,

it would not have rendered hi s te achin g any more

e ffecti ve with his conte mporaries His hi sto ric kn owl
.

edge also w a s that of his age ; the narratives and t r a

di ti o n s whi ch he i ncorporated in hi s wri tin gs were
those with whi ch his conte mporaries were famili ar If .

he was writing of a period antedatin g his o wn by cen

t ur ies he was wholly dependent upon the te stimony of
,

others The prophetic author of Samuel and Kings

.
 T HE P RESER VATI O N OF T R A D ITI O N S 11

makes frequent reference to certain written records

whi ch he was abl e to consult — as for e xampl e the ,

Chr onicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel ; but for

data resp e cting the earlier epoc hs when wri ting was ,

e xc e edingly rare they seem to have been almost e n

,

t i r e ly d e p e ndent upon popular tradition These ordi .

n a r il
y collect e d about certain places or customs When .

the wom e n in later years went to dr aw water at t h e

famous well mention e d in Numbers xxi 1 6 they sang .
,

the song found in the verses whi ch follow this refer

ence . The song preserved the reme m brance of the
ev e nts whi ch took pl ace centuries before about the
a ncient w e ll The me m ories of D e borah clustered
.

about the venerat e d palm tree of D eborah (Judges iv - .

just as those of A braham we re associated with hi s

tamarisk at B eersheba C e rta in towns regarded one .

o r another of the patriarchs as their patron saint and ,

cons e qu e ntly cherished t h e tra di tions r e specting hi m .

A t B e thel Jacob and at H e bron A braham w e re thus

, , , ,

immortalized Frequently it was around some striki n g

.

monume nt whi ch arous e d the curiosity of succeedi ng

,

generations that the stories gathe red The grave of

, .

R achel recalled the tales res pecting Jacob s favorite ’

wife ( Gen xxxv . as di d the cave of Machpelah

.

those respecting the patriarchs ( Gen xxiii 9 and . .

A bsalom s tomb (II Sa m xviii 1 7 ) the fate of David s

’ ’
. . .

rebellious son Similar reminders were the he ap of

.

s tones in the Jordan (Josh iv whi ch the author of

. .

Joshua declares was still standing when he wrote hi s

history The heaps in the valley of A chor ( Josh vii
.
. .

2 6 ) and at A i ( Josh viii 2 9 ) recall ed the conqu e st

. .

of Canaan A bout the local s hr ines as for exampl e

.
,

Bethel and Dan also gathered a mass of tra d itions

, .
12 A HI S T O RY OF T H E HE B RE W P EO PL E

AS the maidens in t h e e ast-Jordan land came each

y e ar to bewail t h e tragic d e ath of J e p h t h a h s daughte r ’
,

they ke pt aliv e the m e mori e s of t h e dee d s of that a n

ci e nt chi e ftain Sometimes it was merely a pop ul ar
.

proverb as for exam pl e I Sa m x 1 2 ; xix 24

—
, . . . .
,
”
“
Is Saul among the prophets ? that recalled an -

incident whi ch otherwise m i ght hav e been forgotten .

Fro m these many sources the prophets gleaned their

illustrations and the data wherewith th e y reconstructed
’
the outli nes of their nation s hi story which was itself ,

a supre m e ill u s t ration of the truths concerni n g Jehovah

whi ch they wished to i m press Scientifi c or his toric.

accur acy they di d not claim O ne s respect how e ver

.
’

, ,

for the O ld Testament and t h e w ork of the proph e ts

deepens wh e n it is perceived that th ey w er e subject to
all t h e limitations of a n era when scientifi c methods
of investigation were unknown and the exact hi storic
Spirit still unborn . T h e scienti fi c and historical vari a
tions are in the m s elves proofs of t h e truth of the divine
m e ssage whi ch was thus giv e n forth in a form a t t r a c
tive and intelligible to all A t t h e same time it is
.
‘

obvi ous that if the m odern stude nt is to become a o

u a i n t e d with the real facts of Hebrew hi story he must
q ,

do that for which the prophets had n e ither the d e sire

nor the equipment , that is he must go back of the
,

documents and carefully analyze each narrative ask ,

ing what was the date and point of V iew from whi ch
it was written .

6 Whi le the prophets were putting their messages

.

i n p e rmanen t lite rary form the s e cond group of IS

,

r a el s t e achers the priest s - was not inactive Their

’
.

chief fun ctions during their great literary period w e re

to care for the national sanctua ri es and perform the
 P RIES TL Y A ND P R O P H E TI C AL HI S T OR IES 13

ceremonial rites ; the y we re the appointed guar di a n s

of t h e ri t u al Probably for c e nturi e s t h e sacred laws
.

and custo m s we re trans m itt e d by word of mouth or ,

only partially co m mitte d to writing ; but at last there

came a tim e whe n conv e ni e nce or existing con di tions
de m ande d that they be codi fi e d T h e origin and hi s .

tory of these laws also becam e a matt e r of interest and

importance There fore t h e pr iests were led lik e the
.
,

proph e ts to b ecom e hi storians Thi s fact explai ns t h e

, .

presence of the parall e l histori e s whi ch a r e found inte r ,

woven i n t h e P e ntate uchal books side by Side with

those that bear the prophe tical stam p Here again .

comm on language literary styl e thought-realm and

, ,

a i m di stinguish these hi s t o r i c o l e gal sections from the

-

h si t o r i c o prophetical a nd proclaim th e ir resp e ctive r e l a

-
,

t i o n s hip. The pri e stly re cor ds contained in I and II . .

Chr onicles and their continuati o n E zra and N e hemiah , ,

trace the history of t h e T e m pl e la w and pri e sthood , ,

d a w n thr ough the Hebr e w into Jewish tim es A com .

parison of this cont emporary record with that contain e d

in Samuel and Kings illustrates most vivi dl y t h e di f
ference b e twe en the legal and prophetical literatur e of
the O l d Testament Both in part treat of the sa m e
.

period ; but the one focuses t h e attention on the pri e sts ,

and notic e s only the J u d e a n kingdom where their ,

influe nce was most potent ; whi le the other alm ost
ignore s th e m and presents the work of the proph e ts
, ,

dwelling at length upon the events in the northern

kingdom where the prophets were the Chi e f Spirit u al
,

guide s . Manifestly the hi s t,o r i c o legal books ca n n ot

-

be called history in the ordi nary sense of t h e term ;

,

for the ir prim ary a i m is to t e ach religious truth and ,

that of a di stinctly ritualistic type Consequently the .

,
14 A HI S T ORY O F T HE HE B RE W PEO PLE

data whi ch they contain respectin g the political li fe of

the Hebrew people are o nl y incide ntal .

.7 The third class of Hebrew teachers the wise men

labored so unobtrusively that their work has be e n
almost un n oticed They spoke in privat e to the i ndi
.

vidual and not in public to the nation They were

, .

the personifi ed comm on-sense of their age and race .

R ipe in personal experience keen observers of human ,

nat ure enriched by i nhe ri ted wisdom they became the

, ,

advisers of all classes in ancient Israel E verythi ng .

that concerned the ordi nary man commanded the i r

attention They were e qually ready with practical
.

advice concerni ng anythi ng from the purcha se of a ,

’
farm to man s duty to his God For centuries they .

taught the masses beside the City gates before they put
”
their counsel into written form The B ook of Prov .

erbs is the ir most characteristic product ; it contains

the crystallized experience of the e n lightened sages .

When they came to grapple with the greater problems

of li fe the Song of Songs Job and E cclesiastes were
, , ,

added to their literature .

.8 Two other books poetical In form deeply reli

, ,

i o u s in ess e nce remain — Psalms and Lamentations

g , , .

They represent the outp ouring of the souls of devout

Hebrews of all ages as they came into the presence of
Jehovah They may be designated as the devotional
.

literatur e of the O ld Testament P r aise to the Lord .

,

the source of all blessing or an earnest cry for d e li v ,

e r a n c e from evil and danger is the prevailing chor d , .

Prophet priest and sage unite with king and pe a s ant

, ,

i n the authors hi p of th is song book of wors hi pful -

humanit y .

.9 The material in this old library which is the great ,

 F O UR CLA SSE S OF H E B RE W L IT ER AT URE 15

so u rce for Hebrew hi story may be classifi ed as follows

,

Prop hetical Literature — the prophetical portio n s of

,

the Hexate uc h and Judges R uth Samuel Kings J o

, , , , ,

nah and the proph ecies of the Maj or and Minor

,

Prophets Legal Literature

. the priestly portions
,

of the Hexateuch and Chronicles E zra Nehemiah , , ,

and E sther Wisdom Literature

. Proverbs Song of , ,

Songs Job and E cclesiastes

, , Devotional Literat ure.
,

Psalms and Lamenta tions .

The historical contributions of each of these four

classes of literature are of widely di fferent characte r
and value Since the prophets were the state smen of
.

Israel and in closest tou ch with the national move

ments the ir writings contain the most data respecting
,

the political life of t he Hebrews ; they also present

the most de fin ite portraits of the social religious a n d , ,

moral con di tions O f all the biblical sour ces the oral
.

prophecies are the most authentic Since they represent ,

the testimony of eye -witnesses who were the most e m

lightened men o f their times The legal literat ure is .

valuable chiefly for the information whi ch it fur nishes

respecting the ritualistic Side of the H e brew religion
and state Its pri estly hi s t ories were written long
.

after the events which they record occ urr ed and ,

therefore contain little data supplementary to that

contained in the prophetical annals The wisdom .

literatur e makes no reference to cur rent political

events ; it is invaluable however as an introduc t ion
, ,

t o the social domestic and moral life of the people

, , .

Through the devotional literatur e we are adm i tted to

’
the sanctuary of the nation s soul and can study th e re ,

the play of those deep religious emotions aspirations , ,

and intuitions whi ch made the Hebrews the spirit

16 A H I S TORY OF T HE HE B RE W P EO PLE

ual teachers of humanity and rendered the i r hi s tory

,

un i que .

1 0 Up to the prese n t century the information re

.
,

specting the life of the Hebrews was lim i ted almost

exclusively to that conta i ned in t h e O ld Testam e nt .

R ecent di scoveries however have thrown a flood of

, ,

light upon that ancient hi sto ry The hi eroglyphi c .

lite ratu re of the Nile valley now suppl e mented by the ,

cune i form tablets comin g from the fourt eenth centu ry

B C
. .
, illumi ate pre Hebrew Can aan and render it
n —
,

poss ible to understand the con di tions under whi ch the

H e br e w nation was born Throughout their national .

exis tence the relations b e tween E gypt and Israel we r e

excee di ngly intimat e ; and consequently o ur knowl , ,

e dg e o f the l i fe of E gypt enables us to elucidate many

di ffi cul t questio n s i n the history of her Sister sta te .

Palest ine its elf has as yet fur nished littl e monumental
literature T w o or thre e inscriptions of a few li nes
.

‘
o nl y are all ; but these are s u fii c i e n t to in dicate that
the s o -called Ph oenician script was in u s e in Israel
during the royal period and that the language r e p r e
,

sented in the modern H e brew Bible was very Similar

to that Spoken by Davi d and Isaiah In the te rri tory .

of ancient Phoenicia have been di scov e r e d a large col

l e ction of i nscripti ons which are esp e cially valuabl e to
the student of Semitic languages and r e ligions T h e .

most importa nt inscription coming from t h e Canaan ,

i t i s h group of nations is t h e famous Moabite stone

, ,

di scov e red in 1 8 6 8 east of the Jordan ; it was reare d

by M e sha o n e of the Moabit e kings mentioned in the
,

Book of Kings (II iii T h e Ph oeni cian syste m

. .

of wr iting i s e m ployed ; t h e vocabulary and gram

m a t i c a l forms are closely analogo us to the Hebre w .
 E X T R A-BIBLI C AL SO U R C ES 17

For the study of Hebrew history the inscriptions from

A ssyria and Chaldea have furnished the most impor
tant facts A lthough th e y sometimes modify as well
.

as corroborate they marvellously supplement the bib

,

li c a l testimony ; by their aid it is possible to V iew

Hebrew history from without and to study the H e ,

brews i n the light in whi ch they were regarded by the i r

contemporaries Far less reliable but yet suggestive
.
, ,

are the later tra di tions which have been prese r ved in
Greek Hebrew and Moha m medan writings or are still
, , ,

current in the mouth of the A rab-speaking peoples .

By car e fully studying these according to the laws

which govern t h e gro wt h of tradition it is often possi
,

ble to extract the kernel of truth which they contain .

11 The spa d e has turned up not mer e ly i n s c r i p

.

tions but also many a remnant of ancient O rienta l

,

C ivilization A rch aeology th e refore contributes its

.
, ,

valuable information r e specting the home life and ma -

t e r i a l surroundings of t h e H e brews T h e modern .

”
customs of t h e O ri e nt whi ch changeth not are a
, ,

most fe rtile source of knowledg e respecting the social

life of the Isra e lites The co m paratively new science
.

of historical geography also introduces the student to

the background of the historic events and di sclos e s ,

those natural conditions which were so e ffe ctive in

mouldi ng the life of the Hebrew people The task of .

the Hebrew historian is fir st to analyze thi s varied

material and then to combine it into a c o -ordi nated
, ,

living whole .
 TH E LAND OF THE HEB R E W S

12 . THE
land of the Hebrews is situated between
31 and 33 2 0 north latitude and 34 2 0 and 36 east
° ° ’ ° ’ °
,

longitude It is bounded on the north by Mount

.

H e rmon and the base of the Lebanons on the east by

the A r abian desert ; on t h e south by the w ilderness of
Judah an exte nsion of the A rabian desert ; and on t h e
,

we st by the coast plains A t certai n periods of H e

.

brew history i t included portions of these plains and ,

even touched the Great Se a between Joppa and Car

m el . This territory at most one hundred and fif ty
,

m i les long and one hundred wide was only a little ,

’
dot on t h e earth s surfac e compared with the great
empires about it ; but within the s e narrow boundarie s
there was a world in miniature Si x di stinct di vi sions .

or zon e s can be distinguish e d B e tween the M e di t er.

r a n e a n and the foo t hi lls of the central plateau there ,

exten ds a s e ries of coast plains from B eirut to t h e

R iv e r of E gypt ; in Ph oenicia they a r e only from two
to Si x miles in width South of Tyr e the mountains
.

come down and touch the wate rs of the sea forming ,

“
t h e bold promontory called the Ladder of Tyre .

With thi s one exception the coast highway exten ds u n

interrupt e dly from north to south Carmel it is true .
, ,

divides the plain of A cre from i t s southe r n comple

ment Sharon ; but a narrow strip of land by the sea
,

18
 D IVI S I O N S OF P A L ES TIN E 19

at the northern end of the mountain connects them .

South of Carm e l Sharon ever broadens until it merges

,

into the fertile plain of Philistia which rolls away ,

eastward from the sea for twenty or thirty miles u ntil

it breaks against the foot-hills of Judah Natur e .

smiles upon these fruitful well watered plain s ; they

-
,

are the richest garden and harvest fi elds of Palestin e .

A t the same tim e they are the most exposed to the

attack of an Invader from north and south and least ,

easily defended .

1 3 O pposite Joppa the mountains of the central

.
,

range begin to descend more leisurely to the plain .

South w ard to the J u d e a n desert the re runs a series of ,

low foot-hills s e p a r a t e d fr o m the central plateau by a

broad longitu di nal valley which extends from north
, ,

to south like a broad shallow moat These foot-hi lls

, .
,

wide ni ng from fi ve to fif teen miles were the debatable ,

ground between Judah and Philistia They correspond .

closely in physical contour and in the r Ol e whi ch they

,

playe d in hi story to the border lands of southern

,

Scotland .

14 The thi rd and most important zone is the c en

.

tral plateau Here was the true home of the Hebrews

.
,

who were al w ays a hill people as di stinguished from

-

the Canaanites of the plain O pposite Mount Hermon .

,

the two distinct lines of the L e banons deploy into the

broken mountains of Galilee Shut in by these lofty .

peaks are found a series of elevated plateaus well ,

watered by the streams that come down from the

Lebanons and capable of supporting in secluded se
,

c u r i t y a large population Farther to the south the

.
,

central plateau is interrupted by the plain of E sdr aelon ,

whi ch with its branches extends across from the Me di

20 A HI S TORY OF T H E HE B RE W P EO PLE

terranean to t h e Jordan valley ; but below the plain

the central range reapp e ars in the mountains of Sam a
ria Thi s is a region of marked fertility From the
. .

very mountain tops Sprin gs gu sh forth clothing them

-
,

with that rich verdure whi ch in the E ast is always

insur e d by the presence of water ; broad valleys with ,

productive grain-fi el ds extend throughout the land in

,

every direction While these give wealth to the i n

.

habitants they invite the foreign trader and invader

,
.

The transition from the mou ntains of Samaria to those

of Judah is marked by the most striking changes .

The broad vall eys contract leaving o nl y narrow rocky

, ,

gorge s ; the gre e n verdure covered hi lls di sappear ;

,
-

billowy waves of grim gray lim e stone extend as far as

,

the eye can reach Here Mother E arth has li ttle

.

nouri shment for her children The streams are rush .

ing torrents during t h e rainy season and dry rocky , ,

wadi e s i n the summer ; only a half-dozen p e renni al

fountain s are found in all the territory of Judah .

Water the n e cessity of all life is stored up during the

, ,

Spring in i nn umerabl e rock cut cisterns for t h e long -

,

parchi ng sum mer months Thi rsty rugged barren

.
, ,

Judah %one wonders how it ever support e d ev e n the

Spars e st population To the south and e ast the c e ntral
.

plateau gradually descen ds becoming barer and more ,

barren unti l it merges in t o the wilderness of Judah

, .

15 The fourth zone is the d e ep chasm of the J o r

.

dan which di vides the land of t h e Hebrews into two

,

parts This huge gorge extends like a great canal

.

fro m the foot of Mo un t Hermon to the arm of the

R e d Se a Springing from the roots of the Lebano n s
.
,

t h e Jordan starts on its southern cours e T h e vall e y .

is at this point about fi v e miles wide and is bo r dered ,

 T HE J OR DA N VA L LEY 21

on either side by rounded cliffs which rise to the

height of two thousand feet A fter r u shing along
‘
.

for twelve miles measured in a straight line the

, ,

Jordan checks i t s speed and wanders leisurely through

the tropical tangle of ree d s and marsh land known a s
-

Lake Huleh ; thence the river flows swiftly down

b e twe en its high banks for twelve and a half miles
more to di scharge its waters into blue Galilee Thi s
, .

heart -Shap e d expanse of water twelve and a half mil es,

long and Si x wide is almost surrounded by ste ep c li fi s

, ,

whi ch rise a b r u p t ly t o the height of bet w een one thou

sand and fifteen hundr ed feet A fter lingering at .

thi s beautiful lake -whi ch is its elf six hu ndr ed and

,

eighty-two feet below the M e di terr anean — the Jordan ,

takes its fi nal plunge toward the centre o f the e arth ;

with in fin ite win di n gs in the midst of a tangle Of trop
,

ical vegetation between towering c li fi s it pur sues its

, ,

rapid c ourse un til it pours its waters into the D ead

Se a. O n the last jo ur ney it r e ceives many importa nt
tri butaries Down over the western banks the Nahr
.

c l-Ja l fid from its source under the brow of Gilboa

, ,

and the Farah co m e tumbling ; fr om the hi ghl an ds of

,

Gilead east of t h e Se a of G alilee t h e Yarmuk issues

, ,

to cont ribute a volume of water e qual t o that of the

Jordan itself ; still farther south the J a bb o k also ,

mingles its waves A ll the zones in Palestine broaden

.

as one goes southward E ven so t h e valley of the

.

Jordan expands into the once fertile plain of Jericho ,

which is fourteen miles in width above the D e ad Se a .

This sea of de ath — lying twelve hun dred f e et below

the sur face of the oc e an with i t s bit t er heavy wate rs
, , ,

i t s ba r r e n Shor e s whi ch t e ll the sto ry of an ancient

inland sea and its stupendous sys t em of evaporation
, ,
22 A HI S T ORY O F T HE HE B RE W PEO PL E

in which Si x milli on tons of w ater rise to heaven each

day — is a fi tting conclusion to this marvellous series
’
of Nature s wonders .

16 A cross the Jordan vall ey the bold headlands o f

.
,

Gil e ad and Moab tower to the height of from two t o

four thousand feet Numerous streams furrow their
.

ro un ded sides irrigati ng the elevated plateaus Heavy

, .

d ews throughout the year refresh the plains and cov e r

them w ith a te mperate vegetation Gradually these .

grass -covered rollin g fi el ds become barer and more

level until they m e rge into the A rabian desert on the
,

e a st It is the land both of the agric ul turist and

.

of the shepherd Its rich fi el ds attract the desert

.

noma ds and no natural boundaries appear to keep

,

them out Hence it was the scene of those important

.

transitions w hereby the wandering sons of the d esert

w ere gradually trans formed into settled agricultur al
peoples .

1 7 The sixth and last zone although not parallel ,

with the others is in a sense the most important of

,

them all It is the great plain of E s dr a e lon or J e zr e el

.
, ,

whi ch cuts across the central plateau di vi di ng the ,

north from the south The plain itself is in the form .

of a triangle — with one angle under the sh adow of

,

Mount Carmel another at Jen i n in t h e southeast

, ,

and the thi rd at Shunem under Little Hermon Four

~

, .

teen m iles straight away can be measured from Jen i n

to the foot of t h e Nazare th hi l ls But from the cen .

tral triangl e stre tches of plai n run out in every dirc o

tion into the terri t ory about O n the west it joins the .
,

coast plain of A cre ; to the north another plain runs ,

up past Mount Tabor into c e ntral Galilee on the east ,

another extends past Gilboa and Bethshean to the

 T HE P L AI N or E S D R AE L O N 23

Jordan and the plateau of Gilead beyond ; to the

south it opens into a series of broad plains whi ch
,

intersect Samaria ; along the southeastern end of

Mount Carmel it connects by mean s of a wide valley
,

with the ro llin g fi el ds of Sharon .

It is manifest why E sdraelon w a s the gr eat battle

fi eld o f Hebrew hi story A cross i t s wide expanse .

ran the hi ghways of the O riental world even as ,

does to day the railroad from Haifa to Damasc u s It

- .

was the key to Palestine ; and Palestine was the

key to the E ast A ll the great world-c onquerors
.
,

from T h o t m es III to Napoleon recogni zed thi s fact

.
, .

A side from its importance as a comm anding posi t ion ,

it was a desirabl e pos s ession Ploughi ng its way ser .

p e nt-like across the plain flows the Kishon little more ,

than a muddy di tch but suffi cient for perfect irriga

, r

tion Fountains on every Side also contri bute their

.

waters Not eve n a roll di sturbs its level bosom The

. .

soil is fertile and easy to till It was the great harvest .

fi e l d of northern Israel in whi ch many who di d not ,

sow were eager to reap .

1 8 In the land of Palestine the most marve ll ous

.

contras t s confront one withi n the lim i ts of a few miles .

The coast plains and E s dr aelon w ith their rich harvest ,

fi el ds are the true home of the agric ul turist Judah

'

, .
,

on the other hand supports only a few flocks and rock

,

encircled V ineyards among i t s barren hi lls A half .

’
day s journey brings the traveller from the winter
%

snows of Jerusalem to the tropical luxuriance of the

Jordan valley and another day of travel will intro
,

duce hi m to the barren wastes of the A r abian desert .

From certa in vantage-points one may see the columns

o f vapor ri sing from that great caldron the Dead ,
24 A HIS T ORY O F T HE HE B RE W P EO PL E

Se a ,
and with almost t h e same glance behold the
snowy heights of Mount Herm on The te m perate .
,

tropical and frigid zones are each represented in Pal

,

e s ti n e O n the coast plains the mean temperature is

.

°
varying from 5 0 to 8 5 the average temperature
°

in Jerusalem is whi le in the Jordan valley the

extremes are 7 7 and °
up on the hi ghl an ds of
Gilead frost often app e ars on the ground in the morn
in g whil e by midday the temperature stands at
,

Corr e spon di ng to th e se di ff e renc e s in clim ate are the

cont rasts in flora and fau na The fi r s overshadow the .

palms Here the wolf of the north contends with the

.

leopard of the south over the carcass of the gazelle of

the t e mperate zone It is e vident why the Bible is a
.

book i ntelligible to peoples living in a ll climes since ,

that land which is its background is an epitome of

the entire world .

1 9 Palestine i t self is the fi rst chapter in God s

’
.

great volume of revelation i ns cribed upon the hi story

of t h e H e brew people It is the refore with reverence
.

that one reads thi s i ntroductory chapter written upon

the bosom of the earth ; for the location of the land
of the H e brews det e rm ined very largely the r 61e Whi ch
'

’
the y were to play in the world s history The fi rst .

general charact e ristic of that land which suggests

itself is its seclusion Not o nl y is it a unit co m plete
.

in itself but it is also Shut in from the rest of the

,

world O n the no r th are the frowning peaks of the

.

I e b a n o n s ; on the east and south are the waves of

.

the A rabian desert : and on the west is the unbroken

line of the Mediterran e an which forbade rath e r than ,

invi t ed commerce During most of their hi story the

.

Hebrews were surrounded by a circle of hostile nations ,

 L O C A TI O N OF PAL ES TI NE 25

which like a ring of fi r e con fi ned them to themselves .

The riv e rs of Palestine the ordinary highways along

which a people co m e into contact with their neigh
bors — are with the exception of the Jordan only
, ,

creeks The current of this river is far too rapid for

.

naviga tion and los e s itself in the stagnant waters of

,

the Dead Se a Thus thr ough Nature and man the

.

Father of all comm anded the Hebrews to remain at

home and furthermore encourag e d th e m in this by pro
,

v id in all the vari e d produc t s that could reasonabl b

g y e

demanded and still not enough to make them e ager to

,

seek a foreign market .

Paradoxical as it may sound Palestine is secluded ,

and yet centrally located O n t h e south west were .

the d ark Skinned dwellers on the Nile who had long

-
,

led the van of civilization ; on the northwest bound ,

to them by common blood and Speech we r e the sea ,

traders of the ancient world the Ph oenicians to t h e ,

north e ast were locate d the land trad e rs t h e Syrians ; -

,

whi l e b eyond were the powerful e mpire s of the Tigris

and E uphrates Canaan was the bridge un iting the
.

two contine nts of A sia and A frica ; on every side

and through her ran the gre a t highways of the
nations O n the south lay the trans -desert roa d
.

from E gypt through P etra and Duma to the P er

,

sian Gulf a n d on the east the caravan route as

, ,

to -day from Damascus to the R e d Se a and A rabia ;

,

up along the coast plains went t h e caravans from

fi

E gypt to Phoenicia and the north ; another branch of

thi s gr eat coast road cutting across the southeastern
,

end of Mount Carm e l and t h e plain of E s d ra e l o n ,

reached Dam ascus and A s s yria and Babylonia beyond .

In their earlier days the Hebrews enjoyed that s e c lu

26 A HI S T O RY OF T HE H EB RE W PEO PL E

Sion which w a s so necessary for the development of

the i r national and religious life When thi s had been
.

realized th e y were again thr own by V irt u e of the i r

, ,

location into t h e tempestuous stream of that ancient

,

world to learn new lessons in their struggle for exis t

,

ence and in tur n t o i m part their message to humani ty

, .

Thus the broader outlines of Hebrew history were

marked out long before t h e Israelites cro s sed t he
Jordan .
 IV

T H E AN I C E NT T RIB ES I N HAB ITIN G P AL ESTINE

20 . SIT UA T E D
midway between two continen t s Pal ,

e s t i n e was subject even in the very earliest ti mes to

in vasion from many Sides Naturally the coast plains .

w ere t h e fi rst to be seized Later waves of invasion .

occupied the inland plains and last of all the rocky ,

mountainous regions From the Bab ylonian inscriptions

.

it appears that thi s pro c ess began before the thi rtieth
century B C Dur i ng thi s earlier period B abylonian
. .

influence was paramount as is in di cated by the char ,

acter of the civilization and the wide acquaintance

with the B abylonian system of writing Seemingly .

incapable of a close un ion the petty peoples settled ,

i n Canaan fell in turn an easy prey to each foreign .

invader When the Babylonian power waned the

.
,

E gyptian Pharaohs found Palestine a most inviting

fi eld for predatory incursions These became most .

common in the Sixteenth century B C T h o t m es III . . .

a n d his successors repeate dl y invaded this te rritory ,

and carried their arms even to the E uphr ates In the .

capital towns they placed governors to collect tribute .

Thus the Pharaohs established a loose suzerainty over

Palestine whi ch continued do wn to the twelfth cen
,

tur y B C T h e Hittites — a powerful people from the

. . _

north probably of non Semitic origin

, for a tim e suc
-

c e s s fu lly contested the rule of thi s land w ith the

27
28 A HIS TO R Y OF T HE HE B RE W P EO PL E

E gyptians ; but by the twe lfth centu ry B C their . .

po we r was also waning and they w e re b e ing sup ,

planted or assi m ilated by the A ramean peoples from

the n e ighborhood of the E uphr ates The local tribes .

of Palestine freed from the thr aldom of the foreign

,

invader were at li berty to crystallize in the manner

,

sugg e sted by the i r di versifi ed origin location and , ,

religious peculiarities E verywhere and esp e cially

.
,

a m ong the settled agricul tural nations of the plai n s ,

were to be found the remnants of those repeated

waves of Babylonian and E gyptian civilization which
had already for more than ten centuries s wept over
thi s much contested territory
- .

2 1 The residuum from these many inundations of

.

foreign immigration and invasion was a mixed and

varied popul ation The plains of w e stern Palestine
.

were occupied by Canaanitish tribes probably of Se ,

mitic origin Kindred peoples inhabiting the hi ghlands

.
,

on the east of the Jordan are styled by the biblical ,

writers the A morites The latt er term however was

.
, ,

not restricted in its application to the east-Jordan

tribes but is frequently used in the O ld Testament
,

inte rchange ably with the general appellation Canaan ,

”
ite s. These ancient peoples lived in strong walled
cities E ach town with its adjacent fi el ds was a little
.

in d ependent kingdom ruled over by its own c hi e ftain

,
.

A griculture was the principal means of subsiste nce ;

fore ign trade brought to them t h e products of the out
side world War between these petty principalities
.

was very common ; they united only under the pres

sure o f an im pendi ng danger fr om without The i r .

religion was the wors hi p of the male and female

di vinities Baal and A shtoreth
,
it w as accompanied
 T HE C A NAAN IT E S A ND P HIL I S TIN E S 29

by the most degra di ng and licentious rites which ,

tended completely to undermine the social and moral

integrity of its devote es A m ong the rocky hi lls of
.

c e ntral Palestine in the less desirable territory were

, ,

found ruder shepherd clans who are designated on ,

”
the E gyptian monuments as the Shashu “
Possibly .

they correspond to the biblical Periz zites t h e peas _ ,

ants as contrasted with the Canaanitish villagers

, ,

the Hivites The Phoenicians represented an earlier

.

stratum of immigration which found a resting-plac e

,

in the rich coast plains lying along the shores of the

Mediterranean By language religion and probably
.
, ,

in origin they were closely related to the later i mm i

grants the Canaanites on the central plains The ir
, .

te rritory was very fru i tful but limited R estr icted

, .

on the east by the m ountainous hea dl ands they w e re ,

le d at a very e arly date to launch out upon the sea .

A s a result they became a progressive opulent race of

, ,

traders bearing from nation to nation the products and

,

civilization of that ancient world They were the con .

n e c t i n g link betwe e n the s e cluded tribes of Canaan

and the peoples dwelling along the Shores of the

western sea .

2 2 In southwestern Palestine between the western

.
,

headlands of Judah and the Me di terranean and ,

bounded by the desert on the south and exten di ng as

far a s Joppa on the north is a fertile stretch of rolling
,

plain capable of supporting a large agricultural p O p u l a

tion This territory was seize d by a hardy warlike
.
,

people who were known as the Philistines

,
“
wan ,
”
d er e r s . The nature of their origin is sti ll an unsolved
question They are repeatedly referred to in the Bibl e
.

as t h e people from Caphtor Capht or has been vari

.
30 A HIS T ORY O F T HE HE B RE W P EO PL E

o u s ly identifi ed The E gyptian delta scarcely ful fi ls

.

t h e conditions Most probably it was the island of

.

Crete The E gyptian monuments contain Signi fi cant

.

ref e rences to a sea people who are represented as com

-
,

ing southward by boat and wagon They in vaded .

E gypt in vast numbers about t h e time when the H e

brews must have been entering Canaan They were .

r e pulsed with great slaughter and forced t o turn back ,

northward along the coast of the Mediterranean to s e ek

a home in Palestine The date and details of this i n
.

v a s i o n are quite in keeping with what is known of the

Phili stines from other sources The territory of these .

wanderers was di vided among their fi v e c hi ef cities ,

— Gaza A skelon A shdod Gath and E kron E ach

, , .
, ,

City was strongly forti fi ed with hi gh encircling walls , ,

and was ruled over by its own king In times of peace .

e ach seems to have acted indep e ndently of the others

but in the i r contests with foreign foes they entered

into close and effective union .

23 To the northeast beyond M ount Hermon and

.
,

exten di ng north and east even across the E uphrate s ,

were the A ramean peoples who had succeeded in a h ,

sorbing the territory of the Hittites about the time th at

t he Hebrews sough t a home in Palestine The South .

ern A rameans (better known in the E nglish t r a n s la

tions of the Bible as the Syrians ) crystallized into a
powerful kingdom with Damascus as its centre A gri
, .

culture was their chief means o f subsistence By vir .

tue of their in t ermediate position they became traders ,

corresponding on t h e land to the Phoenicians on the

sea Their language was a di alect of the Semitic
.

family Their national divinities and religious forms

.

were analogous to those of the Canaani t es Thi s .

 T HE H E B RE W G RO UP 31

o uter circle of Semitic peoples inc luded the M idianite s ,

Is hm aelites and A malekites whose home w a s t h e

, ,

great A rabian desert w hich pressed Palestine on two

,

sides Up and down its arid wastes they wandered

.
,

often making incursions into the territory of their

kinsmen who had abandoned the wild lawless life of ,

the desert for settled homes .

24 O ccupying the southern eastern and later the

.
, ,

central portion of Palestine was another group includ ,

ing the Moabites A mmonites E do m i tes and Hebrews

, , , .

Their traditions traced their origin back to the valley

of the E uphr ates and suggested close kinship with the
,

A rameans of the north Their relationship to one

.

another is attested by community in language and

customs as well as b y the biblical record W hen they
,
—
.

emerge into promi nence in hi story they are desert ,

tribes gradually passing over to the agricultural stage

, .

A t the period when H e brew hi story begins the Moab ,

it e s are the most advanced in this transition Their .

territory the uplands to the east of the D ead Se a w a s

, ,

most conducive to this process for it contained many ,

broad well-watered fi elds w hi ch i nvite the ploughman

, .

A s a result the Moabites had large cities and at an

, ,

early period became a settled people Their language .

,

as the Moabite stone attests was a di alect of Canaan , ,

clearly intelligible to their Hebrew kinsmen across the

Dead Se a Th ey worshipped one tribal d eity whom
.
,
”
they called Chemosh .
0

To the south of Moa b a n d t h e D ead Se a among ,

t h e barren rocky c li ffs of Mount Seir whi ch exte nds

, ,

southward through the A rabian desert t o the arm of

the R e d Se a lived the E domites A griculture was
,
.

possible only along the narro w margins of the deep

32 A HI S T ORY OF T H E HE B RE W P EO PLE

w adies ; except in a few places the land scarcely fur

n is he d s u stenance for the ir flocks The caravans
.

whi ch were constantly passing through their territory

brought support to these fi erce robbers who were never ,

loath to collect their toll The ir mode of life made

.

them the outlaws of the old Se m i tic world .

North of Moab and still farther out on the borders

,

of the desert lay the territory of the A mmoni tes

,
.

The A morites and later the Hebrews possessed the

, ,

more desirable l and immediately adjacent to the Jordan .

Con s equently the A mmonites were chiefly dependent

,

upon their flocks for subsistence and because of the ,

character of their territory nev e r completely passed

over to agricul tural lif e They possessed one or two
.

large citi e s which gave permanence to their place of

abode ; but as a people they stood m i dway between
the wanderin g A rab tribes and the settled agricultural
nations of centr al Palestine Their language as the
.
,

proper names in the O l d Testament in di cate was ,

( like the Moabite and E dom i te ) closely related to that

of the Hebrews Milcom was their one t ribal god to
.
,

whom they stood in much the same relations as d i d the

Hebrews in their early history to Jehovah .

The fourth in this relate d group of nations was

the B e n é-Israel whose life is the obj ect of the present
,

s tudy.
 V

TH E G E NE S I S OF T H E H E B R E W P EO P LE
25 . I N A SM U C H the present work aims to give a
a s .

po sitive picture of the life of the Hebrew nation i t ,

would be aside from the pur pose in V iew to enter upon

a detailed i nvestigation of the structur e authorship , ,

and date of the books whi ch contain the records of the

pre national life of the Israelites Indeed such an i n v es
- .
,

t i ga t i o n is necessarily h ypo t h e tical and un satisfactory

w ithout a previous knowledge of the f acts of Hebrew
his tory whi ch alone furnish a de fin ite starting-p oint
,

and basis for comparison No one ho w ever can u n

.
, ,

pre j u di ce dl y and inductively study the opening books

of the O ld Testamen t a n d fai l to r e cogni ze there in par
allel stran d s of priestly a n d proph etical narrative (sects .

5, Sometim e s the point o f V iew is Northern Israel

i t i s h and sometimes Ju d e a n Not o nl y does the lan
.

guage of di ff erent sections suggest that they came from

different epoc hs in the life of t he Hebrews but the ,

thought reflects the di fi e r e n t stages th rough which that

people w ere led to a higher moral and religious con
s c i o u s n es s. In the light of these and kindr ed facts the ,

conviction grows that the fir st fi v e books of the O ld

Tes tament lik e Proverbs (sect
, or the di s t inctly
.

hi s t o r i c o —prophetical books (sects 32— 3 8 7 3 di d not

.
,

come from one but many prophet s and priests writing ,

a t many di ff erent periods but all in the Spirit of t h e

,

3 33
34 A HIS T ORY or T HE HEB RE W P EO PL E

great prophet-judge with whose name these books are

associated Many of the his torical narratives which
.

they contai n were evidentl y n o t wr itten unti l centuri e s

after the events whi ch they r e cor d ha d transpired ; and
there predom in ates i n them a ll eithe r the prophetical
or priestly purpose wh ich a s has b een shown is by
, , ,

no means ide ntical with the his torical (sect C on .

sequently it i s clear that t h ese books must be careful ly

,

analyzed befor e the hi storical da ta w hi ch they contain

can be i ntel li g e ntly used In cert a i n genera l outlines
.

the nar rati ves agree and are corroborated by the i n fo r

,

mation whi ch comes fr om the extra-bibli cal sour ces .

These general conclusions give the student an i n t elli

gent concepti on of the essential facts and forces whi ch
characterize t h e ear ly period w hen the Hebrew nation
was in the maki n g .

2 6 Wherever the cra dl e of the race may have been

.
,

the un i ted testimony of language hi story and racial , ,

characteristics points to n orthern A rabia as the centre

from which the Semitic peoples went forth to the con
quest of their respective possessions The roving t e n .

d e n c i e s of nomads impelled some at a prehistoric period

to gravitate toward the fertile lan ds adjacent to the
Nil e ; these fusing with A frican races produced the
, ,

ancient E gyptians O ther bands of emigrants from

.

the home of the race took possession of the productive

fi e lds of southern A rabia and in time streamed across
,

the R e d Se a to A frica T hi s branch inclu di ng the

.
,

nomads who continued t o range up and down the great

A rabian d e sert are known as the Southern Semites
, It .

includes t h e A rabs Sabeans and E thi opians O ther

, , .

nomadic tribes seizing at a very early date the rich

,

te rrito ry whi ch lies to the east of the desert and is w av

 E AR L Y S E MITI C IMMI G RATIO N S 35

t e r ed by the E uphrates and Tigris founded the power ,

ful empire of ancient Babylonia whi ch in succeeding ,

centuries came in turn under the sway of the A ssyrians

and Chaldeans When the land between the great
.

rivers became crowded repeated waves of immigration

,

surged westward around the n orthern borders of the

A rabian desert to the attractive agricul t u ral land lying
along the eastern Shores of the Me di terranean The .

fi rst imm i grants into Palestine occupied the co a st and

inland pl ains and became the ancestors of the Canaan
,

ites and Ph oenicians who constituted the second group

,

of the Northern Semites (sect The Semites who .

settled between the upper waters of the Tigris and E u

h r a t e s and subsequently spread toward the west u ntil
p ,

they became masters o f the interve ni ng te r ritory even

to the Lebanons ( sect are known in hi story as the
.

A rameans and may be designate d as the A r amean

,

group .

These movement s c ontinued during many centuries .

The great centres of Se m i tic civilization were con

s t a n t ly receiving infusions of new blood from the
desert O n the other hand as the valley of the Tigri s
.
,

and E uphrates became more crowded bands of emi

‘

grants were constantly moving westward in quest of

homes in the less densely settled territory of Palestine .

A s the larger groups of the Se m i tic peoples graduall y

c r ystalliz ed into nations distinct di alec t s arose ; yet
,

the points of lingui s tic likeness whi ch w ere reta ined

suffi ced to facilitate thi s interchange of populations .

Consequently there are good external reasons for

,

acc e pti ng as hi storical the H e brew tra di tions whi ch

repres e nt the ancestors of the Hebre w s and of their
kinsmen t h e A mmonites M oabites and E do m i tes — a s
, ,
36 A HI S T O RY OF T HE HE B RE W PEO PL E

coming origi nally from the vall ey of the E uphr ates .

When they entered Palestine they found the more

desirable lan ds already occupied and therefore were ,

obliged to content themselves with what remained In .

ti m e some of these later immigrants found permanent

,

homes on the southeastern borders of Palestine ; the

others continued to pastur e their flocks among the b a r
ren uplands of central and southern Canaan Being .

nomads there was little to hold them in one settl e d

,

place of abode A t length impelled by the same nee ds

.
,

and instincts whi ch since the beginning of history have

led nomadic Semitic tribes to invade the attr active terri
tory along t h e Nile the y m i grated southward and o c c u
,

pied the pastur e lands of Goshen located imme di ate ly

east of the Nile delta A lthough they remained in their
.

new home for generations they clung to their language

, ,

customs and religion with a ll the tenacity of desert

,

noma ds ; they seem also to have kept in touch with

their kinsmen who remained i n the wilderness to t h e
east A S time went on un der t h e influence of their
.
,

more favorable environ m ent their numbers increased , ,

until the Pharaohs of E gypt began to regard them as a

menace to the stability of their throne Forced lab or .

was consequently imposed upon th em To freedom .

loving noma ds such bondage was peculiarly irksome .

But the powe r of the E gyptians was great and the ,

shepherds were unorganized To fl e e which was their .

,

fir st impulse w a s impossibl e
, A t last when their spirit
.
,

was all but compl e te ly broken a l e ader and deliverer ,

aros e in their mi dst .

2 7 O n the plains of Mi di an where h e had Spent the

.
,

days of his opening manhood Moses had drunk in at ,

the fountain source the Spir it of freedom and the pure r

 T HE E X O D US 37

concepts of Jehovah the God of his race There also

, .

t h e A lmighty Spoke to him kindling his soul with a ,

new light R eturning with these ideas he was able to

.
,

awaken hi s peopl e to action In the nam e of Jehovah.

,

their God and Deliverer he rallied them Grievous, .

plagues a fflicted t h e E gyp tians rendering them fo r ,

the time incapable of checking the shepher ds in the i r

sudden flight ; with flocks and families therefore they , ,

s e t out under the l e adership of Moses for Sinai the ,

abode of their God a n d for their former home in south

,

ern Canaan But circumstances led them to t ur n toward

.

the south where beside the arm of the R e d Se a they

, , ,

were overtak e n by the E gyptian army sent in pursuit .

Their cause seeme d hopeless since they could do little ,

to defend themselv es against their well armed foes In

- .

thi s crisis a strong east wind arose whi ch b l ew a ll ,

/

night dr iving back the Shallow w aters so that it was

,

possible for them to pass ov e r (Ex xiv 2 1) and thus . .

escape whi le the E gyptians foll owing them perishe d

, .

In thi s natural phenomenon so r e markable so Op p o r ,

tune — the Hebrews ever recogni zed the delivering

hand of their God It s trengthened their wavering
.

faith as nothing els e could have done and by V in di ,

cating the ass ur ances of Moses fi rm l y esta blished hi s

Procee di ng eas t ward from the R e d Se a the march of ,

the Israelite s was checked by a powerful desert trib e ,

the A malekites These foes however were defeated

.
, ,

in battle ; and at length the great leader conducte d the

fugitives safely to the mount of God whi ch in the ,

Northern Israelitish narrative is call ed Hor e b ; i n the

J u d e a n and priestly records it is know n by the more
fa miliar name of Sinai Here a covenant was estab
.
38 A HI S T O R Y OF T H E H E BR E W PEO PL E

li s h e d , bin di ng t h e di ffe rent Clans tog e ther and in t ur n ,

r e uniting them by t h e closest bonds to their God Jeho ,

vah Th e nc e they passed on to Kade sh a d e sert station

.
,

on the southern limi ts of Judah The more fertile .

fi el ds of southern Palestine attracted th e m but th e ir ,

courage failed when the y learned t h e strength of the

inhabitants ; consequently they we re obliged to con ,

te nt the m selves with the scanty support furnished by

t h e wilderness A t Kadesh their sanctuary was located
.
,

and a rude tribunal was established under the di r ection

of Moses R e verting to the habits of th e i r earlier days
.
,

th e y ranged with their flocks up and down the A rabian

desert sharing with their ki nsmen the Mi di ani tes and
, ,

K e nit e s t h e fortunes of a B edo ui n people The c h r o

, .

n o l o i c a l data respecti ng this early period are exceed

g
i n gly inde fin it e and pr e s e nt variations w hi ch it i s
,

d i ffi cult to reconcil e A ccor di ng to the biblical a c

.

counts th e y remain e d i n the desert for a generation

,

( forty years ) It was a. time of rich religious educ a

tion for in these barr e n wastes the shepherds from the

,

Nil e delta app e ar to hav e completely rejected any reli

i o u s concepts w hi ch th e y may have received in E gypt
g
and to have returned to t h e p u rer faith of the des e rt .

Whil e their r e ligious b e liefs were deepening and crys

t a lli zi n g a feeling of unity was growing among the
,

t ribes whi ch prepared them for combined action and

,

constituted the germ of a nation A sturdy race .

,

hardy and brave was being developed in thi s most

,

valuable though severe training school in whi ch the

-

Israelites in accordance with the divin e purpose had

, ,

been placed .

28 A t last an opportunity arose to gain possession

.

of the much-coveted agricult ural land which lay on the

 C ON Q
U ES T O F T H E E A ST - J
OR D A N LA ND 39

borders of the desert It came not from the south

.
, ,

but from that territory e a st of t h e Jordan which w a s

least defende d by natural barriers and where the tran ,

s i t i o n from barren sand to fruitful pasture and a gri c u l

t u ral land was most gradual and natural The occasion .

was a protracted war betwe en t h e A morite s and the

kinsmen of the H e brews the Moabit e s a n d the A m
,

m o n it es . The former under their king Sihon had at

, ,

some earli e r period robbed the A mmonites of their

w e stern territory and driven t h e Moabite s to the south
of the A rnon O n the scene of their conquests they
.

’
had built up a s t r o n g kingdom with i ts capital at ,

H e shbon opposite Jericho A gainst this form i dable

.

pow e r the Hebrews took the fi eld They were pri .

marily seeking a home for thems e lves but in so ,

doing they were espousing the common interests of

the Moabites and A mmonite s whose independence ,

was threatened by the alien kingdom If not ma .

t e r i a lly assisted by their kinsmen it is reasonable to ,

b e lieve that they had their sympathy in thi s under

taking although the biblical account recor ds o nl y
,

the envy and opposition of t h e Moabites The Israel .

ite s were successfu l and thereby gained a temporary

,

home on the edge of Canaan and in the midst of peo

ples related to them by blood The e ffect of their .

conquest was far-reac hi ng for the new land whi ch

,

became their own was adapted to agricultur e as well as

grazing A t this time began that all important tran
.
-

s i t i o n from the noma di c to t h e agric ul tural stage whi ch ,

was destined to alter the very character and faith of

”
the people from beyond the river .

.2 9 R esults point to correspon di ng causes If all .

the P entateuchal books had been lost it wo ul d still ,

40 A H I STO R Y O F T HE H E B RE W P EOPL E

be necessary to postulate a personality like tha t o f

Moses to explain the character O f the Israeli t e s as they
fi gure in late r hi story The Song O f D e borah whi c h
.
,

is by a ll recogniz e d as one O f the very O ldest pieces O f

litera t ur e in t h e O l d Testament graphically portrays ,

the di sorganized condition O f the H e brews Gradually .

they had been subdued by the Canaanites A ll seemed .

hopeless unless somethi ng could be found to bind them

,

together and inspire the m to fi ght for freedom The .

sens e O f kinship was no bon d since already their blood ,

had been mi n gled with that of the nativ e inhabitants .

A co m m on faith in Jehovah was the su ffi cient and

o nl y un i ting and impelling force Jehovah s prophet .
’

ess D e borah s e nt out the call to arms In the name

, , .

O f the God O f Sinai it was issued The tribes rall ied .

to the aid O f Jehovah and his curse rested upon those

,

who fa i led to re spond From Jehovah came the vic .

”
tory whi ch in Hebrew i s always called de liverance .

A lmost e very verse O f that stirring Ol d national song

proclaims that the trib e s who together styled them
”
s e lves Israel E l fi ghts or does battle were the ,

people of Jehova h and regarded hi m as their present

,

Leader Deli verer and Counsellor The faith O f a na

, , .

tion is not the growth O f a moment nor even O f a gen

er a tio n ; nor do mere c i rcumstances beget a spiritual
r e ligion O rdinarily a knowledge O f the character and
.

purpose of the Divine is imparted to men through

human personality In this way the other great reli
.

gio ns of the world have arisen and the Hebrew religion ,

cons titu te d no e xception to the rul e .

3 0 Moses i s commonl y call e d the great law giver

.
“ -

”
O f Israel Thi s s e e ms to have been the least O f his
.

f unctions Pri marily he was a prophet Hosea r e

.
, .
,
 T HE RE L IG I O N O F T HE D E S ER T 41

“
cognizin g thi s fact declares By a prophet Jehovah
, ,
”
brought Israel out O f E gypt It is di ffi cult to deter
.

mine j ust what religious ideas Moses inherited fr om hi s

race The O ld Testament traditions point to a pre
.

Mosaic conception of Jehovah Moses coul d hardl y .

have ralli ed hi s kinsmen in Goshen in the name O f a

God hi therto unk nown to them Union with the
.

tribes of the desert appears to have been easy and nat

ural ; but thi s w o ul d have been utterly impossible
under the con di tions of society existing at that time
unless there was among them a close agreement in
religion O rdinarily the religion O f the Israelites is
.
,

contrasted with the grossly immoral Canaani ti sh cul t

with wh ich th e y were l ater thrown into contact ; but
since the Hebrews came from the desert the g e nesis of ,

th eir faith was entirely di fferent A s our kn owledge .

O f the religion of the primitive A rabs increases strik ,

ing points O f Similarity with that O f the ancient Israel

ites a r e constantly di sclosed It is deeply sign i fi cant
.

that the same terms were employed in each for wor

” ” ” ” ”
O fferi ng
“
s hi p
,
“
sanctuary , feast jubilee
,
“
, ,
” “ ”
“
sacri fi ce, and seer In antiquity among the
.

Semites of the desert the gross s e x -duali s m see m s

to have been un known The arid wastes encouraged
.

s implicity and austerity in religion as w ell as life ;

their migratory habits delivered them from the temp %

t a t i o n O f belie vi ng in a multitude O f loc a l deit ies The .

g o d or gods 1
mu s t accompany the tribes if they are to
be O f any assis tan ce Sometimes he is conceived O f as
.

d welling on some comman di ng peak and coming from ,

thence to succor hi s suppliants ; but or di narily place

is regarded as uni mportant to the god as to hi s wan %

dering w orshippers . The tribe w a s a close corpora ‘

42 A HI S T ORY OF T HE HE B RE W PEO PLE

tion constit utin g a perfect social unit The interest Of .

each indi vidual w a s synonymous with that O f the tribe .

If it was strong each member prospered in secur ity ;

,

i f i t s interes t s demanded the lif e of one O f i t s number ,

that lif e was unhesitatingly given The whole tribe in .

turn was pledged to defe nd its members .

Thi s feeling of absolute tribal unity and dependence

inevitably aro us ed a longing for the aid O f so m e super
natur al bein g , a deity who would give especial heed
to the interests O f the community Thi s one god then .
, ,

be ca m e the sole Object O f the worshi p of a tribe His .

interests were their interests and theirs h i s Since he , .

was not originally a member O f the clan he was made ,

one in the same manner as aliens from another tribe ;

namely by the covenant Between man and man this
, .

meant at fi rst an interchange O f each other s bloo d ’

,

attended by suitable rites In time animal blood wine .

, ,

or food was substitute d Since the god was not pres

.

ent in person the rite was necessarily mo di fi ed but the

, ,

content was the same By the covenant he became a

.

part O f the tribe From time to time this covenant

.

w as renewed In a sense each O ffering to the di vin i ty

.
,

was a sym bol of union and communion Th is type O f .

tribal organization gave a strong impe t us to the wor

ship O f one god and doubtless explains what has been
,

O ften sty led the Semitic tendency to monothe i sm .

When a powerful trib e absorbed aliens or other tribe s ,

the god O f the fir st tribe was necessarily accepted as the

god O f all ; and thus a tribal deity was exalted to
the position of a national god Probably this was the .

origin O f t h e monolatry which existe d among the E dom

ites Moabites and A mmonites who had p a ssed over
, ,

from the desert to a settled abode at some period

 W OR K OF ISRA EL S
’
G RE AT LE A D ER 43

precedent to the appearanc e O f the H e brews in Canaan .

The r e lati ons of e ach O f the s e nations to its god were

most intimate The Moabit e s for i n stance as the
.
,

Moabite stone demonstrates called th e mselves the “

,
”
p e ople O f Chemosh their god In the name O f Che
, .

mosh they made war Whe n he was angry with h i s

.

people he sent defeat and captivity ; when vi cto ry

,

came it was from Chemosh and to him were de di cated

, ,

t h e fruits O f success He was worshipped with sacri

.

fi c e and O fferings in much the same way as the H e

brews worshi pped Jehovah .

T he se familiar facts suggest the nature O f the reli

g i o u s concepts and customs which were the heritage O f

M oses from t h e Semitic past Like the prophe t s who .

succeeded hi m he built upon the revelation already

,

vouchsafed The sad con di tion Of his brethr en in

.

Goshen awakened his patriotism as well as his symp a

thy The crisis demanded a prophet who could stir
.

men A ppealing to their religious memories and i n

.

s tincts which had been rendered dormant in the lotus

,

land of E gypt and to their love O f freedom whi ch is

,

such a passion with noma ds he was able to arous e ,

them A S they turned their faces toward their Ol d

.

homes they were little more than a di sorganized body

,

O f fugitives ; but a P ower hi gher than Moses was

w orking with hi m The remarkable circumstances

.

O f the exodus made an indelible impression upon the

Israelites Jehovah their God had revealed hi mself as

.
, ,

a God able and re ady to succor his people These acts .

of deli verance whi ch clearly i ndicated the attitude of

,

Jehovah to his p e ople fur nished a fi tting introduction

,
~

to t h e covenant at Sinai There at t h e mount whi ch .

,

was then and even down to the days Of Elijah conti nued
,
44 A HISTORY O F T H E HE B RE W PEO PL E

to be regarded a s the especial abode O f J e hovah the

, ,
’
bond was e stablished whi ch made Isra e l J e hovah s p e
c u li a r people ; and Jehova h who perhaps be fore had ,
’
be e n but the God of a tribe became Israel s Leade r , ,

Couns e llor D efender and Deliverer Naturally and

, , .

’
rightly Mos e s was received by the people as Jehovah s
,
’
r e pres e ntative His words were Jehovah s m e ssage to
.

them A S he led them in their wilderness wandering

.
,

th ey felt themselves under the direct guidance O f their

God ; he attended to the Simple ritual of the desert sanc
t u a r y at Kadesh to hi m as the representative of J e h O
,

vah were referred the more di ffi cult cas e s O f di spute

,

which arose ; hi s decisions had all the weight O f J e h O

’
v a h s authority In th is way h e laid down by practical il
.

lustration the principles of that civil and religious law

whi ch bears hi s name A s these case s multiplied he
.
,

was led to constitute a rude patriarchal tribunal com

posed of the elders of the tribes (E x In thi s .

simple organization is found the germ O f the Hebrew

judicial and executive system .

3 1 Thus Moses was the man who under di vine

.

di rection “
hewed Israel from the rock Subsequent .

prophets and circum stances chiselled the rough bowl

der into sym metrical form but the glory O f the creative ,

act is rightly attribute d to the fi rst great Hebrew

prophet A S a leade r he not only created a nation
.
, ,

but gui ded them through in fi nite vicissitudes to a land

where they might have a settled abode and develop
into a stable pow e r ; in SO doing he left upon hi s race ,

the imprint O f hi s o w n mighty personality A S a .

j udge he set in motion forces whi ch ultimately l e d to

,

the incorporation O f the principles O f right in Obj e ctive

l aws . A S a priest he fi rst gave de fi nite form to the
,
 IN
F LUENCE OF MO SE S 45

w ors hi p Of Jehovah A S a prophet he gathered t o

.
,

gether all that w a s best in the faith O f his age and

race and fusing them gave t o hi s people a living r e
, , ,

li gi o n
. Under his enlighte ned guidance Israel be came
truly and forever the people O f Jehovah Thr ough .

hi m the Divine revealed hi ms e lf to Israe l as th e ir

Deliverer Leader and Counsellor -not afar O ff but
, , , ,

present ; a God powerful and will ing to succor his

people and therefore one to be trusted and loved a s
,

well as feared A s the acorn contains the s t u rdy oak

.

in embryo so the revelation thr ough Moses was the

,

germ whi ch develope d into the message O f Is rael t o

humanity .
 PART II

THE SE T T L EMEN T IN
T HE P R EP A R A T IO N F O R

T H E UNIT E D K IN G D O M
 I

H IST O R ICA L SO U R CE S F O R T HI S P ER IOD

32 . chi ef source O f information respecting the

THE
fi rst period O f Hebrew hi story is the B ook O f Judg e s .

A n examination of this old writing soon di s closes the

fact that it was not cast in its pr e sent form primari ly
“

for the purpose O f recor di ng hi story but rather to

’

t e ach and illustrate spiritual truth Thi s explai ns .

why the early Hebrews recognizing its dominant

,

religious aim classifi e d it under the head O f p r o p h et i

,

cal literature (c f s e ct . The lesson whi ch i ts

.

prophetical au thor was endeavoring t o impress by the

illustrations which h e dr ew from the lore O f hi s nation
is presented in the constantly occurring formul a A n d ,

the c hi ldren O f Israel did t hat whi ch was evil i n the

sight O f Jehovah and the anger of Jehovah was
kindl e d against Israel and he sold them into the
,

hands O f and they serv e d years ; and

the c hi ldr en O f Israel cried unto Jehovah and he ,

raised up unto them a savior and the land had

,

rest years The exploits of each O f t h e greate r

.

judges are introduc e d in this manner These formul as .

,

therefore a r e the framework into which the earlier

,

narratives that constitute the body of the book are

fi tted Naturally the portions Of chi ef importance to
.

the stu dent O f Hebrew hi story are the ancient records

49
50 A HIS T ORY OF THE HE BR E W P EOPLE

thus preserved Moreover the i r value is greatly e n

.
,

hanced because the prophetic writers have not recast ,

b u t instead in most cases have transcribed them ver

, ,
~

batim from the earlier sources addi ng only such intro ,

d u c t o r y m atter as see m e d to be necessary for their

purpos e A lthough these extracts are broken and
.

incomplet e and sometimes fi t awkwar dl y into their

,

stereotyped setting they giv e true gli mpses into the

,

con di tions whi ch existed in that early period Lit .

e r a r y styl e and contents testify to their antiquity and ,

suggest that they we re co m m i tt e d to writing not long

after t h e e vents whi ch th e y record occurred Con
, , .

s e quently although not nearly so full O f details th e y

, ,

are a far richer fi eld from whi ch to glean hi s t oric facts

than the Book O f Joshua which abounds in the lan ,

guage and ide as of a lat e r age In the latter book .

,

for example conquests and condi tions which were not

,

completely realized until the reigns O f David and Solo

mon are co m pressed into a Space O f about seven years .

SO gr e at is the fores h ortening that in a sense the B ook

O f Joshua in its present form may properly be r e
, ,

gar d e d as an e pito m e O f the history O f the united H e

brew kingdom Just how far in indivi dual cases it
.

presents t h e testi m on y O f authentic tra di tion or the ,

concepts O f a later age respecting thi s early period i s ,

one of the m ost di ffi cult que stions which co n front the

h istorian It is o n e which can be answered only after
.

a care ful study Of its language and ideas in connec ,

tion with the e arly portions O f J u dges and in the light

O f subs e quent con di tions .

33 The B ook o f Judges consists o f (1 ) an i n t r o d u c

.

tion i l —ii 5 ; ( 2) the histo ry O f the Judge s ii 6 —xvi

, . .
, . .

3 1 and ( 3) an appendi x xvii — xxi The Openi ng w ords, . .

 TH E E A R LIES T R EC O R D S 51

Of the introduction A n d it came to pass aft er the

“
,
”
death of Joshua were evide ntly adde d by some late r
,

e di tor O f the book for t h e purpos e O f connecting it as a

s e quel to the Book O f Joshua after whi ch it is placed , .

This is somewhat misleading since the fir st chapter of ,

Judges treats of the same event s and periods as the

B ook O f Joshua Chapter ii also recounts events
. .

whi ch occurred while Joshua was living and tells O f ,

hi s death and b ur ial The materia l preserved in the

.

b—
introduction (Judges i 1 ii 5 ) was e vidently taken . .

from ancient tribal records and she ds an almost con ,

te mporary light upon the settleme n t in Canaan More .

than half the section is d e voted to recounting the

failures of the Hebrews to disposs e ss t h e Canaanites ,

thus presenting a picture in perfect harmony with sub

sequent condi tions It is also inte resting to note that
.

the t estimony O f this section is corroborate d by a series

O f passages scattered thr oug h the B ook of Joshua ,

w hich are loosely connected with the context and

which represent the older strata In such passages .

as Judges i . l o 1 5 and Joshua xv 1 4—1 9 t h e

b—
, .
,

agreement is almost verbatim O n the other hand .

,

Judges i 21 reads
.
“
A n d the children of Benjamin
,

di d not drive out the J eb u s i t e s that inhabited Jeru

salem but the Jebusites dwelt with t h e chil dr en Of
,

Benjam in in Jerusalem unto this day ; whi l e Joshua,

xv 6 3 declares
.
“
A s for the J eb u s i t e s the i n h a b i
,
-
,

tants O f J e rusalem the c hi ldren Of Judah co ul d not

,

dr ive them out but the J e b u s i t es dw e lt with the chi l

,

dr en O f Judah at J e rusalem unto this day A ccord .

ing to both narratives Jebus was not captured until

,

a later period ; but accor di ng to one account it w a s

due to the remi ssness O f the B enjaminites and in t h e ,
52 A HI S T ORY OF TH E HE BR E W PEO PL E

other to that of t h e J u d e a n s The d ifi e r e n c e be twe e n .

Judges i 2 9 and Joshua xvi 1 0 illustrates t h e differ

. .

ent concepts O f the hi story entertain e d by the authors

of the two books A ccor di ng to Judges t h e Canaan .
,

ites are not driven out from Gez e r but retain their ,

independence in the midst Of the Hebrews ; whi le in

Joshua they are represented as being at once reduc e d
to bondage a bondage which we know was fi rst i n
,

stituted in the reign O f Solomon (sect The .

import ant fact to be noted is that the O ldest pass a r

ges in both books clearly state that the tribes of the

north and of the south struggled s e parately for their
te rritory and then at fi rst succeeded o nl y partially in
,

conquering it .

3 4 In the second and great er section Judges ii 6

.
, .

xvi 31 appear the traces O f the work of a later e di tor

.
, ,

whos e language ideas and Spirit are very similar to

, ,

that O f the author O f Deuteronomy Because of this .

fact and to di stinguish him from the other writers

,

whose work is preserv e d in the books Of Judges ,

Samuel and Kings h e is co m monly designated

, ,the
”
D e uteronomic e ditor A characteristic product of .

hi s pen is the recurring formula already referre d to

( s e ct .
— Suffering
; bondage ; penitence ; deliver
ance ; peace The greater part O f the introduction to
.

t h e second section (ii 6 iii 6 ) is also evidently from .

— .

the hand of t h e same writ e r But chapte r ii 6— 9 is . .

r e p e ated almost word for word from Joshua xxiv 2 8 .

,

31 2 9 30
, Chapt e r ii 11— 1 9 pre sents t h e theory of
, . .

t h e Deut e rono m ic editor respecting the period O f the

judg e s Two di fferent reasons are suggested in the
.

passages — ii 2 2 iii 4 and iii 1— 3 — why the Ca

.
, .
, .

n a a n i t e s were not utt e rly e xterminated In t h e fi rst it .

 W O RK OF TH E D EUT ER O NO MIO E D IT OR 53

was that Israel might be teste d to determine whether ,

or not she would ke e p the commandments of Jehovah ;

in the second it was that Sh e m i ght have cons tant pra o
tice in the art O f war These and other indi catio n s .

O f different points O f view are clearly due to the i n

corporation o f material from d fferent so ur ces It is

i .

probable that iii 1—3 whi ch is the O ldest section origi

.
, ,

nally followed immediately after chapter i The work .

of the Deuterono m ic editor is further manifest i n

Judges iii 7— 15 . iv 1—3 ; v
3
, vi 1 7 —10 ; . . .
,

viii. 3 3— 35 ; x 6 1 7 ; xiii 1 ; xv 2 0 ; xvi

.
, . . .

as the recurring phrases and thought pec ul iar to

hi m demonstrate The di fi e r e n c e between hi s con
.

c e p t i o n s and the test imony O f the ancient narratives ,

as might be expected is O ften very great He for , .

,

example conceives O f the judges as ruling over all

,

Israel whi le the Older authorities dis close the fact

,

that their rule was only local A lso the inte ns ely .

religious Spirit which he breathes into this savage age

was not born until the prophets had preached for
g e n e rations .

35 The e arli e r portions Of Judges present some inter

.

esting examples O f parallel narrative The O lder poetical .

record O f the victory over the Canaanites gained un d e r

the leadershi p O f Deborah and Barak pres e rved in ,

chapter v is paralleled by the prose narrative O f chap

.
,

ter iv A lthough evidently transmitted through inde

.

pendent channels and coming fro m different eras both ,

are old and agree in general outlines The late r .

e di tor fi n di ng both incorporated the m and in so doing ,

introduced certain minor di ffe rences In chapter v . .

,

for example Sisera is at t h e head of the combination

,

O f kings (v and his mother is att ended ( v 2 8) b y

. .
54 A HI S TORY OF THE H E BR E W PEO PLE

princesses ; whi le in chapter iv Jabin is the ki ng of .

Canaan reigning at Hazor and Sisera is only hi s gen

,

eral In the poe m it is practically state d that both

.

Deborah and Barak belong to the tribe Of Issachar

‘

( v
. 1 5 ) wh i le accor di n g to the prose narrative Deborah
is O f the tribe of E phraim (iv 5) and Barak from Na p h
.

tali (iv . A ccor di ng to the representation O f v 2 7 .

,

Jael struck down Sis era as he was standing else he ,

woul d not bow and fall and li e at her fe e t ; but

“

iv 2 1 states that Sh e dr ove a tent -p i n thr ough hi s head

.

a s he lay asleep .

3 6 Clear indicat ions O f the presence of two a o

.

counts o f the victory of Gideon ( J e r u bb a a l) over the

Mi di anites are also noticeable B etween verses 3 and .

4 O f chapter viii there is a break . In vii 25 the . .

E phraim i tes are repres e nted as bringi ng the heads O f

the slain Midiani te kings to Gideon beyond Jordan .

But in viii 4 G ideon comes to the Jordan and then

.
,

crosses it for the fi r st time In viii 1 —

. 3 the victory .

has alre ady been won and in the di vision O f the spoil
,

the j ealousy O f the E phr aimites is allayed only by the

conciliatory wor ds O f Gideon A ccor di ng to vii 2 3 . .

and 24 Gideon had raised a huge levy among the

,

trib e s ; but in viii 4 there is no s u ggestion of a great

.

victory Gideon with only three hu n dr ed men is in

.

pursuit of the Mi di anites Furthermore the refusal

.
,

Of the people O f S uccoth and Penu e l ( viii 5 — 9 ) to .

giv e him food i s not at all in keeping with the treat

ment usuall y accorded to a conqu e ror E vidently .
,

viii 4 introduces us into the middl e O f the second

.

narrative ; the fi rst par t has been lost and the facts ,

can b e gleaned only from what remains In many ways .

these two narratives admirably illustrate the di fferences

 E AR LY A ND LAT E NA R R ATI V ES 55

b e tw e e n t h e earlier and later points O f view A ccord .

ing to the testimony of chapter viii Gideon with a lit .

,

tle band O f three hun dr ed (hi s im m ediate retainers the ,

A b i e z e r i t e s whom he has hastily summoned) is in hot

,

pursuit O f two Midian kings A cross the Jordan and .

out upon the great caravan route he follows until he ,

overtakes and captures them Then the reason whi ch .

pro m pted his attack is di sclosed A ccordi ng to the .

confession O f the Midianite kings (verse in one Of

their incursions near Tabor they had Slain hi s two
brothe rs Consequently the relentless law O f blood
.
,

revenge considered by t h e ancient Semites even

more sacred than an Obligation to the deity impelled
this prince Of No rthern Israel to perform the bold act
wh ich brought hi m SO prominently before hi s countr y .

men and subsequently led to hi s election as king .

With the other narrative whi ch is written from the

,

religious point O f view we a r e familiar Thi s r ep r e

, .

sents Gideon as one of the humblest O f all Israel and ,

as acting merely as a passive instrument in the hand

O f Jehovah . T h e great religious truth s whi ch the
prophet sought thereby to teach have become the
poss e ssion O f humanity .

But for the historic purpose the question must b e

raised W hi ch narrative is the Older and consequently
,

pres e nts the hi storical facts ? That the ruder the ,

more natural and the one most in harmony w ith

,

the savage age is the O lder and more exact cannot

be questioned for a moment This conclusion is con.

fi rm e d e ven by a superfi cial examinati on O f the fi rst

na rrative (vi 1— viii . .
Here the Statem e nt s are
som ewhat conflicting . C e rtain verses suggest that
t h e tribes Of Manasseh A sher Zebulon and Naphtali
, , ,
56 A HIS T O R Y OF THE HE B R E W P EO PLE

w ere summ oned by Gideon and r e sponded to hi s call

i n gre at numbers ; but running through the same
s e ction is a s e ri e s O f verses which consiste ntly with
t h e e arlier narrative ( v i ii 4 — 2 1) repres e nt Gideon
. a s

collecting the A b i e z e r i t e s (vi and with them alone .

winning t h e victory (viii whi ch aroused the envy

.

O f t h e warl i k e E phraimites The refe rence in vi 1 . .

viii 3 to the faithf ul thr e e hun dr e d who accompani e d

.

him agr e e s with t h e account of t h e three hun dr ed

r e tainers Of the tribe of A bi e zer with whom accord , ,

ing to viii 4— 24 he attacked the Mi di anites Thus

.
, .

again t h e Older s e ctions Of both accounts are in accord .

The refore it is evident that upon the O lde r narrative

( viii .4 — 21
) the structure of Hebrew hi story must be
re a red The oth e r account may conta in references t o
.

some subsequent victory If its date can be deter .

mined i t also becom es at once a valuable source of

,

i nform ation concern ing the religious thought O f the

late r period from whence it came and whose ideas i t
re flects .

3 7 The thi rd section O f the B ook of Judges chap

.
,

ters xvii — xxi is an appendix recording certai n inci

. .
,

dents i n this period Chapt e rs xvii and xviii te ll of

. . .

the m igration O f t h e Danit e s and O f the e stablishm ent ,

O f t h e sanctuary at Dan T h e system O f morality

.

which thi s section sets forth is exc e e dingly pri mitive .

T h e material doubtless is very O l d Chapter xix l ik e . .

wis e bears the stamp O f antiquity Chapters xx and . .

xxi on t h e contrary abound in ide as peculiar to a very

.

much late r a ge and contain many state ments whi ch

,

it is im possibl e to r e concile with the inform ation fur

n ish e d by the e arlier r e cords T h e k e rn e l of historic .

fact has evi dently grown luxuriantly durin g the long

 O PE NING C HAP TE R S OF I . S AMU E L 57

pe riod O f oral transmission The little B ook of R uth .

also might properly b e include d in this appen di x since ,

through it we are introduced ( although by a write r

living much later) to the primitive life Of this early
epoch .

3 8 The p e riod O f the judges extends to the estab

.

li s h m e n t O f the monarchy Consequently I Samuel .

, .

1 7 whi ch t e lls O f the boyhood O f Samuel the history

—
, ,

O f the sanctuary at Shiloh and the defeat O f the H e ,

brews by the Phi listines is also one O f i t s hi sto rical

,

so ur ces Here again the work of re d action is appar

.

ent In the O ldest section ( iv 1—vi i

. which records . .

the disastrous battle O f A phek and the subsequent

capture Of the A r k by the P hi listines attention is ,

focused upon Northern Israel and the subjects treated ,

are O f national intere st The connection betw e en .

the precedi ng chapters and thi s s e ction is not close .

In the former the theme O f c hi ef interest is t h e

seer Samuel This may well have been added s u b s e
.

quently as an introduction to chapters iv 1—vii 1

, . . .

The shorter passage (ii 2 7 —36 ) was evidently insert e d

.

still later Since it breaks the close connection between

,

ii 2 6 and iii 1 Its language and thought also are

. . .

different and are in the spirit O f the D euteronomic

,

editor whose work appeared in Judges (sect A .

Similar transition is manifest in vii 2 —1 7 T h e events . .

therein recorded are incompatible with what is known

of the Hebrews before and a ft e r this date A S a mat .

ter O f fact t h e Philistine yok e instead O f being com ,

p l e t e ly thrown O ff continued to rest still

, more heavily
upon the a fflicted H ebr e ws The latter remained the .

serfs not t h e maste rs T h e r e ligious tone of the pas

, .

s age and t h e nature of its thought stamp it as the

58 A HI ST ORY OF THE HE BR E W P EO PLE

product O f some late prophe t ic writer Therefore

.

th e se opening chapters O f I Samuel like t h e B ook

.
,

of Judges are composed O f early and late sections

,

loos e ly bound together In reconstructin g the hi s

.

tory the relative age O f the sour ces and the point Of
,

view from whi ch they w ere w ill consta ntly

be considered .
 SETT LE ME NT A ND FINA L LOCA TION OF T H E

H EB R E W T R IB E S

39 . H OW
long the victorious Israelitish tribes r e
mained in their newly acquired possessions on the eas t
Jordan headlands cannot be de fini tely determin ed .

Moses their great leader di ed during thi s period and

, , ,

a new generation came to the front The conquest O f .

the A morite kingdom worked mighty changes in the

character and life O f the wandering tribes who now ,

became agriculturists instead O f nomads A quieter .

mode O f living a settled abode and a su ffi cient me ans

, ,

O f subsistence insured a longer life A great increase .

in the number O f O ffspring which always appears when

,

a noma di c people become agricultural also added rap ,

idly to the numbers O f the Israelites Their lim i ted .

territory soon proved insuffi cient for their needs B e .

hi nd them attacking and constantly pressing in upon

,

them were the A rab tribes from the desert who were
, ,

ever eager for the Spoils if not the toils of the mor e
‘
fruitful lands whi ch had been occupied by their former
companions To pressur e from withi n and without was
.

add e d the temptation presented by the condi tion s in

Canaan ; for just at thi s time the rul e O f the E gyptian s
and Hittit e s had relaxed and each city and tr ib e had
,

ass e rted its independence Palestini an politics wer e a

.

chaotic jumble The strong cities O f the plain were

.

able for centuries to resist foreign invasion ; but t h e

59
60 A HI S T ORY OP THE H E B RE W PEO PLE

less desirable land up among the mountains had not a s

e t been occupied and therefore w a s open to the fi rst
y ,

comer Canaan was by no means an unpromising fi eld

.

for t h e i m m i grant .

4 0 E relong the Hebrews began to cross the Jordan

.
,

just above t h e Dead Se a Jericho the city O f palms .

,

(Deut xxxiv . whi ch was most expos e d to attack

.

from t h e east fir st fe ll into their han ds In the O ld

, .

record in Judge s (i 1 6 ) the Kenites are mentioned a s .

going up with the tribe O f Judah from the city o f

palm trees -
Thi s fact in di cates p e rhaps that the , ,

Kenites un ited with the Israelites in the capture of

Jericho or else had become masters Of it at an earlier
,

date — just as had their kinsmen the Kenizzites of

, , ,

Hebron and Debir A t Gilgal whose name circle .

,

marks it as a sacred place among the ancient Canaan

ite s was deposited the A r k that holy symbol O f J e h O
, ,

va b s presence which dur ing the wil derness wandering

’

had be e n the religious centre and consequently the

common sta ndard O f all the alli e d Hebrew tribes From .

thi s poin t which connected and commanded both the

,

e ast and west the tribe Of Judah accompanied by the

, ,

Simeonite s and their noma di c allies t h e Kenite s (Judges

i
. fi rst went up to conquer for themselves a terri
to r y in south e rn Canaan ( Judges i The account s .

O f th e ir conquest are very meagre Constrained by .

the common danger the petty rulers of the to wns thus ,

m e nac e d unite d under the leade rship of one of their

kings A doni b e zek A t hi s capital town a battle was
,
- .

fought T h e wild e nergy O f a bra ve rude people was

.
,

match e d against t h e e ffe te civilization O f Canaan and ,

t h e form er won t h e day The captur e d king suffered .

the cruelties whi ch the Israelites as well as the othe r ,

TE RRIT O RI A L D I V I SIO N OF C A NA A N AFT ER T H E CO N Q
U E ST .
60 A HIST ORY O E T HE H E B RE W PEO PLE

less desirable land up a m ong the mountains had not a s

y e t been occupi e d and therefore w a s open to the fir st
,

come r Canaan was by no means an un promis ing fi eld

.

for t h e i m m i grant .

4 0 E relong the Hebrews b e gan to cross the Jordan

.
,

j ust above the Dead Se a Jericho the city Of palms .

,

(Deut xxxiv . whi ch was most exposed t o attack

.

from the e ast fi r st fell into their hands In the Ol d

, .

record i n Judges (i 16 ) the Kenite s are mentioned a s .

going up with the tribe of Judah from the city o f

palm-trees Thi s fact indicates perhaps that t h e , ,

Kenites united w ith the Israelites in the captur e O f

Jericho or else had become masters O f it at an earli e r
,

date — just as had the i r ki nsmen the Kenizzites O f

, , ,

H e bron and D ebi r A t Gilgal whose nam e circle.

,

marks it as a sacred place among the ancient Canaan

ites was deposited the A r k that holy symbol of Jeho
, ,

va h s presence whi ch dur ing the wil d e rness wandering

’

had be e n the reli gio us centre and consequently the

common sta ndard O f all the alli e d Hebrew tribes From .

thi s poin t which connected and co m manded both the

,

e ast and west the tribe O f Judah accompa ni ed by the

, ,

Sim e onites and their nomadic allies t h e Ke ni tes (Judges

i
. fi rst went up to conquer for the m selves a terri
tory in south e rn Canaan ( Judges i T h e accounts .

O f th e ir conquest a r e very m e agre Constr ained by .

t h e common dang e r the petty rulers O f the to wns thus,

m enac e d unite d und e r the leadership O f one O f their

kings A doni b e z e k A t hi s capital town a battle was

,
~
.

fought T h e wild energy O f a bra ve rude people was

.
,

matched against t h e e ffe te civilization of Canaan and ,

t h e former won t h e day The captur e d king su ff ered .

the cruelties whi ch the Israelites as well as the othe r ,

TE RRIT O RIA L D I VISIO N O F C A NA A N AF TE R T H E CO N Q
UE ST .
 FOR T UNES O F T HE SO U TH ER N T R IB ES 61

barb arous people with whom they associate d inflicted ,

upon their fallen foes .

The conquests O f the J u d e a n s were only gradual

and partial being con fin ed to the hill country where
,

they could fi ght on more favorable terms The plains .

,

on whi ch chariots and horses could be used remained ,

in the hands Of the Canaanites (Judges i In .

fact it appears that the Hebrews in the south won

,

their land more by alliance and intermarriage with

the A rab peoples dwelling there than by the sword .

They found the Calebites in possession O f Hebron ,

which th e y had wrested from its earlier inhabitants

( Joshua xv Debir . was the Capital O f the tribe
O f O thn iel ( Judges i : 1 2 1 3 ; Joshua xv With‘ ‘

.
,

these local clans as with the Kenites they entered, ,

into the closest relations gradually absorbin g them ,

with their territory These southern tribes probably .

,

like the Israelites had come originally from the desert

, .

In the O lder records their genealogy is traced back to

the E domite s Caleb and O thn iel are spoken O f as son s
.

O f Kenaz (Num xxxii 1 2 ; Joshua xiv 6 1 4 ; Judges

. . .
,

iii 9
.
,The tribe O f Ke naz or the Kenizzites are
mentioned among the early i n habitant s of Canaan
( Gen xv 1 9
.
) side by Side with the Kenites who from
.
,

the fir st affi liated with t h e H e brews In Genesis xxxvi . .

11 15 42 the Kenizzites are reckoned among the E do m

, , ,

ites In this early period they appear as noma di c tr ib e s

.
,

passing over like the Hebre ws from the wandering life

, ,

O f the desert to seek homes in southern Palestine A .

comm on language civilization and aim made their , ,

assimilation especially easy A S a result the blood of .

,

the southern Hebrew trib e s was diluted with m any

foreign element s O n the north als o the str onghold of
.
62 A HIS T ORY OF T HE HE BR E W P EO PLE

Jebus retained its independence down t o the days Of

D avid E xte n di ng westward from J e bus across the
.
,

central plat e au of Palestine was the zone of Ca n a a n i t ,

ish cities , Har heres Gezer A ijalon and Shaalbim

-
, , , ,

whi ch completely cut O ff the southern Israelites from

those O f the north (Judg e s i Hence they were .

obliged to fi ght their battles alon e and to solve their ,

own problems The i r early hi story is as independent

.

O f that O f their northern ki n smen as if the latter had

not existed .

41 From Jerich e the north e rn tribes li kewise went

.
,

up at a subsequent date to secure a home for the m selves

in Canaan Thi s great northern invasion was headed
.

by the house O f Joseph (Judges i whi ch was a c .

companied by the trib e s Of B enjamin Z ebulon Naphtali , , ,

Issachar and A sher A lthough his name is not men

,
.

t i o n e d in the ancient record preserved in Judges i .

,

there is no suffi cient reason for doubting that their

leader was Joshua By stratagem and sudden attack
.

they became masters O f the important Canaanitish

town s of A i and B ethel before the inhabitants Of the ,

land w ere aroused Near the to wn of Gibeon with

.
,

whi ch the Israelites had made a friendly treaty a great ,

battle was fought which gave them possession O f the

,

highl ands O f central E phr aim Th e eleventh chapter .

O f Joshua tells O f another successful battle near the

waters O f M e r Om against the allied Canaanite kings O f

,

t h e north led by Jabin kin g O f Hazor

, If these vic
, .

tories were as great as r e cord e d g e nerations n e v e r t h e ,

less passed befor e the Hebrews became the real maste rs

of the land It is signi fi cant that the ancient narrative
.

in Judges is chiefly occupied in recapitulating the towns

whi ch remained in the han ds O f the Canaanites Su b .
 T HE CA NA A NIT ES IN T H E N ORT H 63

s equent history con fi rms this record A cross the fe r tile .

plain O f E sdr aelon from the Jordan t o the great sea

extended anoth e r zon e O f Canaanitish cities including ,

B eths h e an Taanach Dor Ibleam M e giddo and their

, , , , ,

tributary towns (Judges i wh ich completely sep a

.

rated the tribes O f E phrai m Manasseh and B enjamin , ,

from their more northern kinsmen Scattered through .

the territory of the Israelites north O f the plain O f

E sdraelon occupying the most fertile plains were a
, ,

multitude of strong Canaanitish cities The Hebrew .

immigrants at the beginning Of the period Of the judges

held only a few towns ( Jericho A i B ethel a n d Hebron) , , ,

and the least desirable rocky mountainous regions In , .

addition they were di vided and separate d from one

,

a nother by seemingly impassable barriers .

4 2 When the initial impetus O f the conquest lost

.

i t s force the Canaanites were still masters of the land

, .

Not all at once nor by the sword alone di d the Israel

ites become possessed O f that heritage which was theirs
to win Intermarriage with the Canaanitish peoples
.

became exceedingly common when they fi nally settled

down peaceably Side by side Blood covenants were .

also established between the Israelite s and fr iendly

trib e s The general disintegration Of the Canaani tish
.

peoples fostered thi s process of assimilation W hi le .

th e J u d e a n s in the south were gradually absorbing the

K e nites the Calebites and the J e r a c h m e eli t e s the H e
, ,
‘

brews i n the north were q ing w ith the native p o p u l a

tions there In the Canaanitish to wn Of Shechem for
.
,

example Israeli tes and Canaanites are found living to

,

gether and even sharing t h e sam e temple and no m i nally

,

worshi pping the same god who was Signifi c a ntly call ed
,

“
Baal of the covenant (Judges ix 1 In some .
64 A HI ST ORY OF T HE HE B RE W P EO PL E

parts Of the land Canaani tish in others Israeliti sh ,

influence was the stronger The great problem was .

which would conquer in the end Certain ly the Ca .

n a a n i t es with their superior civilization enjoyed a

, ,

great advantage ; in fact they taught the new-comers ,

a ll that they knew of agricultur e and the arts But .

the problem was not merely a political and social one ;

it was likewise religious Would the Israelites also .

a ccept the religion O f the i r teachers and masters ? The

future of the Hebrew tribes at the begin ni ng O f the
period O f the j u dges was far from bright Never bound .

to gether very closely they were now di vided and busily

,

engaged each in secur ing a place O f abode and in making

a home Insi di ous dangers lurked in their m i ds t and
.
,

formi dable foes without were watchi ng an O pport unity

to assail them Their o wn religi o us concept s and moral
.

standards were by no means the highest A mighty .

and persistent force — a force not human but divine

— was required to evolve a na t ion out O f thi s seem

ing chaos .

43 T h e exact location O f the Hebrew tribes afte r

.

their fi nal settlement in Canaan is not de fi nitely e stab

li s h e d The importance Of these t ribal di visions does
.

not in fact appear to have been ne arly as great as is

, ,

p o pularly suppos ed S impl e addition quickly demon

.

strates that the di vision into twe lve tribes is not exact ,

Since thirteen di stinct trib e s sought a ho m e in Pales

tine Counting the half tribe O f Manasseh which in

.
-
,

size and strength surpassed some entire tr ibes there ,

were fourteen Many s u b -tribes — Such as A bi e zer

.
,

Su p h and Machir — fi gu r e even more pro m inently in

,

Hebrew hi story than certain of t h e small e r general

di visions as for example Simeon and R eube n
, , .
 F A T E OF T HE T RIB ES OF LEVI A ND SIMEON 65

44 In the south the strong tribe O f Judah occupied

.

the central plateau Their territo r y extended from

.

the Dead Se a to the Philistine plain and from Jeb us ,

in the north to the desert on the south Living in .

their mids t and a ffi li a t i n g with them were many from

the scattered tribe O f Levi O n their southern b o r .

ders e xten di ng out into the J u d e a n wilderness were

, ,

settled t h e remnants O f the Simeonites The early .

fortunes O f the tribes of Levi and Simeon are di ml y

suggested in the O l d song preserved in Genesis xlix .

5 7 where they are bitterly conde m ned for their

—
,

tre ache ry and violence Some deed O f p e r fi d y and

.

wantonness is hinted at whi ch aroused the righteous

in di gnation O f their kinsmen
”

Cu r s e d b e t h e i r a n ger , fo r i t w a s fier c e ;
A n d t h e i r wr a t h , fo r i t w a s c rue l .

The punishment fo r th eir crime is als o refer red to in

general terms
I w i ll d i vi d e t h e m i J a c o b n ,

A n d s c a t t e r t h e m i n Is r a e l .

Nowhere in the O ld Testam ent is the e xa ct nature

O f the deed which brought down upon these t w o tribes

their di re retribution revealed unless it be allud e d to ,

in the thi rty-fourth chapter O f Genesis A ccordi ng t o .

t h e representation O f that strange passage the Israelites ,

entered into a close a lliance with the Canaanites dwe ll

ing at Shechem sealing it by intermarriage
, Thus .

t h e two peoples were bound together by the clos e st

and m ost sacred bonds known to t h e Semitic world .

Tre ach e rously taking advantage O f the confi d ence

which these relations inspired Simeon and Levi , ,

with their s w ords came upon the city not fe aring

,

5
66 A HI S T ORY OF T HE HEB RE W P EO PL E

danger and Slew all the males ( Gen xxxiv 2 5) . .

then they proceeded to spoil the city reaping the frui t s ,

O f their duplicity .Thi s de ed as recorded agr ees

, ,

well with the sin darkly shadowed in Genesis xlix .

It call e d forth a cry O f horror from Israel : Simeon

and Levi ye have tr oubled m e to bring me into ill
, ,

O dor among the inhabitants of the land among th e ,

Canaanites and Perizzites (xxxiv With the .

condemnation was closely associated a fear lest the

Canaanites should arise and destroy them all in r e
venge for thi s base crime O f t h e Simeonit es and
Levites The two feelin gs O f in di gnation and fear
.

were thus united in the minds O f t h e Israelites imp e l ,

ling them to leave the i r kinsmen to their fate The .

incensed Canaan i tes wo ul d not be Slow to a c t That .

some such retribution overtook the tribes O f Simeon

and Levi at an early stage in the Hebrew occupation
O f Canaan is in perfect agreement with the passage in

Genesis xlix already referred to and with the li ttle

.
,

that we know O f them In later times The Simeonite s .

,

living on the borders O f the desert gradually reverted ,

to their former noma di c life and were absorbed by the

wand e ring A rabian trib e s so that they soon almost
,

compl e tely di sappeared from H e brew history In the .

ancient annals of the B ook O f Judges wandering ,

L e vites are incidentally mentioned as livi n g among

the di ff e rent tribes (xvii 7 9 1 2 ; xviii 15 3 0 ; x 1x
.
, ,
.
, .

A t thi s e arly dat e they are compl e tely scatt er e d and ,

already t h e te ndency to turn over to th e m t h e charge

of the sanctuari e s and ceremonial rite s is appare nt .

”
45 The
.
“
House of Jos e ph was t h e dominant
ower in the north It includ e d the s t rong tribe s O f
p .

E phraim and Manasseh who occupied the fertile hi ll

,
 L O C ATIO N OR T HE N OR TH ER N T RIB ES 67

country lying south of the plain O f E sdraelon and

xt en d in
g to the Jordan on the east and the coast
plains on the west The B enj aminites were a smaller
.

branch O f these northern tribes who found a hom e ,

in the rugged hi lls which lay be tween E phr aim and

Judah The rich plain O f E sdraelon was O ccupied in
.

time by the tribe O f Issachar while the rolling hills ,

to the north became the possession of the tribe Of

Zebulon The long narrow strip O f land exten di ng
.
,

from the plain O f E sdr aelon to the foot O f the Leba

nons skirting the Jordan was the home of the Naph
, ,

t a li t e s
. The tribe O f A sher settled on the west e rn
Slopes O f that elevated plateau whi ch was known in

later times as Upp er Galilee These nort hern tribes .

were never very strong and the O lder inh abitants O f

,

the land were so fi rmly intrenched that they almost

completely absorbed the H e brew Imm i grants who ,

w e re SO far removed from the heart O f Israel It w a s .

not until that heart began to beat vigoro u sly under

David and to send its pulsations O f national li fe to
,

the extremities that they became in reality an active

,

part O f t h e commonwealth .

46 O n the southwestern slopes O f M ount E phra im

.
,

the Danites who In Judges xviii 11 are styled not a

, .

tribe but a family originally settled The populous

, .

tribe O f E phraim pressed them from behind whil e out ,

on the plain they were o bliged to contest the soil

with the powerful native inhabitan t s The Song of .

Deborah refe rs to the Danites as remaining by the i r

“

”
shi ps ( Judge s v .which indi cates that at that
time th eir territory touch e d the sea But the fir st .

chapter of Judges (v e rses 34 35) states that the ,

A morites forc e d th e m back into the hi ll country a n d ,

68 A HIST ORY OF T HE HE B RE W P EO P LE

also cont inued to occupy the chi ef towns in their te rri

tory — Har-heres A ijalon and Sh a a lb irn The term
, , , .

A morites seems t o have b e en loosely appli ed to t h e

native i n habitant s O f t h e land Probably the foes O f .

the Danite s were the P hi listines whose power w a s ,

in the ascendency during the latter part of the period O f

the judges The sevente enth and eighte enth chapters
.

of Judges contain a very O l d and authentic narrative ,

whi ch throws light upon the subsequent hi story of the

Danites and at the same time ill u strates the e xp er i
,

e n c es of the Hebrews in acquiring a place O f abode .

Fin di ng their quarters to o narrow they sought a home ,

elsewhere In their search th e y had the sympathy O f

.

the other tr ibes The fi ve men s e nt out as Spies con

.

sult fi rst the priest O f a certain E phr aimite concerning

the next step in their h istory ; then the y proc e ed up
the Jordan valley until at the foot O f Mount Hermon
,

they fi n d a retired spot occupied by a peacef ul Pho e

n ic ia n colony far removed from the parent state
, .

When they report to their tr ibesmen six hun dr ed ,

warriors set out at once ; on the way they steal the

priest O f the E phr aimite and h is religious parapher
nalia The Phoenician city falls an easy prey to their
.

arms It s name is changed to Dan and a tribal sanc

.
,

t u a r y is e stablished over which the stolen priest pre

,

sides Thi s henc e fort h b e ca m e the real home O f t h e

.

Dani t e s ; if any remained in the south they were too ,

few and insignifi cant to fi gure in subsequent hi s to r y .

In D e u t eronomy xxxiii 2 2 Dan is refe rre d to as a

.
,
”
“
lion s whelp that l e a p e t h forth from Bashan
’
B eing .

r e move d fro m t h e r e st of t h e tribes and at the sam e

time exposed to attack from northern invaders they ,

w ere O f te n called upon to defend themselves The .

 TERR IT ORY O F T HE E A S T-J OR DA N T RIB ES 69

forty-ninth chapter O f Genesis already quote d de ,

scribe s Dan as a s e rpent in the way and as an adder

’
in the path that biteth the horse s he e ls SO that his
,

rider falleth backwards (verse — indicating the

character of the guerilla warfare to which they were

obliged to resort and in which they became adept .

4 7 O n the elevated plateaus O f Gilead in the east

.

Jordan territory certain of the Manassite clans found

,

a home Th e ir most prominent family that O f Ma

.
,

chir sent re presentatives to support t h e common

,

Hebrew cause in the grand rally under Deborah and

Barak ( Judg e s v Their territory was productive
.

and their numbers great ; SO that although separated

from their tribe sme n in Canaan and surrounded by
hostile n e ighbors the y succeeded in maintaining th e i r
,

independence by their swords Farther south b e

.
,

tween the Jordan and the territory O f t h e A mmonites ,

were located the Gadites A ccording to Numbers xxxii . .

34— 36 their territory extended southward to the A r

,

non the bou n dary O f Moab in the time O f Hebrew

,

supremacy The cities attributed to the R eubenites

.

( Num xxxii
. 3 7 38 ) were
.
,l o cated immediately east of
the northern end O f the Dead Se a and therefore withi n ,

the limi t s O f Gad A ll the biblical references indi

.

cate the weakness Of th e R eubenites A t the time .

when the Israelites rallied to thr ow Off the Canaanitish

yoke although they recogni zed their O bligation to r e
,

spon d th e y sat like cowards among their Sheepfolds

,

( Judges v 1 5 . The , O l d song preserved in Deuter

onom
y xxxiii reads ( verse
. 6 )
Le t R e b e l i v e a n d d i e n o t ;
u n

Ye t le t hi s n u m b e r s b e few .
70 A HI S T ORY OF T H E H E B RE W P EO PLE

Few they c e rtainly were little more than a clan O f the ,

Ga di tes Before the e stablishment of the kingdom it

.

is di ffi cult to determine where they made their hom e ;

and although t h e Moabite stone records the conquest
by the Moabites of the cities assigned in Numbers to
the R eubenites it makes no reference to their existence
, .

Like the Sime onites they seem to have reverted to ,

their former noma di c life or else to have be e n a h ,

sorbed by the neighboring clans The Gadi tes how .

,

ever maintain e d themselves a t least in the northern

, ,

part O f their territory and gai ned a reputa tion for ,

their fi erce courage :

G a d a m a r a u d i n g b a n d Sh a ll p r e s s u p o n h i m ;
,

B u t h e s h a ll p r e s s u p o n t h e i r h e e l 1 .

B le s s e d b e h e t h a t en a r l get h Ga d
H e d w e ll et h a s a li o n e s s ,

A n d t e a r et h t h e a rm , ye a , the c ro wn o f t he he a d .
2

These sententious allusions tell the story O f the long

intermitte nt war which was the price at which t h e
Ga di tes retained their homes and lan ds .

1 Ge n . x li x . 19 .
2 D en t . xxx iii . 20 .
 HE B R E W CH A MP IONS A ND W A R S OF L V
D E I ER A N CE

48 . Deuteronomic editor of the book which is

TH E ,

t h e gr e at historical so ur ce for this period seems to ,

conceive O f the judges as ruling over all the tribes ,

and follow ing o n e another in r e gular succ e ssion It is .

O bvious that un d e r the e xisti ng con di tions such unity

O f action was un known in reality impossible The

, .

united testimony O f the earli er narratives corroborates

thi s conclus ion The conception Of the Deuterono m i c
.

e di tor was the resul t O f the natural tendency to read

back into thi s formative pioneer period the condi t ions
,

of his own tim e when the rul e and regul ar succ e ssion
,

O f the kings was e stablished The judges were b e got .

ten by t h e necessities O f their age and envir on m ent .

A common danger — most frequently an invasion

thr eatened a town or tribe A t such a critical mome nt .

as this some man O f superior cour age energy or wis

, , ,

dom arose and rall ying hi s trib e smen led the m out to
,

victory Having thus demonstrated hi s abili ty to act

.

and command he was n a turally re garded as their de

,

l i v e r er and head His authori t y was d e rived from no

.

constitution but was voluntarily delegated by the

,

people under the pressure of a common need A S a . .

resul t hi s power was sometimes very slight ; and in

,

other cases it approximate d to that of a m i litary di c

tator In that tur bulent chaotic w orld d i fl er en c e s
.
,
72 A HIS T ORY OF T H E H E B RE W PEO PL E

frequently arose be t w een in d ivi duals and clans which ,

under the dominance of the relentless laws of blood

revenge led to the most di sastrous cons equences The .

need O f some arbit e r whose wisdom and authority both

parties could trust was str o ngly felt Hence as a mere .
,

incident Of the Situation such c a ses as these were

,

fr equently referred for decision to the victor ious cham

pion Thi s fact probably led later writers to u s e t h e
.

te rm judge (s kop ka t ) to designate these local c hi ef

“

”
tains. Deliverer or saviour the appellation found ,

in the ancient narratives descr ibes much more accu

,

r a t el
y their character and fun ctions Their r ule usu .

ally was confi ned to a small territory In some cases .

it was lim i ted to a local clan and at most it di d not,

extend beyond thr ee or four tribes associated togethe r

by virtue Of location or common danger any political
organization which they may have formed di s solved at
their death R especting some of these champions
.
,

little more than the remembrance O f their name h a s

been preserved In the south E hud was the deliverer
.
,

from Moabite incursion ; Samson and Shamgar were

leaders against the Philistines A mong the northern .

and central t ribes living probably in part conte m po

,

rau c ous ly with the heroes O f the south were Deborah , ,

Barak and Tola O f the tribe O f Issachar and Gideon

, ,

the Manassite A mong the deliverers O f the eas t

.

Jordan tribes were the two Gilea di tes Jair and Jeph ,

thah Undoubtedl y there were man y others who were

.

a s pro m i nent as some of those whose names have been

preserved by the a s light pictures O f the B ook O f

fl h -

Judges .

49 T h e w ork O f some O f these champion s w a s very

.

ephe m eral P r o eminently is thi s tr ue of that Of Sa m

- .
 SA M SON A ND E HU D 73

son . There are too many local touches reflectin g the ,

peculiariti e s O f the rocky h e adlan ds O f we ste rn Judah

and O f the period to which he is assigned to allow one ,

to fi n d in the traditions which have gathered about the

name O f this O ld h e ro merely localized sun myths It
- .

would be strange inde e d if many later accretions had

not partially enveloped him in mist ; but even these
are of value Since they reveal the i m pressions whi ch
,

his personality made upon later generations In thi s .

di m light it is clear that he was a characteristic prod

u c t O f his age Impetuous wily vindictive ruled by
.
, , ,

hi s passions he was a physical giant but a moral weak

,

ling The blows which he struck against the foes O f

.

hi s country we re t h e b lows O f a child imp ul sive and ,

without the p e rsist e nt character which is the index O f

a lofty purpose His d e eds O f stre ngth and daring
.

made a deep i m pr e ssion upon an age whi ch wor

shipped brute force ; b u t as a result Of hi s life-work
his kinsmen were no nearer d eli v er a n c e fr o m Philistine
i n cursions .

5 0 The activity O f E hud the Benjam i nite was far

.

more fruitful While the Israelites and Moabites a l

.

ways re cognized the i r kinshi p this never deterred either ,

from invading the territory O f the other as occasion

o ffered When the tide O f imm igration sw e pt across
.

the Jordan and up over the central plateau O f Palestine ,

it left the e astern outposts exposed E ach tribe and .

family intent upon subduing their own land found no

, ,

time for wars O f common defe nce Thi s oppor t un ity .

under an energetic leade r E glon the Moabite s i m ,

proved s e izing the not easily de fended city Of Jericho

, ,

and laying t ribute upon the adjacent ter ritory Then .

it was that E hud one of the Is raelitish Chiefta ins gai n

, ,
74 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HE B RE W PEO PL E

ing an audi ence with the Moabite ki ng treacher ous ly ,

Slew hi m E scaping h e summoned the E phr aimites and

.
,

succeeded in dr iving the Moabites back to the east O f

the Jordan — thus secur ing deliveranc e for the Israel
,

ites whose territory had been menaced Throughout

, .

the remainder O f the period O f the judges the tribes O f

the south do not again emerge into pro m i nence Hav .

ing absorbed the strongest local clans they were more ,

completely masters O f the land than those O f the north ;

at the same time the str ength O f the common bond
,

whi ch bound them together was weakened A S has .

bee n note d natur al and political barriers also separate d

,

them from their north e rn ki n smen and shut them in t o

%

themselves Hence the d ivision be t w een the tribes O f

.

the north and south took de fini te form with the settle
ment in Canaan .

51 In the north a ll the energy of the Israelites was

.
,

devote d to conquering the uplands whi ch had fall en to

their lot Meantime the strong independent Canaan
.
,

i ti s h cities on the plain of E sdr aelon and in the north

were united under a ki ng by the name O f Sisera He .

in troduced a systemati c policy of repression whereby ,

he sought to separate and subdue the scattered Hebrew

immigrants O ne by one they were di sarmed and s u b
.

jugated In t h e language O f that song whi ch is the

.

O ldest a n d most authentic record concerni ng this early

period ,

In t h e d a ys O f J a e l t h e h i gh w a ys w e r e i n d i s us e ,

A n d t h e t a v e ll e r s w a l ke d t h o u gh b yp a t hs
r r

T h e vi ll a g es i n Is r a e l w e r e u n o c c p i e d 1 u .

Delibe ra t e misgovernment was reducing the land to i ts

primitive desolation Subjugation to the Can a a n ite s .

1 Ju d es v 6 7
g .
,
.
 T HE CRISIS IN N OR THER N ISRA EL 75

also meant in time the universal dominance Of their r e

li gi o n and consequently the abandonm e nt of the wor
,

ship O f J e hovah A lready in the language O f the O l d

.
,
”
song The people were choosing new go ds
, It was .

an important crisis in Hebrew hi sto ry The deliverer .

was a woman Deborah the prophetess one of the m a

, ,

trons in Israel Sh e was the worthy predecessor O f

.

Samuel ; apparently her religious zeal and Spiritual

,

insight had already secured for her a position O f i n fl u

ence among the Israelites ; her divine enlighten m ent
enabled her to appreciate the real Signifi cance O f t h e
danger whi ch impended So methi ng must be done .
,

and that quickly A ccordingly Sh e calls upon B arak

.
, ,

the son O f A hi noam a prominent chief O f the north

,

who had hi mself experienced the rigors of Canaanite

O ppression ( Judges v to rally the tribes for a
.

struggle Sh e readily accords with B arak s request

.
’

that Sh e c o -operate with him since her heart is toward ,

the leaders O f Israel who O ffe red themselves willingly

”
among t h e people (Judges v C ommon kinshi p .

is not the strongest bond uniting the Israeli tes since ,

th e y had already freely i ntermarried with the Ca

n a a n i t e s ; it is rather their common faith in Jehovah .

The name O f Jehovah sto od for national li be rty ; he

had delivered them from E gypt ; the covenant with
him had held together t h e t ribes during the long
desert wandering Now in the name of Jehovah Deb
.
, ,

orah and Barak arouse the Hebrews to united action :

H ea r,O ye ki n gs gi ve ea r , 0 ye p r In c e s
I, e ve n I, w i ll s i n g un to J e h o va h ;

I w il l Si g p
n ra ise to Je h o va h , t h e Go d Of Is r a e l .

Je h o v a h , w h en t h o u w en t e s t fo r t h o u t o f Se ir ,
W hen th o u m a r c h e ds t o ut O f t h e fi e ld Of Ed o m ,
76 A H IST O R Y OF T H E HE B RE W P EO PLE

T he e a rth tr em b le d ,
th e hea v en s a ls o d r o p p e d ,
Ye a ,
the C lo u d s d r o p p e d w a t er .

T he m o un ta i n s q u a k e d a t t h e p r es e n c e O f e h o va h , J
Eve n yo n Si n a i a t t h e p r es e n c e O f e h o va h , t h e G o d J of Is r a e l1
.

The tribes O f E phraim Manasseh Benjamin Z ebul on , , , ,

Issachar N a p h t a li and t h e e a s t o r d a n clan O f Machir

, ,

r e spond to the rallying cry O f D eborah and Barak .

Forty thousand in all came up to the help O f Jehovah

against the m i ghty The R eube ni tes and Gilea di tes
.

recogniz e the call to duty but they hesitate until their ,

cou rage fails them Dan and A sher having caught the
.
,

Spirit O f th e ir n e ighbors the Ph oenicians are sel fi s hl y ,

int e nt upon commerce only Judah and Simeon are .

not e ven m e ntioned am ong the Isra e litish tribes .

5 2 Th e So ng of Deborah with a few bold fresco

.
,

strok e s paints the battle-scene The Canaani tish army

,
.

is dr awn up on the plain of E sdraelon northeast O f ,

Mount Carmel near the lower waters O f the Kishon

, .

The advantage of the position is all with them since ,

near by are their strong citi e s and here their chariots

can b e used most e ffectively The Hebrew army a c .
,

cordi ng to the prose narrative fir st rally near Mount ,

Tabor ; thence they march southward out upon the

gr e at plain A gainst the w e ll-equippe d and disciplined
.

host O f t h e Canaanites rush the Israelitish peasants ,

i m pelled by the religious zeal and patriotic enthusiasm

whi ch h a d been kin dl ed by t h e inspired proph etess of
J e hovah The re fere nces to t h e stars fi ght ing in their
.

cours e s against Sisera and the flooded Kishon inte r ,

r e t e d from poetry into prose suggest a sudd e n and

p ,

h e avy rainfall This would qui ckly render the plain

.

whi ch is level and in consequence O f the natu re Of t h e

,

1 J u d ges v . 3 —5 .
 O E R T HR O W OF T H E CA NAANITE S
V 77

soil ve r y susceptible to rain — too muddy for the m a

“
n oeu v r i n of chariots The stamping f the horses ’
O
g .

”
hoofs and the plunging O f their strong one s which ,

are reflected in the Old poem confi rm this conclusion , .

Such a storm SO fatal to the Canaa n i tish cause and SO

,

favorable to that Of the Hebrews would by the contest ,

ants b e recognized as a direct intervention of Israel s ’

Go d . The experience of the exodus is renewed ; J c

hovah is manifesting himself with might to deliver hi s
people The Hebrew peasants are inspired with an
.

irresistible co ur age whi le the ir foes are dismayed and

,

terri fi ed Into the flooded Kishon the Shatt ered rem

.

nants O f the Canaanitish army are dr iven to be carried ,

away by its muddy waters A mong the few who escape .

is their l e ad e r Sisera Unattended h e fl e es northward

, .
,

until he reaches the tent Of one O f those wande ring

K e nites who had assimilated so readily with the Israel
ite s Trusting to the laws of treaty and hospitality he
.
,

enters and se e ks refuge ; but his trust is misplaced By .

the hand O f Jael the wife Of the Kenite whose tent h e

,

has entered he falls Thus in the eyes O f the Se mitic

,
.

world the superlative O f ign om iny is heaped upon the

oppressor O f the Hebrews .

5 3 The results O f this sweeping victory wer e far

.

r e aching In northern Israelitish history it was the

.

gr e at war O f independence Instead O f the galling .

yoke O f Canaanitish bondage the tribes of the north ,

secured freedom ; the serfs s u dde nly became the mas

ters The power O f the Canaanites was forever broken
.
,

and the territory O f central Palestine was thrown op e n

to the i m migrants A bove all the Hebrews had l e arned
.
,

t h e all-important lesson that union m e ant deliverance

and the mastery over their foes The i mportance of .
 A HIST OR Y OF T H E HEB R EW P EOPLE

that bond whi ch had un i ted them t h e common faith in

,

Jehovah their God was realiz e d as never before It

, .

was there fore a religious as well as a political victory

, , .

Jehovah by thi s act again revealed hi ms elf to hi s people

as a God able and will ing to delive r Co n sequently
.
,

h e continued to command their trust even though SO

many circums tances conspired to shake it .
 IV

O R IG IN A ND HI STO R Y O F T H E KING D O M

OF G IDE O N

54 T H E
. and the common danger averted
vi c t o r y w o n ,

t h e Israelites went back to their homes B arak and .

Deborah in time passed away and no leader or organi ,

z a t i o n bound the tribes together A fter the conquest .

of the strong cities on the plain of E sdr aelon its broad ,

fi elds were left exposed A wide valley l e a ds up to it

.

from the Jordan and the desert beyond A S the .

seasons rolled around they brought from the great

A rabian desert marau di ng bands of the Mi di anites bent ,

upon reaping the products O f these frui tful fi elds Ill .

organized e fforts to defend their possessions gave little

relief to the Hebrews from their ruthl ess wi ly foes ,
.

By degrees they were di sarmed and reduced to a most

galling serfdom ; they bega n to realize that they had
only exchanged the Canaanitish for the Midianite yoke .

A gain they sighed for a delivere r A seeming acci .

dent called him forth In one of their plundering .

forays a band of the M i di anites penetrat e d to the

,

vicinity Of Mount Tabor to the north O f E s draelon ; _

the re they were resisted by men of the sub tribe of -

A biezer In the skirmish som e O f the Hebre ws we re

.

Slain . A mong oth e rs were the broth e rs of a c e rtain

J er u b b a a l b e tter known to later generations as Gideon
,

( The
“
The sacred law of blood re v e nge -

imperatively commanded him to avenge thi s deed .

79
80 A H IST OR Y OF T H E HEB R EW PEOPLE

Gathe ring a small band three hundred O f his hous e

,

h o ld retain e rs h e s e t out to ove rtak e the maraude r s

,

and slay t h e princes whos e hands had b e e n staine d

’
with hi s brothe rs blood Dire ctly e astward from th e ir
.

home at O phr ah the y hastened down to t h e Jordan and

across it in hot pursuit Faint and hun gry the y .
,

de manded food from the inhabitants of Succoth and

Penuel Fear O f the Mi di ani te s le d the elders O f the se
.

Israelitish towns to refuse to th e ir kins m en the needed

s uccor With a vow to take veng e ance upon them on hi s
.

return Gideon and his littl e band hurried onward upon

,

the great desert highway Not susp e cting pursuit the .

,

M idi ani t es were not on their guard The brave few .

fell upon them unexpec te dl y and putting the band to ,

’
flight cap t ured their two princes Gideon s fi rst act .

was t o take summar y vengeance upon the i n h o s p i

table towns O f Succoth and Penuel ; then he was at
liberty to a ccomplish that deed for whi ch he set out
upon his bold expe di tion Unhesitatingly the t w o Mid
.
,

i a n i t e kings who had been captur e d de clare in ans wer

to hi s question that near Mount Tabor they Sl e w cer
tain Hebrews who re sembl e d the ir captor Whether .

or not they suspected that they were speaking to t h e

brother of th e ir victims is not clear but the i r words are ,

th e ir conde mnation ; the law of blood revenge demanded

-

’
the ir blood to avenge that of Gideon s murdere d
’
brothers W h en notwiths tanding hi s fathe r s com
.
,

mand the youthful son O f Gideon hesitated to smite

,

the Mi di anite chiefs the prince O f the A b i e ze r i t e s

,

relentlessly cut them down and his sacred Obligation ,

was ful fi ll e d .

55 O n Gid e on s return as vi ctor to O phrah t h e Isra e l

’
.
,

ite s O f c e nt ral Canaan recognized in h i m the deliv e re r

 G ID EON S K INGD O M EST AB LISHE D 81
’

fo r whom they had eagerly longed They bega n also to .

appreciate the di sadvantages O f the intermittent rul e

of the judg e s and accordingly said to him
,
“
R ule ,

thou over us both thou and t hy son and thy son s

, ,
’

”
son also . Thus Simply and naturally was the idea
of t h e kingship introduced into Hebrew life A ccord .

ing to t h e narrative the conquering h e ro modestly

,

r e fus e d their O ffe r ; but acts speak louder tha n wor ds

in the past as well as the present With the gold Of .

the spoils capture d from the Mi di anites he proceeded ,

at once to make an ephod Thi s image overlaid with

.
,

gold he set up at his home and futur e capital O phr ah

, , ,

thereby making thi s the religious as well as the politi

c a l c e n t r e of the ki n n m whi ch he forthwith established .

Like Solomon and J e r o b o a m I in later times he .

,

doubtless sought by this means to rally about hi s

throne the religious zeal as well as the pat riotism O f
hi s followers and thus insure its stability
, R eligion .
,

as we have seen was even at this time a stronger bond

,

than common ancestry A lthough it w a s censured

.

’
severely by later prophets Gideon s age regarded ,

thi s act as most natur al a nd wi se His own tribe O f .

Manasseh was the nucleus of hi s kingdom ; it also

included E phr aim to the south and a few towns across
the Jordan ; its northern bo un daries surely di d not , ,

exte nd far beyond the plain O f E sdraelon R especting .

the life Of thi s incipient Hebrew nati on un der the rule

O f Gideon the Bible narrative is silent un l ess Judges
, ,

vi and vii contain d istant reflections O f subsequent

. .

conflicts with those desert invaders the M i di ani tes It ,

.

is certain that at thi s period their power was SO com e

p l e t e l y broken that they never again became a serious

m en a c e t o the independence O f the Hebrews .

6
82 A H IST O R Y OF T HE H EB R EW P EO PLE

56 Throughout Israelitish hi story many Of the

.

worst evils that have a fflicted the state proceeded from

the harem B ecause of its baneful influences the firs t
.

Hebrew kingdom came to ruin three years after the

death O f its founder A mong hi s many wives Gideon
.

had taken perhaps for the purpose of consolidating his

kingdom On e of the Canaanitish women of the half
Israelitish town O f Shechem The son by thi s mar
.

riage A bim e lech after hi s father s death went to his

, ,
’

mother s kinsm e n at Shechem and persuaded them to

’
,

aid hi m in seizing the thr one From the te mple O f .

Baal berith B aal O f the covenant they took seventy

-

pieces O f silver and gave to the young adventurer .

With these he hi red kindr ed Spir its and going to ,

O phrah ruthlessly Slew his seventy brothers O nly one .

,

Jotham es c aped the wholesale murder R eturning to

, .

Shechem A bimelech was crowned king by his kins

,

men The words of truth and warning whi ch Jotham

.
,

hi s broth e r and t h e rightful heir of Gideon uttered as ,

h e stood on the heights O f G e r a zi m fell upon deaf ear s .

The Shechemites both Hebrews and Canaanites pre

, ,

ferred to put their tru st in the Shadow of the bram

”
ble . But they pro fi ted little by their evil course ;
A bim e lech made hi s capital elsewhere and ruled ,

Shechem thr ough his governor Z e bul This act soon

, .

aroused the di ssatisfaction O f the Canaanitish element

in the city Certain of them turned hi ghway robbers
.
,

and plundered the agents O f t h e king Finally the .

,

Spir it O f revolt found a l e ader in Gaal the son O f

E bed and at the annual harvest feast it blazed into

,

a flame O f de fi ance agai nst th e ir hal f-Israelitish king .

A t last t h e message O f his governor brought A bimelech

with an army ; an ambuscade dr ew forth the rebel with
 END OF T HE F IRST H EB R EW K INGD O M 83

hi s followers a n d they were compelled to flee from the

,

city Having tasted blood A bimelech was merciless

.
,

in taking vengeance upon the Shechemites ; the people

were slaughtered in great numbers and under A bime ,
’
lech s di rection the fort ress connected with the temple
O f El-berith in which the Canaanites took refu ge was
, ,

burned with i t s occupants

, in all about one tho us and
,

men and women The tyranny of Gi d eon s unworthy

.
’

son stirred up repeated revolts among the cities O f

Israel A t last in the siege O f the citadel of Thebez a
.
,

to w n east O f Shechem thi s monster O f cruelty met a most

,

ignominious death being struck on the head by a mill

,

stone thrown by a woman Thus thr ough the utter .

ine ffi ciency a n d w icke dn ess O f A bimelech the fi rst

.

Hebrew kingdom came to an inglorious end It clearly .

demonstrated the dangers and evils of the kings hip

at the same time it illustrated its advantages O nly .

by union under such a permanent orga ni zation a s the

kingship insured could the national li f e and i n d e p e n
,

den ce O f the Israelitish tribes be att ained Later .

,

therefore when the need b ecame imperative the elec

, ,

tion of a king w a s not the n ew and unheard-O f e x p e r i

ment that it is O ften imagined to have been A lready .

t h e idea had taken root during the t urb ul ent peri o d

o f the j ud e s
g .
 V

THE P HI LIST INE YO K E

57 . IT
is impossible to determine with cert ainty the
chr onology O f events in Hebrew history b e fore the days
O f David The ancient narr atives contain no chrono
.

logical data T h e notices contained in the books of

.

J udges and Samuel respecting the duration Of the rule

O f the di fl e r e n t ju d g e s belong to the framework and ,

are th e refore from the hand O f the later e di tor The .

prevalence of the number forty and mul tiples and ,

fractions thereof in di cates that he was obliged to r e

,

sort to conjecture and contented himself with round

,

numbers It is even di ffi cult to determine the exact

.

relation of the events recorded except as certain one s ,

lead up to others .

5 8 The conclu di ng chapter in the his t ory of the

.

period was the subjugation of the Hebrews of the

north by the Philisti nes The stories which have
.

gathered about the name of Samson indi cate th at

from a very early period an intermittent border war -

fare had b e en carried on between the hill and plain

but the ambition O f t h e contestants never suggeste d
more than m ut ual revenge and reprisal A bout the .

middl e of the eleventh century B C however the . .

, ,

P h ilistines b egan to extend their bounda ries The fer .

tile plain where they had settled as immigrants yielded

rich returns for their toils A S they became m a s .

te rs O f their land they reared large O pulent cities

, , ,

84
 T HE P HIL IST INE IN A SION
V 85

encircled with the huge walls which are so n e c e s

sary where Nature has provided no defences Com .

merce whi ch surged up and down the coast plains

, ,

also brought them the prod u cts of the art and culture
O f that age Consequently in civilization a n d wealth
.
,

they were greatly in advance of their neighbors upon

the central plateau of P alestine Al though their polit
.

ical organization crysta llized about fi v e di s t inct cities ,

their un ity seems to have been far more perfect th an

that of the Hebre ws The Danites who had extended
.
,

their settlements out on the plain Of Sharon were ,

driven back by thi s advancing pow er and forced to

seek an abidi ng place elsewhere .

5 9 A study of t he topography of the w estern Slop e

. .

O f the central plateau of Palestine explains at once

why the brunt of the P hi listine attack fell upon the

northern tr ibes The w estern hi ghl ands of Judah are
.

abrupt and cut by only fi ve or six va ll eys which in ,

places are little more than deep rocky ravines almost i m ,

passable for a large army and easily defended by a few

,

m en stationed on the overhanging crags ; the moun

t ains of E phr aim on the o ther hand especially to the ,

north are pierced by a series of broad Shallow valleys

, ,

whi c h lead into the heart of the Israelitish territory

and invite the invader E phraim also with its broad
.
,

acres and varied products Offered far more tempting

,

prey than the rugged hi lls Of Judah Cons equently .

,

when the P h ili stines rallied their forces fo r the con

quest of the Hebre ws they marched up the coast over the
,

plain Of Sharon to A phek whi ch was located probably

,

at the entrance of the plain of Dothan whi ch in tur n ,

opens into E sdr aelon and commands central Canaan .

Warned of their danger t h e Israelitish tr ibes whos e

,
86 A HIST OR Y OF T H E HE B REW PEOPLE

territory was men a c ed rallied and at the entrance of

,

the hill co untry met the Philistine army The Phi lis .

tines with their large host and superior e qui pment

vanqui shed the Hebrews in the fi rst engagement and ,
‘
( accor di ng the O l
o d narrativ e preserved in I Samuel .

iv ) slew four thousand men It was the Ol d trouble

. .

the Israelites were not unite d and had no leader t o ,

rally them ; Gideon and hi s dee ds were only a mem

ory In their extremity remembering how Jehovah
.
,

had delivered them in the battle against the Canaan

ites beside the Kishon they caused the A r k to be
,

brought from Shiloh that Jehovah hi mself might b e

present as their champion The Philistin es fami liar
.
,

with the stories concerning this sacred palla di um of

their foes were at fir st terri fi ed ; but their courage soon
,

conquered their superstitions In the s econd engage

.

ment they ga i ned an overwhelming victory ov e r t h e

Israelites A great nu m ber
. of footme n were
”
slain and the rest fled every man to his tent
, Cen .

tral Canaan was thr ow n open to the conqueror .

6 0 Hebrew hi storians like those of other peoples

.
, ,

are frequently silent respecting their national di sasters ;

but from the scatt ered references it is clear that the
P hi listines foll owed up the ir victory The des t ruction .

of the sanctuary at Shi loh referred to by Jeremiah

( V II 1 2
. 1 4 ;,xxvi 6 ) belongs
. to thi s period P hi l is .

tine garrisons were established thr oughout the land of

Israel even as far as Geba in B enjamin ( I Samuel xiii . .

3,
The galling yoke O f Phi listine bondage reste d
upon the necks of the conquered Hebrews A t the .

disastrous battle Of A phek the A r k also about which ,

gathered those political and religious memories that

were the nation a l pride and inspiration of the tribes ,
 RESUL T S OF T H E D ISA ST ER A T A HEK P 87

fe lI into the hands of the Philistines A ccording to .

the record it brought a long series of calamities upon

,

its captors ; each city to which it was transferred was

a fflicted by a grievous pestilence A t last their priests
.

and di viners were consulted Preparing at their advice

.

fi ve golden tumors and fi v e golden mice as symbols of

the pestilence whi ch had attacked them the y placed ,

these as a guilt -offering with the A r k upon a n e w

cart ; to the cart they fastened two cows never yoked ,

before and turned them loose at the entrance of the

,

valley of Sorek whi ch led up toward t h e land of the

Israelites Contrary to brute instincts the cows left
.
,

their calves be hi nd and dr ew the A r k up the valley

until it rested near the Hebrew to w n of B eth-Shemesh .

To the minds of the Phi listines this was conclusive

proof that the di re pestilence was not a chance that
“

” “ ’
happened to them but Jehovah s hand that smote
,
”
them Ye t even to the B e nj am i nites who received
.

the A r k it imparted the same apparently contagious

di sease Finally it was placed under the charge of
.
,

E leazar the descendant of Eli its former guardian at

,

Shi loh .

6 1 It is Signi fi cant that the A r k whi ch bound the

.

Hebrews to the age and teachi ng of Moses again

emerged into pro m inence at this important epoch ; but
for the time being it was neglected by them A ccord .

ing to the nai ve superstitious thought of that a ge at

, ,

A phek they had placed their trust in Jehovah and h e

had fai led them A S they were ground down un der
.

t h e hated P hi listine bondage the suspicion began

,

naturally to creep into the min ds of many that the

go ds of their masters were superior to their God or ,

e lse that Jehovah had deserted them The danger .

88 A HIST ORY OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE

whi ch thr eatened the future of the H e brew caus e w a s

again not only a political but a religiou s one T h e
.

period of the judges en ds i n darkness ; but condi

t ions were at l a s t ripe and in the m i ds t of t h e
,

general angu is h and di stress a n a ti on w a s ab out t o

b e b orn
.
 VI

SO CIA L A ND L
R E IG IO U S C O NDIT IO NS D UR ING

THE PER IOD O F T H E J UD G E S

62 . popular conception that the call ed period

THE so -

of the judges was altogether one of retrogression can

not b e intelligently maintained A lthough the period .

of childhood of a human be ing is not the most fruitful

either intellectually or spiritually yet without these ,

years spent in making muscles and sin ews the intel ,

lectual and Spiritual development of mature years is

impossible .Thus it was with the Hebrew people .

Without a land a home and the growth in cultur e

, ,

and ideas whi ch came during thi s seemingly chaotic

epoch the Hebrews would never have had a message
,

for humanity It is di ffi cult to measure the progress

.
,

fi rst because it w as internal rather than external ;

,

and second Since we are ignorant of just what was

, ,

the con di tion of the Hebrew tribes when they emerged

from their desert wanderings We do know that they .

were noma ds with the customs and primitive organiza

tion of the modern A rabs The social unit was the .

tribe and the chief wealth and means of subsistenc e

,

consisted in flocks ; but as noma d s they had no per

manent place of abode and consequently little culture
,

and almost no history When they e ntered Canaan

.

they commenced buil di ng permanent hom e s and estab

li s hi n g town s They still retained their flocks but
.
,

t hey began also to cultivate the soil In other wor ds .

,

89
90 A H IST OR Y O F T HE H EB REW PEO PLE

they became agricul t u ris t s with all that thi s import ant
tran sition implies and the raising of grain and the
,

culture of the vi ne were the ir c hi ef occupations Thes e .

th e y learned from the e a r li e r i n h a b i t a n t s the Can a an ,

ites From the same teachers they also acq ui red the
.

simple arts which their primitive life made necessary .

A mong them — as among all peoples in the same stage

of civilization the blacksmith who man u factured ,

their rude weapons and tools occupi e d a position of ,

peculiar honor The workers in potte ry were likewise

.

very essential to th e ir domestic li fe A n y fur ther .

nee ds were supplied directly from the Canaanites or ,

through the medium of trade The i r wants were

.

necessar ily few since they had at their command but

,

limited means for gratifying them .

6 3 The life of the early Israelites w a s that O f

.

pioneers struggling with Nature and adverse circum

,

stances for a livelihood and a home The repeated .

w aves of foreign invasion often swept away the li ttle

that they may have accumulated Their d w ellings .

w ere excee di ngly rude A religious p e ople c o n c e n

.

trate their buildi ng resources upon their sanctuaries ;

but those of the Hebrews at thi s time were of the
simplest kind in many cases little more than a circle
,

of stones ordi narily enclosing a rough altar canopi e d

, ,

by the blue heavens Ye t by degre es as their num

.
,

bers rapidl y in creased by virtue of their more s e ttled

mode of living by exten di ng their boundaries and b e
,

co m i n g possessed o f the soil they were laying the,

foundations for a sturdy national life when once a

satisfactory political organization Should be evolved .

64 A S agriculturis t s they began to live together

.
,

in settled communities for the purpose of society ,

 T RIB A L A ND T O W N O RGA NI%A TIO N 91

trade and mutual protection

, These collections of .

homes grew into villages For refuge in times of in .

va s i o n a citadel was built as at Shechem ( Judges ,

ix 46
. When the town became populous and
rich it was encircled by walls By de grees the primi
,
.

tive patriarchal organization was set aside Tribal .

comm unism was abandoned as soon as the indi viduals

in a clan began to acquire fi elds and houses this pro
cess began immediately on the entrance into Canaan .

The intermarriage with the Canaanites and A rab

tribes also tended inevitably to weaken the tribal bond .

A S communities often made up of alien elemen t s

, ,

came to live together and in time developed into “

villages and cities t he t own organization became the

,

more important and the family and tribal affi nities

,

were forgotte n Frequent reference is made to the

.

”
men of the town as for example when A bimelech
,

attempted to enlist the Shechemites (Judges ix 2 6 .

, ,

2 3 2 6 e t s e q)
, suggesting that m ost matters of public
,

interest were decided by a council inclu di ng all the

free men of a city The details of the regulati on of
.

the larger towns were in the h an ds of an oligarchy ,

self-elected or allowed to rule by common consent

,

b ecause of their superior ability or as t h e representa ,

t i ve s of the lea di ng families These were known as .

the elders of the town The east-Jordan village O f .

Succoth whi ch was one o f moderate Size had seventy

, ,

s e ven such elders ( Judges V III In keeping with .

the manners of the E ast the organization was at the ,

best exceedingly primitive Chance seemed to rule .

and anarchy to b e the result ; but gradually the germ i nal

ideas of government were taking root preparing t h e ,

p e ople for the inau guration o f the monarchy .

92 A H IST OR Y O F T H E H EB R EW PEOPLE

65 The late compil e r of the B ook of Judges being

.
,

a proph e t was principally inte rested in the re ligio u s

,

life of the period ; but living in an age wh e n the

historic perspective was almost un known he u n c o n ,

s c io usl
y r e ad into th i s primitive age the high e r r e

l i gi o u s standards O f his own times The result is th at .

the re ligious conc e pts of the sections whi ch are from

his hands often present the most striking contrasts
with those O f the older narratives yet the evidence of
the latte r whi ch is usually the testimony O f dee ds
,

rather th an word s must of co u rse be followed as our

,

gui de to a knowledge of t h e con di tions and ideas

which actually prevail e d Fur th e rmore the practices
.
,

whi ch are accepted without protest by any age are the

t rue in di ces of i ts ethical and religio u s standards If .

t h e actors be the popular heroes of their day and the i r ,

action be tacitly commended the evidence is conclusive , .

66 The period of the judges is an adm i r able illus

.

t ra t i o n of the great principle of Spiritual as well as

physical development enunciated by the great Teacher ,

“
First the blade then the ear then the full corn in the
, ,
”
ear ( Mark iv . The seed of di vi n e truth sown
by Moses was taking root and the blade was just ,

beginn ing to appear The soil howev e r was rocky

.
, ,

and fi ll e d with thorns ; for the Canaanitish civili z a

tion into whi ch they entere d and which they in part
,

adopted was corrupt and ta int e d with immorality

, .

Murder provided the victim was a public enemy was

, ,

readily condon e d R especting E hud who treacher

.
,

o us ly Slew the king o f Moab t h e narrative declares ,

”
that The Lord raised them up a saviour ( Judge s
“

Sa m son s dee ds of wanton destruction were

’
iii
.

fon dl y cherished in popular remembrance (Judges xv .

 ET HICA L ST A ND A RD S OP T HE A GE 93

4-8 , 15 ; x vi Gideon did not hesitate to revenge

.

the inhospitality Of the cowar dl y elders of Succoth

and Penuel by a wholesale slaughter ev e n though they ,

were his kinsmen The grim law O f blood-revenge

.

w a s the statute which the age recognized and rigor

o u s ly enforc e d The Obligation of a vow was regarded
.

as more binding than the command not to kill A s .

illustration may be cited the story of J ep h t h a h (Judges

,

xi 30 31) and the vow of King Saul whi ch nearly

.
, ,

resulted in the de ath of Jonathan (I Samuel .

6 7 The authority O f might w as more generally

.
‘

acc e pted than th at O f right Foes were barbarously .

tortured (Judges i Micah the E phr aimite di d

.
, ,

not hesitate to steal even from his own moth e r (Judges

xvii . When t h e Danites set out to e stablish a new
colony in the north they deliberately stole the priest
,

of Micah with the e quipment of his Shr ine in retur n

for the wise counsel which their spies had received on
’
their fir st expedition To Micah s just demand that .

they restore his cherished possessions they replied Let ,

not thy voice be heard among us lest angry fellows fall ,

upon you and thou lose thy life with the lives of thy
, ,
”
household The laxity of social morali ty is in di cated
.

by the acts of such representative men as Gideon and

Samson ( Judges viii 3 1 ; xiv 1 2 ; xvi . Ye t the.
, .

l o w practice of the age was due rather to ignorance

than to a deliberate resolve to do wrong ; for whe n the
popular conscience was arous ed by some heinous act ,

as the crime of the men of Gibeah against the travel

ling Levite it gave no uncertain sound Through the
, .

mists of barbari sm the light of a h igher truth was

gradually penetrating ; under i t s fostering influenc e
”
the blade was slowly developing into the ear .
94 A HIST OR Y OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE

68 . Since i t s
fruits were so imperfect we canno t ,

expect to fin d a very hi gh type of reli gion prevailing .

In e xternal form at least there was little to di stin

, ,

guish it from that of t h e Canaanites in whose territory

the Israelites had sett led The A r k was deposite d .

fi rst at Gilgal and later at Sh iloh ; but the latter sanc

,

t u a r y soon Shared the homage O f the Hebrews with

many other local Shr ines situated throughout the land .

A mong these might be mentioned B eersheba Tabor , ,

R amah Mizpah and Penuel

, ,
many of these were
originally held sacred by the Canaanites and were in ,

“
t ur n adopted by the Israelites B ethel ( House of .

as i t s name indi cates had long been a sacred ,

town among the old inhabitan t s The name Gilgal .

means a c i rcle ; and the many towns thus designated ,

scatte red throughout the land of Canaan recall the ,

ancient Baal worship A t Shechem as has already .

,

b een noted the Israelites and Canaanite s had so far

,

united the worshi p of Jehovah and Baal that they

shared a common sanctuar y which they called the
i
,

temple of Baal b rith o

- e r El—be r ith
, Lord of the c o v
”
en a n t Since the term B a a l means Lord or Mas
”
ter it was very easy for t h e Hebrews to apply it to
,

their national God ; that they did SO is further in di ca

ted by the recurrence O f name s containing t h e en di ng
ba a l — as for example J e r u b b a a l Is h b a a l (t h e son of
, ,

Saul ) and M e r i b a a l (the son of Jonathan )

, The north .

ern Israelitish prophet Hosea clearly states that the , ,

practice of calling Jehovah B a a l had continued even

down to his day (H o s e a ii o
.

6 9 In addition to the public sanctuaries private

.
,

families had their own religious establishments The .

hi s t ory of that of M icah the E phr aimite preserved i n , ,

 SA NCT U ARIES A ND R EL IGIOU S CU ST O M S 95

Judges X V II is most instructive The eleven hu ndred

. .

pieces of silver whi ch he had stolen from hi s mother

a n d subsequently returned were de di cated by h e r to

Jehovah ; she accordi ngly gave them to her son in

order that he might make a graven image and a
”
molten image With two hundred of the silver
.

pieces the founder made an image whi ch was set up i n

Micah s house ; the other accessories of an early H e
’

bre w te mple the ephod and the teraphi m the family ,

’
gods -were also sec u red A t fir st one of Micah s .

sons was set apart to be the priest at this family sanc

tu a ry . Later however a Levite of B ethlehem O f
, ,

Judah a descendant of Moses came northward seeking

. ,

a home ; by offering ten pieces of Silver annually and

hi s food and clothi ng Micah persuaded hi m to remain
, ,

and forthwith consecrated hi m to be hi s priest This .

sanctuary SO auspiciously established soon gained such

, ,

pre stige that its oracle was consulted by the Danites

when they were seeking a new home R eference has .

already been made to their subsequent capture of the

priest ephod teraphi m image and all The Levite
, , , , .

was persuaded by t h e prospect of a greater foll owing

to connive with his captors A t their new home at the
.

foot of Mount Hermon the Danites established a reli

gions shrine which later e merges into promin e nce as
,

one of the two royal sanctuaries Of J e r o b o a m I Si m .

il a r ly Gideon in founding his kingdom made an image

,

from the Spoils taken from t h e Mi di anite s and set it up ,

in hi s new capital at O phr ah .

7 0 In adopting the sacred places of the Canaan i tes

.
,

the Hebrews undoubte dl y acc e pted many of their r e

l i gi o u s cu stoms in addi tion t o those already Shared in
c ommon as the universal heritage of the Semi tic world .
96 A HIST ORY OF T HE H EB REW PEOPLE

B esides the sacrifi ce of animals that of human be i ngs ,

was not un kn own as the fate of J e p h t h a h s daughte r i n

,
’

di c a t e s . Unf ortunately the practice di d not di sappear

,

completely during this period but w a s revived again by ,

the Ju d e a n king A haz (II Kin gs xvi

, E ach Israel
. .

ite was allowed to o fi er sacrifi ce although a tendency ,

was b e gi nning to manifest it self to delegate this reli

i o us service t o certain ones especially set apart for the
g
O fli c e ; already the Levite or at least the descendant
,

O f Moses was regarded as especially eli gible It is

,
.

di ffi cul t to generaliz e respecting the religious custo m s

thr oughout all Israel during thi s turbulent period ,

Since undoubtedly they varied greatly in di fferent

parts of the land Where the Canaaniti sh in fl uence
.

was strong the external fusion at least between the

,

two religions was almost complete In those regions .

where the Simpler pastoral life was preserve d the ,

pur er worship of the d e se r t prevailed Thi s w a s .

especially true in t h e south where the assimilation ,

was with A rabian rath e r than Canaanitish tribes .

7 1 To understand the religious history of thi s for

.

m a t ive ,
transition period it is necessary co ns tantly to
,

r e member that Israel s religious and political life w a s

’

’
i n separably connected The idea of Jehovah s unity
.

’
was in part commensurate with Israel s unity ; there
fore when di sunited the Hebrews were peculi arly s us
,

c e p t ib l e to the temptations of the Canaanitish cult

with its many local de iti e s Whenever they were led .

by stress of circu m stances to unite against a common

foe their loyalty to Jehovah was intensifi ed ; couse
,

quently the repeated waves of foreign invasion whi ch

,

swept over them in the end proved their salvation for ,

it aroused them from the i r lethargy and led them t o

 P REVA IL ING CONCEPT IONS OF JEH OVA H 97

t u rn to Jehovah for deliverance In a broad sense

.
,

therefore the late editor of the B ook of Judges pre

,

sents the true religious philosophy of the age With .

many of the hi storic details he was unfamiliar but as ,

an enlighte ned prophet he had caught the great truth

that a loving God was lea di ng hi s people onward even ,

through darkness by means of the varied and trying

,

e xperiences of their history .

’
7 2 The conceptions of Jehovah s character w ere as
.

s imple and undeveloped as the age Jephthah voiced

.

the idea of his contemporaries when he declared to the

inva di ng A mmonites : Jehovah the God of Israel
, ,

hath di spossessed t h e A m orites from before hi s people

Israel and shouldst thou possess them ? Wilt thou n o t
,

possess that whi ch Chemosh thy god giv e th thee t o

possess ? SO whatsoever Jehovah our God hath di spos
s essed from before us them will we possess
, ( Judge s

xi 2 3
.
, Centuries passed before enlightened p r o p h
e t s proclaimed for the fi r st time that the go ds of the
”
oth e r nations were no go ds The early Hebrews con
.

c e i v e d of Chemosh as the god of the Moabites jus t a s ,

Jehovah was their God The essential tenet in their

.

faith w a s that Jehovah was the o n e God who c o m

m a n d e d the i r allegiance as a nation The ignorant .

masses frequently forgot even thi s and also w o r s hi p d

,

the Can aanitish Baalim Ye t they never c ease d t o r e

.

gard Jehovah as the God of their race ; in tim es of

national danger they came up to the help of the
”
Lord against the mighty ; to him they tur ned for
deliverance in the ho ur of di stress and he gave t hem ,

victory ; in fact in everyt hi ng that befell th e m th e y

,

recognized hi s hand It is signi fi cant also that b e fore

.
, ,

t h e close of the period the land of the Hebrews is con

98 A HIST O R Y OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE
’
c e i ve dof as Jehovah s land The God of Sinai and of
.

t h e wandering had become the God of Can a an Wor

.

ship a t the many local shrines is su ffi cient evi dence

that the people believed that the unseen God whom
they still endeavored symbolically to represent by
images was present in the new abode of hi s people .

The important and dangerous transition fr OIr the life

of the desert to that of Canaan was safely ma de and ,

t h e national trust and con fi dence in Jehov a h w a s dee p

ened rather than lost Foreign cults were destined
.

from ti me to time to contest wi th the religion of

Jehovah the service of the Hebrews ; but Jehovah
,

was from henceforth t h e o n e God o f t h e I s ra elitis h

eo
p p l e .
H IST O R Y UNIT E D K IN G D O M
 H IST O R ICAL SO UR CES

73 . TH E B ook of I Samuel which is the hi storical

.
,

source for the reign of Saul claims to be and clearly is ,

a compilation of material gleaned from earlier sources

and arranged by a later e di tor Chronological sequence .

receives much m o r e a tt e n t i o n here than in the B ook

i

of Judges although in many cases the work of com

,

p i l a tio n is evident In chapters

. viii xiv the chief .
- .

characters are Saul and Samuel A s in the accoun ts .

of Gideon in the B ook of Judges two di stinct strands ,

of narrative are woven together The extr acts from .

the O ldest sources are found in chapters ix 1— x 1 6 . .

,

xi.
, xiii 1 7 ; xiii 15 xiv 46 and form a connected
.
— 3 b—
. .
,

unit in themselves Their style and ideas are those of

.

the ancient records in Judg es ; their hi storical r ep r e

s c utation is in perfect keeping w ith prece di ng and
subs e quent conditions in Israel ; they are the u ni t
whi ch consistently binds the past with the fu t ur e .

Co n s equ e ntly in them we recogn i ze our true sour ce

,

for information r e s p e c t i n g t he facts and forces which

‘

characterize thi s important epoch .

7 4 While the hi storic testimony of the remai ni ng

.

portions of thi s section is qui te di fi e r e n t from that of

the o lde st narra tives it is consistent w ith its e lf
, sug ,

g es t i n
g that th e y also constitute an ind e pendent unit .

In language and ideas they are related to the s o -called

1 01
10 2 A H IST O R Y OF T HE H EB REW PEOPLE

Deuteronomic sections of Judges and I Samuel vn . .

2—1 7 ( sect Chapter x ii for e xample reite rate s

. .
, ,

the familiar formul a — apostasy O ppression pe ni tenc e

, , , ,

and deli verance A ll Israel are conceived of as acting

.

in conjunction T h e wr i t er evidently is so far remov e d

.

from the ev e nts that he has completely forgott en that

their P hili s tine masters were present t o prevent any p u b
lic convocation for t h e elec t ion of a k ing Sharing the .

ide a of the later edi tor of Judges that the judges fol ,

lowed one another in re gular succession he represent s ,

Samuel as following E li in the judges hi p of all Israel ,

and hi s sons as succeedi ng hi m But accordin g to the .

O lder narratives ( chapte rs ix and x 1—1 6 ) Samuel w a s

. .

only a seer of southwestern E phr aim who enjoyed a ,

local reputation for faithfully predicting the futur e he

apparently was unknown to such a well-i nformed man a s
Saul . The great work of the E phr aimite seer was the
selection of a king to deliver the Israelites from their
bondage ; but the Samuel of the later writings is r e p
resented as bitterly opposing the institution T h e lan .

guage in whi ch he condemns it (chapter viii ) is almost .

a literal description of the abuses O f the royal p r e r o ga

tive under such kings as Solomon and A hab .

7 5 It is not diffi c ul t to see why the late r prophets

.

regarded the kingshi p a s a m istake A nythi ng good .

in itself if abused becomes an evil Late r kings cer

, , .

t a i n ly di d misuse th e ir opportunities and introduced ,

that O rienta lism whi ch was such a dea dl y menace to

the pure wors hi p of Jehovah ( sect Further .

more the souls O f these same late r proph e ts were fi r e d

,

with a far higher ideal In the age of Samuel the .

kin gshi p represente d a great step forward for thereby ,

the Hebrews emerged fr om an archy into a sta t e o f

 L A T E P R OPH ET IC W R ITINGS 10 3

order With most nations the next step w a s from

.

m onarchy to d e mocracy ; but e ven democracy under ,

which in di viduals a r e bound together for the attain

m e nt of their own personal e nds has its evil s and ,

abuses The later Hebre w prophets realized tha t

.

th e re was somethi ng higher This was a type of .

organization In whi ch all recognized as the uniting

bond the love for a common Fath er whi ch in turn ,

inspired a mutual love and inte re st for one another .

In a word these late r prophets (as their other writings

,

demonstrate ) had not only seen obj ectively ill us trated

the evils of the kings hip but the y had also caught
,

glimpses of that ideal theocracy which in the light of

the teac hi ng of the prophets and of Jes u s we know a s
the Kingdom of God in which the supreme author
ity is the will O f the Highest Not having the hi s t o r i
.

cal Spirit i n writing of the times of the judges they

,

naturally projected their ideal into this formative p e

rio d
. Similarly they conceived O f Samuel as not o nl y
,

c reating the monarchy but (like the later prophets )

,

personally di recting its policy or in bitter opposition ,

when hi s commands as t he ambassador of Jehovah

were di sobeyed The old records demonstrate that as
.

a matter O f fact the order of the prophets w a s like the ,

Hebrew nation at that time only in i ts infancy , .

7 6 Just how far these later sections have certain

.

hi storical facts at their basi s is a di ffi cul t question

to answer E ach individual case must be studied in
.

detail by itself For example in chapter xiii —l 5

.
, .
a

and chapter xv two independent accounts are given

.
,

of the rejection of Saul by Samuel E ach is ignorant .

of the testimony of the other and it is di ffi c ul t to recon

,

c ile them satis factorily B oth in vie w of their l a n

.
,
10 4 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HEB REW P E O PL E

guage thought and representation are evidently late r

, , ,

than the O lder thr e ad O f narrative ; but of the two ,

c hapte r xv whose background is the A malekite war

.
,

recorded in chapter xiv 4 8 is most in harmony with .

,

the ancient sources and con di tions .

7 7 From the fif teenth chapter thr ough the book of

.

I Samuel the interest of the authorities cited is with

.

David Saul is regarded more unfavorably than in

.

the ope ni n g chapters Th e language and r ep r e s e n .

t a tio n of chapter xvi 1— 13 proclaim its affi nity with .

the later str atum of narrative contained in viii xii .

, .
,

and xv The remainder of the chapter however is

.
, ,

old Thi s records the introduc t ion of the youthf ul

.

David already a mighty man of valor and a man of

, ,
”
war and prudent in speech (xvi to the court of .

Saul and of hi s winni ng the favor of the king until the

,

latter makes hi m hi s armor-bearer If we had not di s .

covere d that the B ook o f Samuel is a compilation we ,

should Share wi th the translators of the Septuagin t the

di fli c u l ty whi ch led them to leave out a large part of
the following chapter in the fruitless endeavor to rec
o n c il e it with the prece di ng For chapter xvii 1 . .

xviii 5 te lls of the vi cto r y of the lad David over

.

Goliath and of his subsequent introduction to Saul

,

and his court who are wholly un acquainted with the

,

youthful champion E ven if thi s section be placed b e .

fore xvi 14— 2 3 the diffi culty is not entirely removed

.
, .

It is further increased when we read in II Samuel .

xxi 19 A n d there was again war with the Philis

.
,

tines at Gob ; and E lhanan the son of Jaare-o r e gi m ,

the B ethl ehemite Slew Goliath the Gittite the staff of , ,

” ’
whose Spe ar was like a weaver s beam (cf I Sa m . . .

xvii . E vidently here are distinct narratives ha nde d ,

 DU P LICA T E NA R RA TIVES 10 5

down through di fferent channels Whether the Goli .

ath mentioned was actually Slain by David or E lhanan

can never be absolutely determined The stat ement .

of I Chr onicles xx 5 that it was a brother of Go liath

. .
,

who fell by the hand of E lhanan seems to be an e n ,

d e a v o r of the later c hr onicler to harmonize the two

statements in Samuel It is by no means impossible .
,

however that in some one of the many forays of the

,

Phi listines into Judah the youthful David slew the

champion of the Philistines The memory of the act .

’
was pr e served among David s kinsmen the Judeans , ,

until at last it found a place in the prophetic history

whi ch is our great source for the period C ertain l y .
,

some such deed or dee ds he performed before he gained

”
t h e reputation of being a mighty man of valor whi ch ,

he bore when introduced to Saul s cour t His sub ’

.

sequent record con fi rms thi s conclusion .

7 8 . Chapters xviii — xx are so lacking in unity that

. .

it is impossible to reconcile perfectly the testimony of

their di fferent sections ; they are compil e d from the
’
O ld e r and later records of David s de e ds with several ,

insertions from subsequent editors The testimony of .

the Septuagint version respecting chapter xviii 6—30 is .

valuable it omits those verses whi ch are in the Spirit

of the later David narratives preserving the O lder ma
-
,

t e r i a l which continues the thought of chapter xvi 1 4

, .

23 . The Se ptuagint reads 6 8 12 1 3—16 2 0

— b- 3
,
3
, , ,

2 2- 2 6 2 7 —2 9 3
,A ccepting thi s text c e rtain i n c o ns i s
3
.
,

t e n c i e s are r e moved Se ction xix 1—1 7 appears t o be

. .

based upon the later David -stories whi le in xix 1 8 , .

24 we at once recognize the language and representa

tion of a late prophetic writer The latter passage also .

contains a duplic a te account of the origin of the pro

106 A HIST O R Y OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE
”
verb Is Sa ul also among the prophets ? whi ch p r e
,
“

s e n t s such variations in ti m e and circumstanc e from i t s

parall e l in chapter x 11—1 3 that both can hardl y b e
.

acc e pted as hi storical The claims of the other passage

.

to antiquity and authenticity are SO strong that they i n

turn con fi rm the conj ectures that section xix 1 8 —24 is .

among the latest in the book being related to chapte r s ,

vii viii xii The connection between chapter xx and

.
, .
, .
.

the prece di n g is not close ; but the character of the

mate rial is such as to suggest that the information was
glean e d from O ld and reliable sources and then worked ,

over by a later e di to r .

7 9 The remainder of the book for the most part

.

belongs to the original David-narrative In a few .

places the work of the editor is apparent It is prob .

able that the account O i David s flight to A chish king ’

of Gath in chapter xxi 1 0 — 15 is a later insertion for

, .
, ,

it is entirely out O f harmony with the conte xt and with

’
Davi d s reputation for prudence ; its origin is to b e
found in his subsequent action in going over to the
Phi listines Chapters xxiii 14—xxiv 2 2 and xxvi
. . .
, .

contain two accounts of the pursuit of David by Saul ,

and of the magnani m i ty of the outlaw in Sparing the

”
A lthough t h e geo
’
life of the Lord s anointed .

graphi cal setting is di fi e r e n t yet the Sim ilarity in ,

phr a seology and thought is SO str iking that they may

w e ll be regarded as duplicate v e rsions of the same
incident The earlier and simpler is found in chap
.

ter xxvi Section xxviii 3— 25 whi ch records Saul s

. .
,
’

visit to the witch of E ndor was evidently inserted b e ,

twe e n chapter xxviii 2 and xxix 1 whi ch are closely

. .
,

conn e cted A ccordi ng to xxix 1 the P h ilistines were

. .
,

s till at A phek south O f the plain of E sdraelo n whil e

, ,
 SO U R CES EOR D A VID S REIGN 1 07
’

in xxviii . 3— 2 5
they are represented as already e n
ca m ped a t Shunem Thi s passage the refore properly
.
, ,

belongs betw een chapters xxx and xxxi immediately . .

,

before the account of the battle of Gilboa A lthough .

i t s antiquity has been questioned if we except vers e s ,

1 7 and 1 8 which were seemingly introduced to con

,

ne e t thi s section with the late prophetic passages it ,

is in representation and languag e in entire harmon y

with the Situation and with the character of Saul as set
fort h in the old records .

8 0 The older David narratives are also the main

.
-

sources for II Samuel Here the work of the later

. .

e di tor is not as marked as In I Samuel The mate rial . .

in the op e ning chapters is systematically arranged ; it

correspon ds to that of the Samuel-hi story in the preced
ing book Chapters i —vii record the successive steps
. . .

by which D avid came to the throne of all Israel hi s ,

capture of Jerusalem and the transference thi ther of

the A r k Chapter V i n epitomizes hi s public acts
. .
,

bringing his history to a close and anticipating events ,

which are presented in greater detail in the succee d ing

section ; although i t s sources were old thi s chapte r ,

in its present form is probably from the later e di tor .

A ccordi ng to i 5 -16 the messenger who avowed that

.
,

he him s elf slew Saul paid at David s co m mand the , ,

’

penalty for the dee d with his own life Thi s story was .

probably gleaned by the e di t Or fr o m some later David f

narrative for the context is complete without it In

, .

I Samuel xxxi 5 it is de fi nitely stated that Saul fell

. .
,

by his o w n hand The words of David in II Samu e l

. .

iv 1 0
. When one told me saying Behold Saul is , , ,

dead thinking to have brought good tidings I to ok

, ,

h old of hi m and s l o w hi m in Z iklag whi ch was t h e

, ,
1 08 A H IST ORY OF T H E HEB REW PEOPLE

reward I gave hi m for hi s ti di n gs — in di cate clearly

that Davi d was ignorant of the events re corded in t h e
pas sage in question The chronological notices i n ii
. .

11 are also later insertions for they onl y interrupt

, ,

the sequence of the thought of the old narrative ; t h e

S ame is true of section iii 2—5 which seems to have
.
,
’
been detached from the other records of David s fam il y
his t ory preserved in chapters ix - xx The reference to
, . .

’
the early his t ory of Jonathan s son in iv 4 is like w ise .

irrelevantly introduced into the midst of the a ccount

of the assassina t ion of Saul s successor b y the t w o ’

treacherous Benjaminites The chronological da ta in

.

v 4— 5 are also from the later e di tor It is probable

. .

that David desire d to rear a temple to Jehovah but ,

t h e language and religious spirit of chap t er vii is .

plain l y Deuteronomic ; it belongs therefore in th e , ,

same class with the later secti o ns in Judges and

I Samuel (sect
. .

8 1 The second main di vision of the book ( chap

.

ters ix -xx ) recounts in greater detail the event s of

. .

’
David s private and court li fe There is evidence that .

they a r e not from the same hand as the other Davi d

narr atives yet they also are mani festly O ld ; they are
,

likewise characte ri zed by their freedom from later in

s o rtions E vidently the fi nal e di tor incorporate d them
.
,

almost i n to t o in the present book pres e rving them in ,

t h e for m in whi ch he found them The remain ing .

chapters (xxi — xxiv ) co n s t itute an appen di x which

. .
,

was probably added to the body of the book after that

had assumed i t s pres e nt form The appen di x consists.

o f extracts from O l d records whi ch treated of the reign

of David ; these are loos e ly bound to gether The t wo .

s ections — x xi 1 14 and xxiv

— .1—25 are closely r e .
 SOU RCES P OR SO L OMON S REIGN 10 9
’

lated ; it is more than possible that originally they

imme di ately followed each other but have been sep a ,

rated by the insertion O f the intervening ma terial .

A nother striking example of a later insertion is found

bet w een xxi 15- 22 and xxiii 8- 39 ; both of these pas
. .

s ages i n an annalistic style record the names and

, ,
’
dee ds of David s heroes The poetical material thus .

introduced (xxii l —xxiii 7 ) is assigned to David ; but

. .
,
’
like Hannah s song of I Samuel its language and .
,

thought suggest a period much later than that of the

united kingdom .

8 2 The history Of David is concluded and that of

.

Solomon is introduced in I Kings i and ii These . . .

chapters are closely related to the extracts from David s ’

family history preserved in II Samuel ix —xx Like

, . . .

the latter they contain fe w traces Of edi torial revision

, .

The language of ii 2—4 is that whi ch is characte ri stic

.

of a much later age The chronological notices ii 10 .

, .
,

11 a r e also probably from the editor

, Subsequent .

’
e vents in Solomon s reign are recorded in chapters

iii —xi ; hi s wisdom might and Splendor are fi rst pre

. .
, ,

s ented These are but the Introduction to the great

.

e vent of his age — a t least in the eyes of subsequ e nt

,

generations — the buil di ng of the Temple The hi s

,
.

tory is concluded in chapter xi with a review of hi s .

,

reign in which the author (a later prophet) poin ts out

,

the evils of Solomon s policy The arrangement and ’

.

character of the material suggest that the hi storical

data were collected from earlier sources and recast in ,

the present form in the Spirit and accordi ng to the

m e thods of the modern historian The B ook of the
“
.

A c t s of Solomon w as at least one of the sources from

which the editor gathered hi s fac t s These chro ni cle s .
110 A H IST OR Y OF T H E HEB R EW PEOPLE

were probably based upon state annals or an offi cial ,

record O f events Their te stimony is of the highest

.

value because they practically represent contemporary

,

history Where these were silent prophetical narr a

.
,

t i v e s or else cur rent tra di tio n s respecting the wisdom

,

and glory O f Solomon were incorporated In certain , .

cases the numbers have gro w n during the period of

oral transmission as for example in v 15 1 6 Such ,
.
, .

a history as this seems to have taken form before the

days Of Josiah In common with the other early nar
.

r a t i v e s it received certain additions from the Deute ro

,

no m i c editors The latest insertions were from the

.

fi nal editor of the books of Kings who lived during ,

t h e B abylonian exile .

8 3 Without going into detail the material may be

.
,

classi fi ed under these different heads Chapters iii . .

4-1 3 and 1 6 — 2 8 are based upon early prophetical nar

r a t i ve s w h il e verses 2 3 14 and 15 were clearly
, , , ,

inserte d by a later editor who read hi s ideas and ,

phraseology into the older records The source of iv . .

1 19
—
,
2 7 2 8 may well have been the
—
,
“
Book of the
”
A cts of Solomon In the Septuagint text vers e 2 7
.
,

imme di ately follows verse 1 9 The intermediate verses .

,

2 0 - 2 6 were written by an e di tor living in the exile

, .

Section iv 2 9 —v 1 8 is founded upon relatively O ld

. .

so u rces possibly the state annals The same is true of

, .

chapters vi and vii whi ch describe the building ent

. .
,

prises of Solomon It is not improba ble that part of .

the information therein presented was preserved in the

Temple archives T h e unmistakable phras eology of vi
. .

11—1 3 betrays i t s D euteronomic origin Chapters vi i i . .

1- ix 9 also abound in in di cations of la t e authorship

. .

Se ction viii 1- 2 2 however res t s upon a historical

.
, ,
 T HE D IFFERENT SOU RCES 111

foundation ; the language and thought of the remainder

of the pas sage is strongly Deuteronomic Chapters ix . .

l O—x 2 9 consist of a series of notices concerning Solo

.

m on s foreign and home policy ; they are loosely bound

’

together and in some cases present v ariations from the

,

t e stimony of the prece di ng sections which suggest that ,

the e di tor collected his data from a variety O f sources .

The original substratum in chapter xi was an accoun t .

of the adversaries who opposed Solomon s rule — H a ’

, f

dad t h e E domite R ezon the Syr ian and J e r o b o a m the

, ,

E phraimite possibly it also contained reference to hi s

many wives and the pernicious influence of the various
,

religions whi ch they brought w ith them T h e D euter .

o n o m i c e di tor has not only worked over thi s early ma

t e r i a l but has also presented hi s estimate of the sins of

,

Solomon .Thi s religio u s phi losophy of hi s tory is mos t

apparent in verses 2 9 —13 33— 39 The conclu di n g
, , .

verses 41—43 are the re gular formula of the fin al e di tor

, ,

o f the B ook O f Kings .

8 4 In thi s hasty analysis of the books of Samuel

.

and Kings it has been impossible either to go into

,

d e tails or t o in di cate the cum ulat ive evidence upon

which the conclusions presente d are based ; for the s e
the student is referred to the text its elf and the vari ,

ous authorities who have treated it exhaustively ( Se e .

A ppendix ) The pres e nt study however is suffi cient

.
, ,

t o in di cate the general character of the source s and

their respective value to the Hebrew hi storian Since .

the books O f Chr onicles were not wri t te n un t il after

the re t urn from the B abylonian exile and are chi efly ,

dependent upon the older records of Samuel and Kings

for their data respecting thi s early period they contri ,

bute li t tle addi tional information Whatever be the .

112 A HIST OR Y OF T H E HEB R EW PEOPLE

date of the Song O f Songs i ts hi storical value is great

, ,

s i nce it presents the impression whi ch Solomon s char

’

acter and policy made upon hi s own and subsequ e nt

generations ; it also con fir m s and ampli fi e s the testi
mony of the O ldest prophetic records .
 II

ST E P S LEA D ING TO T H E E ST A B LISH ME NT OF

T H E H EB R E W K ING D O M

85 . last afte r many long weary years Israel

AT , , ,

was about to be delivered from its bondage in Canaan .

T h e preceding period of anarchy had taught the H e

br e ws by bitter experien ces certain inval u able l essons .

R e p e atedly it had been impress e d upon th e m that by

union alone could the y maintain their fre e dom in t h e
midst of the aggressive h o stile nations whi ch encirc led
,

them The only type O f permanent organization of

.

which th e ir a ge and stage of civilization was cognizant

was the kingship Local de liver e rs did not su ffi ce for
.
,

t h e relief which th ey afford e d was only te m porary .

A t this time also not one blow but many strong and , ,

u nited must be struck before the iron fetters of

,

Philistine bondage could b e broken The very exist .

enc e of the Israelites as a distinct rac e and couse ,

que ntly the future of Jehovah s r e li gion imperatively ’

demande d a king The ide a was not foreign to the i r

.

thought T h e kingship w as a long—established insti

.

t u t i o n among t h e neighboring peopl e s whom th e y r e ,

gard e d as their kins m e n and thr ough t h e ills tarred

,

kingdom of Gideon the y had b e e n personally intro

d u c e d to it It s e vils th e refore w e r e freshe r in the
.
, ,

minds of the H e br e ws of central Israel than its a d v a n

ta ge s There is e very r e ason for accepting the testi
.

8 113
114 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R EW P EOPL E

mony of the oldest narrative in Samuel and beli eving ,

that the fi rst steps toward its institution were taken ,

not by the people who had given the m selves up to

despai r but by a J e h o v a h -enlightened seer who like
, , ,

Moses and Deborah before hi m grasping the situa ,

tion and appreciati ng what must be done proceeded ,

to act .

8 6 There is also ground for concludi ng that Samuel

.

was not entirely without support A t thi s critical p e .

r i o d ban ds of prophets appeared for the fir st time in

Israelit ish history It is clear that these

. S O -called
S ons of the prophe t s Should not b e classed with such

e n li ghtened national t e achers as A mos or Isaiah In .

fact A mos emphatically declared that he was not o n e

,

O f the sons of the prophets ( A mos vii A t this .

early formative period these bands gath ered about the

sanctuaries kindling their religious zeal with the aid
,

of the wild weird music which an ancient O riental

,

drew forth from t h e psalt e ry timbrel pipe and harp , , ,

( I
. Sa m x .This
. th r ew them into a state of
ecstasy very analogous to that whi ch m a y be observed
t o -day among the Mohamm edan derv i shes or in the ,

revival services S O popular with certain colored people

of the South With greater light th ese practices dis
.

appeared from among t h e Hebrews and the sons of the

“
,

prophets fell into il l repute Th e religious ideas of .

one age O ften seem m o r e superstitions to the succee d ing ,

to whi ch has b e en revealed some thi ng higher and better .

Certain of their own conte m poraries evide ntly regarded

these enthusiasts a little contemptuously de e ming them ,

mere fanatics ( I Sa m x 11— 1 3) but because the ex

. . .

pression of their religiou zeal was not of the highest

s

type its true Signi fi cance Should not be overlooked It

, .
 NA T U R E OF T HE P R OPHET IC GU IL D S 1 15

ha s been suggested that they we r e aroused to activity

by t h e Shame of the Philistine dominance Certainly .

the obje ct of their zeal was Jehovah and his worship ,

and this would inevitably arouse a burning patriotism

and a longi n g again to come up to the help of Jeho
vah against the mighty The flame which kindled
the c o n fl a gr a t i o n that drov e aw a y the Philistin e s w a s
loyalty to Jehovah It is there fore exceedingly sug
.
, ,

es t i v e that after leaving Samuel and before he struck

g ,

the blow which le d to hi s election to the kingship Saul ,

came into contact with thes e politico religio us fanatics -

,

and catchi ng their spirit was SO transformed that his

associates a n d ki n s m e n note d it (I Sa m x 10
»
. . .

The O ld narratives indicate that Samuel was familiar

and in touch wi t h these proph e tic ban ds ( chapters ix .

and x ) a later r e cord places him at the head of one

.

of their guilds whi c h was locat e d at his home in

,

R amah ( I Sa m . xix 1 8
. These chance refer
.

o nc e s warrant the conclusion that Samuel did not

stand alone but enjoyed the sympathy and support
,

of the various prophetic bands scattered throughout

the land The latter were an index of the need and
.

the Spirit of the time In tur n the y must have aided

.

in arousing the dormant patriotism of their more p hl e g

matic countrymen .

8 7 Subsequent writers undoubte dl y conceived O f

.

Samu e l according to th e ir Ow n ideals ; but t h e t e n

d e n c y to exalt his memory can b e explained only by a
hist o rical Samuel who impressed hi s strong pe r sonality
,

upon his own and following generations The Sa m .

u e l of the e arliest records and his work are none the

l e ss grand because SO si m ple

, He went about hi s i m .

portant mission not a s the regul arly elected j udge a n d

,
11 6 A HIST ORY OF T HE H EB R EW P EOPLE

r eligious head of all Israel but as a seer who had w o n ,

t h e respect of the more earnest and religious in central

Israel A lthough Saul the warrior had not heard of
.
, ,

him hi s reputation was known to the s e rvant of Kish

,
.

IVh en the futur e champion of Israel returned hi s uncle ,

eagerly asked Tell me I pray thee what Samuel

, , ,
”
said unto you The narrative is late whi ch introduces
.

u s to the boyhood days O f Samuel at the O l d sanctuary

at Shi loh yet it probably has a hi storic foundation

,
.

Such an experience would alike fi t hi m for hi s great

life-work and give him a prestige Shared by no other
,

priest or seer .

88 Shiloh was in ruins the ark almost forgott en

.
, ,

and the priest s scattered The Hebrews acknowledged .

little authority other than that of their Phi listine mas

t e rs but that little w a s exercised by those who were
’
recogni zed as Jehovah s representatives A bove all .
,

the needs of the Situation gave unlimited power to the

man who coul d point out a way of deliverance Prob .

a bly Sam u e l i n common with many of the more e n

,

lightened patriots O f Israel had long been looking for ,

a man possess e d of courage and energy and who at the ,

sam e time could unite and command others A t last .

the right one was found ; a s e eming chance brought

’
hi m to Samuel s doors The asses O f a certain Kish a
.
,

prominent B enjaminite had wandered from home hi s ,

son Saul pl e asing in mann e r and h e ad and Sho ul ders

, ,

above his fellows was dispatched with a servant to

,

seek for them They proceed in the i r search through

.

northern B e n jamin up among the hi lls of E phraim ;

,

b u t in vain When they reach t h e di st rict known as

.

Zuph Saul proposes that they return lest their long

, ,

absence cause alarm at home ; the servant however , ,

 M EET ING OF SA UL A ND SA M U EL 11 7

urges hi m to consult a certain seer li ving in a to wn

not far away who was held in high honor and enjoyed
,

a reputation for pre di cting the future with certai nty .

A ccor di ngly taking a small piece of Silver as the fee

, ,

th e y set out to visit this man of God A s they go up .

the ascent to the to wn — whose name Ramah in di

, , ,

cates that it was one of those many cities in Israel

p e rched upon a hill , they meet certain maidens of the
village ; from them they learn that the townsmen on
that day are sac r i fi cing in the hi gh place and that the ,

seer is present to bless their sacrifi ce A t the entrance .

of the town Samuel meets them His enlightened vision.

had enabled hi m to recognize the man for the crisis .

O n e of the neutral tribe of Benja m in would b e mos t

likely to un ite the rival factions of the north and
south Saul possessed a commanding fi gure whi ch
.
,

in hi s age was the fi rst requisite in one who w a s t o

lead men ; he furthermore was courageo us energetic , ,

and patriotic A S the seer receives the Ben j aminite

.

prince and invites him to partake of the banquet whi ch

he has had prepared in his honor hi s word s in di cate that
,

he was intimately acquainted with Saul even though ,

Saul di d not know him ; for he added “

A n d I will ,
”
Samuel s sug
’
tell thee all that is in thine heart .

gestions were destined to fall into good soil for it is ,

’
evident that already Israel s future king was m e di t a t
ing upon the people s wrongs and questioning whethe r
’
,

or not he was called to act .

89 A ssuring him that the asses for whi ch he was

.

s e archi ng had been found the venerable seer in a

, ,

characte ristically O ri e ntal manner proceeds to the i m ,

portant b usiness in hand The words in which Samuel

.

introduces h is gu est at the banquet in di c a te that others

118 A H IST OR Y O F T H E HE B R EW PEOPLE

in Is rael were also begi nni n g to regard thi s young Ben

a m i n i t e as a possible de l iverer : O n whom is a ll the
j
desire of Isra e l ? Is it not on thee and on all thy ,

Sa ul s reply Shows that modesty

’ ’
father s hous e
also was one of hi s virtues Samuel moves straight .

on toward the accomplis hment of hi s purpose A t t h e .

village fe ast he signifi cantly assigns the place of honor

to his guest and ca u ses the choicest portion to be set
,

before him ; at night he entertains and communes

”
with Saul upon the housetop The most importa nt
.

symbolic a c t was reserved for the morrow When .

they are about to part at the lower end of the to wn ,

the seer sole m n l y anoints Saul in the name of Jeho ,

vah , thus publicly procla i m in g hi s call to the king

ship Samuel also makes certain pre di ctions whi c h
.
, ,

as they come to pass are to establish in Saul s mind

,
’

the truth of his prophetic message He however .

, ,

makes no announ cement a s to whe n or ho w Sa ul is

to b e rai sed to the kin gshi p he s im ply s en ds him
forth with the suggestive advice D O thys elf a s thi n e ,
”
hand Shall fi n d for God is with thee
, .

9 0 Saul de parte d hi s soul fil led wi th a might y re

.
,

solve In the graphi c language o f the Old record God

.
,
”
turned hi m anoth e r heart To the as tonishment of
.

his acquaintances be a ffi liated with t h e re ligio—patriotic

bands of the prophe t s and w a s even fou n d prophesy
,

ing among them ; the i r amazement foun d expression in

t h e popular proverb “
Is Saul also among the p r o p h
,

e ts But the occasion was not yet ripe and therefore , ,

’
in answering hi s uncle s curious questions conce r ning

Q
what Samuel had said t o him he made no mention of ,

t h e words w hi ch had fi red hi s soul ui etly he resumed .

hi s accusto m e d tasks ; but erelong hi s ready ha n d

 SA U L A s ISRA EL S C H A M P ION
’
11 9

“ found somethi ng to do The A mmonite s under .

,

their king Nahash taking advantage of the weakness

,

O f the Israelites advanced against the e a s t J o r d a n town

,

of Jabesh-gilead and not only demanded its surrender

, ,

but threatened to put out the right eyes of its i n h a b i

tants as a reproach to Israel Messengers from the
,
.

fated to w n passed throughout all the land beseeching ,

aid from their kinsmen The sacred law of blood .

re venge commanded them to heed the cry but no one ,

responded until the messengers came to Gibeah ; here

”
the men of the town lifte d up their voices and wept
“
.

Saul coming from the fi eld with his oxen inqui r ed

, , ,
”
What aileth the p e ople that they weep ? _ _
When
“
he learned the cause the spirit of the Lord came ,
”
mightily upon Saul His patriotic resolve took form
.

in action Without hesitating a moment he cut up a

.
,

yoke of oxen and sent these bloody reminders of duty

throughout Israel with the threat that the oxen of
,

those who d id not respond woul d meet a Similar fate .

A t last the Hebrews recognized that there was o n e

among them whom they could regard as their leader .

In great numbers the y rallied abo ut hi s standard ;

north and south were both represented Marching to .

the relief of the beleaguered town Saul di vided his ,

forces into thr ee companies and surprised the A mmon ,

ites in an early morning attack ; the foe was routed

and scattered By this victory t he city of Jabesh
.

gilead was rescued the Isra elites gained a n e w con

,

fi d e n c e and above all t he cause of national freedom

, , ,

found a leader When they returned to Gilgal the

.

Hebrews hastened as i n the days of Gideon to make

, ,

him their king who had already evinced his ability to

command The seed sown by Samuel had begu n to
.
120 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R E W PEOPL E

b e ar fruit It is not improb a bl e that the seer also i m

.

proved the opportu nity to ins truct the infant nation

’
resp e cting J e hovah s will in t h e Spirit if not in t h e
language of the later narra tive pres e rved in chapter ,

x ii
. The date O f this simple but portento u s act is to
be found somewhere (about 1 0 3 7 ) during the latt er part
of the eleventh century before the Chr istian era .

9 1 In accepting the kingshi p Saul entered upon a

.
,

heritage of war His title was an empty one until he

.

had won a kingdom The Philistin e masters of the

.

land could not r e asonably obj e ct to the expe di tion for

the relief of Jabesh gilead ; but when their Hebre w
-

subjects electe d their victorious leader king it was ,

virtually a declaration of war Jonathan Saul s son .

,
’

left no room for doubt by attacking the Philistine

garrison at Geba immediately upon the return O f the
Hebrews from across the Jordan With their char .

a c t e r i s t i c activity the P hi listines at once poured a hug e

army into the land of the Hebrews overrunning it as far ,

as Michmash on the southern borders of the mountains

,

of E phraim ; by this strate gic movement connection

was sev e red b e tween Saul and the strong tribes of the
north For a gen e ration or more the Hebre w s had
.

been accustom e d only to defeat In the presence of .

t h e Philistin e s Saul s army vanishe d

’
Many hi d .

th e ms e lves in caves and in thi cke t s and in rocks and ,

”
in holes and in ciste rns and some even fled acros s
, ,

the Jordan ; others subm itted to the P hi listines with

out striking a blow for freedom The handful of Si x .

hund r ed men who remained with Saul followed h i m “

”
trembling . The inauguration of the Hebre w kingdom
was not altogether glorious .

9 2 Meeting w ith no resistance and evidently n o t

.
,
 JONAT H A N S ’
D EED O F VA LO R 1 21

desiring at once to invade the more rocky terri to ry t o

the south the P hi listine army divided into thr ee part s
,

and turned back to pillage A t this critical moment .

,

when t h e Hebrew cause seemed lost Jonathan w h o , ,

had been placed in charge of the stronghold O f Geba ,

turn e d the tide of battle by a deed of personal daring .

The deep valley of Mich m ash which lea ds up from ,

the Jordan separated the fort ress O f Geba from that

,

of Michm ash to the north wh ere a garrison of Philis ,

tines had been l e ft to watch the H e brews and guard

the rear of th e ir army Down the face of the preci
.

pice climbed the undaunted Jonathan with his armor

b e arer ; he crossed the n arrow ravine and began to
mount up among the steep rocks toward the heights
above which w ere held by the Philistines The latter
, .

r e garded these two men with utter c On t e m p t : B e

hold the Hebre ws come forth out of the holes wh e re
they had hid themselves % In silence and unmolested
”

the two advanced The contempt and wonder of the

.

Philistines were soon change d to alarm a s the intrepid

prince fe ll upon them single-handed and began to Slay
th e m Fear lest it was an ambuscade or superstition
.
.
,

l e st it was a god who had attacked them quickly ,

s e ized the foe This terror whi ch the Hebrew hi sto

.
,
”
rian styles a trembling of God Spread to the p lu n
“
,

de ring bands who were as the experience of even

, ,

modern warfare demonstrates , most susceptible to a

panic The rout was SO general that the watch m e n
.

o f Saul at Gibeah in B enjamin perc e ived it The .

absence of Jonathan and his armor bearer sugg e st e d -

t h e caus e A t fi rst Saul still in doubt started to con

.
, ,

sult the oracle through the priest ; but before the cere
mony was completed he rallied the Hebrews for the
122 A HIST OR Y OF T HE HEB REW PEOPLE

a t ta ck In the confusion the Phili s tin es fought agai nst

.

e ach other ; the Israelit e s in their ranks tur ned aga i nst

them and those in hi ding came forth to share the vic

,

to ry Saul with his cha racteristic impetuosity rashly

.
, ,

placed a c ur se upon the head of the one eating food

before n i ghtfall The Hebrews hun ted the Phi lis t ines
.

out of c e ntral Canaan ; but the blow was not what it

might have been becaus e they we re weakened by lack
,

of food Saul s ras h curs e woul d have cost also the

.
’

life of the hero Of the day had it not been for t h e ,

i ntercession of the people .

 III

T H E D ECLINE O F SA U L, A ND T H E R ISE O F DA VID

93 . victor y over the Phi listines was by no

T H E fi rst
m eans fi nal These stalwart brave foes of the Israel
.
,

ites soon reassembled their forces and again poured up ,

from the plain into the valleys of E phraim But their .

fi rst success gave t h e Hebrews courage and taught -

,

them that their old masters were not invincible .

Saul s reign was one long intermittent war and his

’
,

court was perforce a military camp In the intervals .

between the P hi listine wars he struck blows on other

Sides against fo e s whi ch menaced the independence of
,

the Hebrews Unfortun ately the old records are silent

.
,

respecting the details of these wars .

9 4 A ccordi ng to a later narrative pre s erved i n

.
(
,

chapter xv it was in one of these expeditions con

.
,

ducted against the A malekites those desert robbers ,

who w ere constantly inva di ng the territory of the

J u d e a n s that Saul incurred the di spleasure of Sa m
,
’
uel. The king s Si n as therein portrayed was hi s
, ,

failure to slay a ll his captives i n accordance with the

’ b
prophet s command ; a still later section (xiii 7 .

attributes Saul s rejection by Samuel to ritualistic r e a

’

sons From neither o f these accoun ts is it possible

.

to ascertain the real cause ; but their existence gives

ground for believing that an alienation in time arose
between the seer representing the intensely religious
,

1 23
1 24 A H IST O R Y OF T HE H EB R E W PEO PLE

party and Sa ul t h e leader of Israel s arm i es Its ex

, ,
.
’
.

act natur e perhaps m a y never b e det e rmined ; but the re

is enough in the character of t h e two men as revealed ,

in the old records and in the light of the situation to ,

suggest wherein they must have differed B efore Saul .

was elected king the re were two parties in Israel O ne .

was the religio-patriotic party which natu rally inclu de d ,

t h e r e ligio us zealo t s found in the proph e tic ban ds e u ,

lightened seers like Samuel the priest s and the more , ,

pious a m ong the Israelites In their minds Jehovah s

.
’

interests and thos e of th e ir race were synonym ous ; if

the two seemed to conflict the y would unhe sitatingly
,

place those of Jehov a h fi r st O n their platform as .

,

it was fur ther developed stood the later prophets

, .

The other may be styl e d the political party It .

included the nobles O f Israel the mi litary class and , ,

the less stable in the communi ty who were ready to ,

gain the i r en ds by fair means or fo ul The movement .

toward national independence came fro m t h e re ligio

pat riotic party Saul becaus e of hi s p e r sonal ability
.
, ,

was called by them to lead it The old proverb Is .

,

Saul am ong the prophets hi nt s at the trouble Im .

pulsive h e a ds trong superstitious rather than genuinely

, ,

r e ligious he di d not feel at home among the p r o p h

,
“

e ts their deman ds seemed too high for th e ir age .

The principles which would appeal most strongly to

Saul were thos e of the political party ; to them he
listened more and more A t a later period in a fi t
. ,

of jealousy he ordere d the execution of all the pries t s

,

of Nob B y this act he forev e r alienated the class in

.

Israel whi ch had called him to the thron e .

9 5 The fe eling that he was gradually estranging

.

the best and mos t intensely loyal elemen t s in hi s king

 DA VID A T SA UL S COURT
’
1 25

dom probably contributed toward the embitteri ng of

Saul s soul
’
He was the one to lead a sudde n atta ck
.

or inspire courag e ; but his position call e d for cool

judgment executive ability and pers e v e rance
, In , .

the s e qualities he was d e fi cient consequently he ,

b e gan to realize that he was losing hi s gra sp of the

situation O n the other hand the harassing border
.
,

warfare with the Philistines constantly irritated and

’
vexed Israel s king until at times a deep melancholi a ,

settl e d down upon him In the nai ve thought of the .

a e his contemporaries declared that the spirit of the

g ,

Lord % the old patriotic enthusiasm] had departed from

”
Saul and an evil Spirit from the Lord troubled him
, .

9 6 It was to drive a way this evil spirit that Dav id

.
,
’
Israel s future king was introduced to the military ,

court of Saul A lready this son of Jesse the B e t hle

.
,

hemite in addi ti o n to his renown as a cunning player

,

on the harp enj oyed the re putation of being a mighty

,
“

man of valor and a man of war and skilful in busi ,

”
ness and a comely person
, The success whi ch h a d .

attende d all that he attempted had led public O pinion

”
to d e clare the Lord is with hi m Da vi d was one of .

those pec u liarly favored beings who quickly win the

favor O f all with whom they come in contact In com .

mon with others “

Saul loved hi m greatly , When .

dark moods seized the monarch the J u d e a n harpist was ,

able t o dispel them His s kill w i t h the sword soon se.

_

cure d for him also the hi gh O ffi ce of king s armor-be arer ’

.

In Saul s service h e had ample Opportunity t o Show

’

his powe rs From the wars wi th the Philisti nes he

.

came back cov e red with glory P e opl e and court were .

won by hi s grace ; hi s warlike renown began to rival

’
that of Israel s king To have remained at the head .
1 26 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HEB REW PE OPLE

of the Hebrew s tate at thi s time a man must have

’
been the c h i e f among his s ubjects In David s sudden .

l e ap into popularity there was perhaps a menace to

t h e sta bility of Saul s th rone
’ ’
The king s strained re
.

la t oi n s with the r e ligi o -patriotic party in Israel and his

dark moods rendered him pecul iarly suscepti ble to
’
f e ar and j e alousy David s ac t s and manner undoubt
.

e dl y irritated him although there is good ground in

,

Jonathan s frien ds hi p and the subsequ ent conduct of

’

Davi d for rejecting the hypothesis that the latter was

caught plotting True at a later period Saul i s r ep r e
.
,

“
s e nted as bitte rly complaining that there is no one
that di s c lo s e t h to me whe n my son maketh a league
with the son of Jesse (I Sa m xxii yet there is
. . .

no warrant for regardi ng these wor ds as more than an

expression of the s uSp i c i o n s of a hyper-sensit ive man ,

excited by the i dl e whispers which must have been

c ur rent in the court dur i ng his late r days .

9 7 Saul was too O pen-m i nd e d to succeed in r e m o v

.

ing the wily J u d e a n by tre achery M e antime succe s s .

followed David By hi s marriag e with Michal he b e

.

came a prince of the royal family second in rank to ,

Jonathan A t last when hi s servan t s refus ed to Slay

.
,

hi m Saul himself in one O f his attacks O f melanchol i a

, , ,

flun g a sp e ar at t h e one again st whom he had c o n

c e i v e d such a strong suspicion and antipathy Dav i d .

avoided the Shaft ; but it was clear that he must fl e e

from the court — the inte rcessions of his friend Jona
,

than could not save hi m Nat urally he turned to his

.
,

kinsmen for support A S he fled southward to Judah

.

he stopp e d for refreshm ent with the priestly house of

E li who had settled at Nob just north of Jebus He
, , .

allayed the s uSp i c i o n S of the pri e s t s by declarin g that

 DA VID S OUT L A W LIF E
’
1 27

he was on the king s business and that b ecaus e of the ’

,

s ecrecy of the mission he had left his followers in con

c o alm o nt B elieving the prince they did not h e sitate

.
,

to give him of the shew bread which ordi narily w a s

-
,

reserved for the priests alone Their courtesy cost .

them their lives ; for D oeg the E domite the royal ,

h e rdsman ( the Iago of H ebrew history ) was present ,

and witnessed their act For some reason he had con .

c e i v e d such a bitter hatred toward the priests that

when Saul one day was hol di ng court and was espe ,

c i a ll y irritated by the news of David s safe escape thi s

’
,

E domite recalled t h err deed of kindness to the o u t

law . The king i n a fi t of anger summoned the
priests and without he eding their protesta t ions of
, ,

innocence commanded th at they be Slain While the

, .

Hebrews about him stood mo t ionless D oeg cut them ,

down The whole family were thus slaughtered with

.
,

the exception of A biathar the s on of A bi melech who ,

fled to David .

9 8 A bout t h e young outlaw gathered a h e t e r o ge

.

’
n e o u s band The nucleus consisted of David s imme
.

di ate kinsmen Malcontents from Saul s cour t debtors

.
’
, ,

adventurers and outlaws shared the for t u nes of the

,

young Champion ; foreigners as well as Hebrews were , ,

found fi ghting under hi s standard A t the fortress of .

A dullam which seems to have been located on the

,

western headlands O f Judah was his rallying point ; ,

in the caves about he found t h e needed places of con

c e a lm e n t O nly by conquest could he hope to retain
.

the loyalt y of the freeboote rs who had espoused hi s

c a use The Canaani tish town of Keilah Situated on
.
,

the border-land be t ween hill and plain was b esiege d ,

b y the Phili sti nes : David procee d ed to i ts re lief ,

128 A HIST OR Y O F T HE HEB REW PEOPLE

thereby winn i ng rich spoil and a temporary home .

But thi s border fort ress was only a few hours from
’
Saul s capital and the king s anger still pursued hi s
’
,

f orm e r armor - bearer Therefore in accordance with

.
,

the response of the oracle whi ch he cons ul ted David ,

gave up hi s ne w ly acquired stronghold just i n time to

escape capture .

9 9 It is di ffi cult to follow hi s subsequent wander

.
~

ings Durin g the lulls in the Phi lis t ine warfare Saul
.

took occasion to follow David in the hope that he ,

might entr ap hi m O n one of these campaigns into

.

the J u d e a n wilderness the p u rsuer fell into the hands

of t h e pursued ; David however with the remarkable , ,

moderation which characte riz e d him refused to use ,

violence to attain hi s ends and co n sequently spare d ,

’
the king s life His forb e arance was tested even more
.

by a certain Nabal a desc e ndant of the ancient Cale b

,

ite s who liv e d at the town of Carm el southeast of

, ,

H e bron on the borde rs of the Ju d e a n de s e rt David s

, .
’

followe rs had constitute d th e m s e lv e s a kind of border

’
u ard prot e cting Nabal s possessio n s from d e sert rob
g ,

bers In accordance with the ways of the O rient their

.
,

leader demanded a suitable reward for services ren

der e d Nabal however proving hi mself a churl sent
.
, , ,

back the messengers with a rude r eb u fl His wife .

alon e sav e d him from di re re t ribu t ion at the han ds of

’
David s band by her pro m pt acti on in presenting t h e
d e sired gifts Death soon removed Nabal and paved
.
,

the way for a marriage betw een his wif e A bigail and
David —
whi ch brought to the outlaw chi ef not onl y
,

rich po ssessions in flocks but also the support O f the ,

s t rong tribe of Cal e b .

1 00 A dd e d poss e ssions and foll owe r s increase d

.
 DA VID A VA SSA L OF T H E m O F G AT H 1 29

David s dangers on Hebrew soil He began in ti me

’
.

to tire of the life of an outlaw In desperation he .

,

threw himself upon the mercy of his heredi ta ry foe ,

A chi sh king of G ath

,
The frien dl y reception with
.

which he was greeted is not altogether inexplicable .

David as the champion of the Hebrews had inspired

, ,

in t h e minds of the courageous Phi listi nes a genuine

r e spect The enmity of Saul had dr iven him from
.

t h e armies of Israel yet the moment that Jonathan

,

should succeed his father the outlaw would again ,

be at the head of the Hebrew host ; they therefore

hailed the defection of their O ld foe to their side as a
gre at conquest Ziklag on the s outhwestern bounda
.
,

ries of Judah was assigned to him as a residence

, .

A lthough the Philisti ne king t rusted hi m completely ,

David was attempting to play a di ffi c ul t r Ole Whi le .

professing entire loyalty to hi s new masters the P hi lis

tines he was endeavoring to retain the affections of
,

the Israelites The records te ll how frequently going

.
,

out ostensibly on a forage against the Hebrews he ,

fell upon hi s old foes the desert robbers and taking , ,

car e to slay all the capti ves r e t urned presentin g the

, ,

Spoil as evidenc e of hi s hostil ity to hi s kinsmen .

E v e n David with all hi s cunn i ng in deceiving coul d

, ,

not have kept up the illusion long F ortu nately fo r .

him it was not necessary .

 IV

TH E B A TT E L OF G ILB OA , A ND T HE D EA T H O F SA UL

10 1 HA VING the champion of the Hebrews as their

.

ally the Philistine c hi efs de term ined to strike a un ited

,

blow against the weakened kingdom of Saul and r e ,

e stablish their superiority over the Hebrews A ccord .

i n gly they ral lied the i r forces and marched up along

,

the coast passed their Ol d battle -fi eld at A phek and

, ,

took their position on the northern si d e of the plain of

E sdra e lon near the to w n of Shunem A s t h e fi e f of
, .

A chish king of Gath David with hi s followers w a s

, ,

summoned for the great rall y against the Hebrews H e .

responded wi th apparent alacrity What he woul d have .

done at the last moment is diffi cult to determine ; it is

exceedingly improbable that he would have raised hi s
sword again st hi s ki n smen He was deli vered from .

thi s di lemma however by the suspicions of the other

, ,

Philistine Chi eftains who di d not have the unbounded

,

trust in David that he had inspired in the king of Gath .

A ccor di ngly A chish after many apologies invite d the

, , ,

young Hebrew to withdraw A lthough thi s deliverance .

was exactly what David was longing for in complyi ng ,

he d i d not los e the opportunity to enter a prote st .

His releas e proved most time ly O n hi s r e tu rn to .

Ziklag he found hi s city pillag e d and laid in ruins by

t h e A malekites — who had perhaps heard of the gen
,

era l call to arms and had improved the occasion to b e

,

1 30
 SA UL A ND T HE W IT CH O F ENDO R 13 1

r evenged upon their enemy R allying his followers

.
,

and encouraged by a favorable response from the oracle ,

David set out into the trackless desert in pursuit of the

robbers A n E gyptian Slave whom the marauders had
. ,

left b e hind to die was found and guided them to their

, ,

foes The A malekites fell an unsuspecting prey to the

.

’
sudden attack of David s warriors ; and the Hebrews ,

recovering their families returned with rich spoil It

,
.

’
is signifi cant that a portion of D avid s share in the lat
ter was sent in the form of gifts to the elders of Judah ,

a n d t o the chiefs O f the J e r a hm e e li t es and Kenites ,

those southern tribes who had at this period almost

completely assimilated w ith the Hebrews .

1 0 2 Meantime the hosts in the north were taking

.

their position for the battle The Hebre ws were e n

.

camped just across t h e plain south O f Shunem at the ,

foot of Gilboa Here belongs the account of Saul s

.
’

V isit to the witch O f E ndor

’
It represents Israel s stal
.

wart king O n the eve before the battle as deserted by

Jehovah T o his eager inquiries respecti ng the coming
.

battle answer came neither by dreams nor by Urim

, , ,
”
nor by prophe ts In his extremity he resolved to
.

re so r t to one of the representatives of that ancient cult

which he had endeav ored to exterminate In di sguis e .

and with only two attendants he set out on his mid ,

night journey Making a detour to avoid the Philis

.

tine army he fi nally reached the town of E ndor whi ch

, ,

n e stles under the hill to the south of Mount Tabor ,

where a woman with a familiar Spirit was found ; and

t o her he applied Notwiths tan di ng his concealme nt
.
,

his height and broad shoulders naturally betraye d hi m .

The woman fi rst exacted a prom i se that he woul d not

de liver her up to justice Then h e r e quested that
.
13 2 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HEB R E W PE OPLE

Samu e l might be sum moned This she prete nded t o .

do The sc e ne and me tho ds were quite sim ilar to those

.

of the mode rn heralds of departed spirits It is nowhere .

stated that Saul hi mself saw Samuel The message .

whi ch the me d ium reported from the seer w a s what w a s

clear in the li ght of the situation namely defeat for , ,

the Hebrews Saul in whom there was a strong ele

.
,

ment of sup e rstition was overcome complete ly by the

,

announcement When he return e d it was to what b e

.
,

r egarded as a hopeless fi ght against fate His cou rage .

,

howe ver stands out all the clearer with thi s dar k back
,

grou nd .

10 3 It i s doubtful whether all the Hebrews ralli ed

.

about their king in thi s last struggle Certainl y there .

,
’
were many d iscontents in Israel David s power and .

i nfl uence were growing and none att ached to hi m woul d

,

be found a t Gilboa It is signifi cant that the elders and

.

Chiefta ins of the south were apparently at home to re

’
c e i v e David s gifts ( sect and afte r the battle
.

quickly haste ned to make hi m th e ir king A gai nst .

Saul were assembled a ll the Phi listine forces con fi d e nt ,

’
of V ictory Israel s king havi ng lost hi s enthusiasm
.

could not as of old inspir e hi s warriors The battle

, , .

seems to have b e en join e d on the plain to the northeast

of Gilboa The d e tails of t h e di sastrous contest a r e
.

not giv e n Before long t h e H e bre ws were in flight

’

,
.

v ainly s e e king r e fuge upon t h e Spurs of Mount Gilboa .

Jonathan and two oth e r sons fell by Saul s side A l

, ,
’
.

most de serte d a ffli c t e d by a shower of arrows ari d

,

e ncircled b y fo e s t h e king command e d his armor bearer

,
-

to Slay hi m that h e m ight not meet an ignomi nious fate

,

at the ha nds of the Philistines When hi s servant r e .

fuse d thi s las t service he fe ll upon hi s o wn sword His

, .
 T H E C HA R A CT ER O F SA UL 133

example was followed by his armor be a rer and Israel s -

,
’

ene m ies were left co m plete m aste rs of t h e fi el d W h e n .

they searched the sides of Gilboa on the morrow th e y ,

found the bo di es of Saul and his sons and hung them ,

in derision upon t h e walls of B eths hean near by The .

king s head and armor were borne away to the i r land

’

as trophies o f V ictory A deed of loving service is the

.

only ray which lights up the deep gloom which envel

o p s the last days of Israel s fi rst king
’
In gratitude .

for the ir former deliverance ( sect t h e citizens of .

Jabesh gilead rescued the bodies from the walls of Beth

-

shean and buried them with due honors w rt hi n the ir

town .

1 0 4 The character and work of Saul has b e e n v a r i

.
~

o u s ly estimated In fact as we have seen ( sect 7 7 )

.
, .

in our two great collections of old narratives in the

B ook of I Samuel he is regarde d with varying degre e s
.
,

of favor In chapters ix —xiv the sympathy of the

. . .

narrato r is with Saul while in the remainder of the

,

b ook the interest is with David ; and cons e quently hi s

persecuto r is V iewed in no kindly light Thes e latter .

records also explain in part t h e tendency whi ch has

prevailed almost up to the present time to condemn
Saul completely His relations with David were such
.

as to suggest a contrast His own and later generations

.

’
ide alized the character of Israel s conquering king ; in
a corresponding manner that of Saul was depreciated .

Neith e r was wholly good nor wholly h a d ; both Shared

,

the weaknesses of their times and both had their good ,

qualities as well as their faults Saul was a Si m ple .

minde d i m pulsive courag e ous warrior ; he was a loyal

, ,

patriot who loved his p e ople and was ready to giv e hi s

li fe for them his physical pre-eminence combined w ith ,
1 34 A HIST O R Y O F T HE H EB R EW PEOPL E

e nergy and enthusiasm fi tted him to lead a sudde n ,

attack and to awak e n loyal support while hi s intre pid ,

courage kindled the sam e in othe r s But Saul was a .

son of that rude age whose roots were found in the

period of the judg e s In a sens e he was a child gro w n
.

big The position whi ch b e occupied demanded e x ec u

.

tiv e ability ta ct the power of organizati on and above

, , , ,

all pati e nce and p e rsistency In these matu rer qualities

, .

h e was d e fi ci e nt ; th e y are rarely the possession of fi ery ,

impetuous natures III addi tion Saul w a s unable to

.
,

understand and appreciate the hi gher religious e xp er i

e n c es and ide als which were already beco m i ng the
possession of the more e nl ightened souls of seers li ke
Samuel A s is frequently true with such a na t u re
.
,

Saul was sup e rstitious Circu m stanc e s tended to de

.

v e l o p the dark e r rather than t h e brighte r elements in

h i s character The co ns tant tri als and cares of the

.

c ourt and ba t tle-fi e l d daunted his enthusiasm and i n ,

d u c e d those atta cks of m e lancholia which obscured t h e

nobler Saul and led him to commit ac t s which con
s t a n t ly increased the density of the cloud that gathered

about his latter days .

1 0 5 When h e fell at Gilboa and the Phi listine s

.
,

again b ecame masters of north e rn and central Canaan ,

Saul s work seemed to be co m pletely undone ; but i ts

’

founda t ions were laid too deeply to be undermined by

political changes Saul found the Hebrews ground
.

down under Phili stine dominance broken in spirit , ,

undisciplined and little more than cowards He united

, .

and aroused the m to strike for independence By his .

succ e sses he inspi red in them confi dence and courage .

In the severe training-school of P hi listine warfare he ,

d e velop e d out of the cowards who had fled before th e

 T HE W ORK O F SA UL 13 5

Philistine army to hide thems elves in caves and ciste rns

t h e hardy brave warriors with whom David made his
,

conquests A bove all he taught the Hebre ws by pra o

.
,

tical illustration more clearly than ever before that by

, ,

union and uni on alone they could be free and enj oy ,

peac e and prosperity A s is O ften the case the pioneer

.
,

perished amidst seeming failure before he saw the ripe

fruits Of his labors ; but his work was absolutely n e c es
sary David reaped the fruits of Saul s sowing but the
.
’
,

harvest would never have been so glorious without the

’
pioneer s to ils.
D A V ID K ING O VER J UD A H , A ND T HE FA LL OF THE

H O U SE O F SA U L

106 THE
old records whi ch have furnished so many
.

gr aphi c pictures of David s experience durin g hi s out’

law period have preserved few details respecting hi s

,

history during the next few years When the news came .

to hi m that Saul and hi s sons had fallen before the i r

fo es on Gilboa he refrai ned from any expression of joy
, ,

although the fact brought to him recall from exile and

the O ppor t unity for u nlimited advancement Prudence .

dictate d his action He desired to stand before the peo

.

ple not as t h e enemy but as a m e mber and the natural

, ,

heir of the house of Saul A ppreciating the bitterness

.

of the jealousy betw een the north and the south he ,

clearly perceived that thi s was the only way in whi ch

he a Judean could ever become the head of all the
, ,

tribes A ccordingly h e fi gured as the avenger of the

.
,

fallen king The mess e nger who hastened to Ziklag to

.

’
announce the death of Saul was Slain by David s own
hand because hi s haste was in its e lf an imputation
,

that the champion of the Hebrews was hostile to their

d e ad leader (II Samuel iv .The song O f la m e n.
q

“ ”
t a t i o n which David sang over the mighty fallen
tended to enlist the affection and loyalty of the Israel
ites It certa inly was politic but no one can fully
.
,

appreciate i t s spirit and still doubt that it was als o

1 36
 DA VID S L A M ENT
’
V
O E R SA U L A ND JONAT H A N 1 37

prompte d by a genuine feeling ; his moderation in con

s t a n t ly refraining fro m atte mpting to s e ize t h e king
ship by violence also gives forc e to hi s words The .

ideas and l a nguag e of the eulogy stron gly suppor t the

’
conclusion that it was preserved in Israel s coll ection
”
of national songs The Book of the Upright ( i ,
.

in s ubstantially the same form in whi ch it fell from

t h e li p s of t h e w arrior Sing e r ; its tone IS that of a
loyal patriot who justly estimated Saul s services to ’

his people
T hy gl o r y ,
l in up o n
O Is r a e l ,
is S a t h y hi h p g la c e s %
H o w a e the r i gh t y f a ll e
m n

Ye d a u gh t e s o f Is a e l w e ep o ve r
r r ,
Sa u l .

W h o c l o t h e d yo u I s c a r le t n

W h o p u t o r n a m e t s o f go ld p o n u n
yo ur a ppa re ? l 1

A ll feelings of personal wrong are forgotten

Sa u la n d Jo na th a n w er e l o ve l y a n d p l e a s a n t i n t h e i r li ves ,
A n d i n t h e i r d e a t h t h e y w er e no t d i vi d e d .

T h ey w e r e ft e t h a e a gl es
s wi r n ,

T h e y w e e s t o ge t h a n li o s
r r n r n .

H o w a r e t h e m i gh t y f a ll e n ,

An d t h e w e a p o n s Of p er i s h e d %
wa r 2

10 7 . A lthough
David honestly lamented the death
of his friend Jonathan and willingly paid a high trib ,

ute to Saul he di d not hesitate a moment to enter into

,

their heritage Not only di d the oracle of Jehovah

.
,

which he consulted command him to go up to the ,

cities of Judah but circumstances also were favor

,

able for his reception A lready by his marriage with .

A bigail he had alli e d hi m self with the southern tribes

and become a wealthy property holder His ki n smen
- .

1 i 19 , 2 4 .
2 i 2 3, 2 7
.
. .
13 8 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R E W PEO PLE

natur ally were eager t o Share the glory of hi s e x a lt a a

tion His gif t s to the elde rs of Judah after the cap

.

tur e of the A malekites (sect 1 0 1) indicate that he had .

spared no e ff o r t to wi n their favor Now that Saul .

was dead and the P hi listines were masters of central

Canaan the J u d e a n s were only too glad to call t h eir
,

tribesman and champion to be their king Since he .

was a vassal in hi gh favor with the Philistines this

, ,

action insured to them peace although not co m ple t e ,

indep e ndence A ccor di ngly at the old capital and

.
,

chief city of the south Hebron David w a s formally , ,

el e cted king of Judah .

1 0 8 It is evide nt that the new king from the firs t

.

aspir e d to the rul e over all Israel His ambition mani .

fe s t e d itself however not by a war of conquest but

, , ,

by a diplomatic message O f commendation to the citi

z e ns of Ja b esh—gilead for their fi de lity to the memory
of Saul (sect He also artfully suggested that
.

n o w that Saul their deliverer was d e ad he wo ul d will ,

i n gly become the i r king But condi tions in the north .

w e re not yet ripe A bner Saul s general succeeded

.
,
’
,

in rescuing from the ruins at Gilboa a fe w remnants

O f the shattered kingdom Central Canaan however .
, ,

was in the han ds O f the P hi listines Judah and the .

various southern clans that had accepted the rule O f

David were lost to the house of Saul Little remain e d .

b e side s the east-Jordan tribes Mahanaim north of .

,

the J a b b o k was made the political centre of the petty

,

kingdom Is h b a a l the surviving son of Saul (who

.
,

was styled by later generations Ishbosheth) was placed ,

on the throne by his great-uncle A bner The king was , .

e ith e r a mere boy or els e pitiably ine ffi cient

, A bner .
,

consequently w a the real ruler,

s
.
 T HE T W O H EB R EW K ING D OM S 13 9

10 9 .To maintain the independence of thi s little

state was a most di ffi cult task O n the east were t h e .

hostile A mmonites ; on the south were the Moabites ,

who never failed to take advantage of the weakness of

th e ir kinsmen the Hebrews ; on the w est the Philis
tines were strongly intrenche d It is possible that t h e
continued existence of the e ast-Jordan kingdom is to
be explained by t h e hypothesis that it paid tri but e to
the Phi listines David and the J u d e a n s w e re regarded
.

as rebels against Saul s house If the latter had been

’
.

strong enough it doubtless would have subdued the

,

southern kingdom ; as it was a constant feud was kept,

up between the two rival states A record is pre .

served O f only one of the many engagements whi ch

must have taken place Near the pool O f Gibeon a
.

battle was fought in which the northern forces were

,

put to flight In the p ur suit the youngest brother of

.

“
Joab A sahel
,
who was light of foot as one of the
,

roes that are in the fi eld seeking to win glory

, ,

pressed A bner so closely that the old warrior was

forced to slay him in self defence
- E ven though he .

was justi fi ed in his act he had spilt blood ; and a o

, ,

cording to the unreasonable laws of blood revenge his

-
,

blood must be Shed in requi tal From the fi rst the .

civil war seems to have been little more than a feud

between A bner and Joab David held himself aloof
.

from these contests in fact as subsequent events ,

proved they thr e atened to be suicidal to hi s hope of

,

fi nally becoming king over all the tribes Circum .

stances however were gradually paving the way for

, , ,

the realization of his ambitions His policy of waitin g .

was vin di cated The continued existence of the eas t

.

Jordan state could be secured only by a cons tant and

140 A H IST OR Y OF T HE H EB RE W PEOPLE

well-nigh hopeless struggle against the strong enemie s

that surroun ded it Meantime its resources we re being
.
,

exhaus ted .

11 0 O n the other hand during these seven years

.
,
’
O f war David s influence and pr e stige were growing .

Many in Northern Israel began to realize that he w a s

the only one who could secure for them deliverance ,

and to long to see him king over united Israel Thi s .

party found an unexpected leader in A bner hi m se lf .

He had been faithful to the house of Saul ; but Ish

baal in a fi t of envy accused hi m of treachery in
, ,

plotti ng for the throne O rdi narily marriage with the .

,

w ife of a d e ad king was regard e d as equivalen t to e n

t e ring a claim to t h e power of the deceased ; A bner s ’

r e lations with R izpah (Saul s concubine ) however ’

, ,

were not suffi cient e vidence to justify the charge The .

result was that A bn e r who may have been only awai t ,

ing a pre text ente re d at once into negotiations with

,

David in behalf O f the elders of Northern Israel The

’

J u d e a n king appreciatin g that he was mas t er of the

,

situation stipulate d that his former wife Michal

, ,

S aul s daughter sho ul d be restored t o him before he

)
’

( ,

listened to any de fi nite proposals His purpose is .

manifest : as the acknowledge d son-i n -law of Saul he ,

wo ul d again stand b e fore the Israelites as the rightful

h e i r O f th e ir former king Is h b a a l helpless in the .
,

hand of A bner accorded with hi s demand and Michal

, ,

was torn from her sorrowing family .

111 The union of the tribes seemed about to be

.

a m icably consummat ed A bner went to Hebron to .

co m plete the plans David fearing trouble had a p.

, ,

p a r en t l
y sent Joab away on a foray but he returned ,

just afte r A bner had departed Learning of his visit .

,
 T HE D EA T H OF A B NER A ND ISHB AA L 141

David s relentless general entered a complaint with

’

the king because he had trusted A bner When this .

made no impression he sent a messenger to recall his

,

rival With superlative treachery Joab received hi m

.
,

in a friendly manner at the gate of Hebron and then ,

taking him aside foul ly murdered him on t h e pretext

of blood-revenge A t this early period it is evident
.

that David was not the real master in Israel Instead .

O f punishing the murderer he only called do wn curses

,

upon his head for his deed of p e r fi d y .

11 2 By this act all hope O f a unite d Israel seemed

.

lost The representative of the northern tribes had

.

’
been basely Slain in David s capital But the king .

was innocent and he Ina d e no delay in proclaim i ng it

, .

In sackcloth he loudly lamented over the grave O f

A bner refusing all food until nightfall ; his action and
,

Song of lamentation were accepted by the northern

tribes as a peac e -offering and an e arnest of fi delity .

A nother crime at this crisis furthered the cause of

David Two B e nj am i n i te captains thi nking to win
.
,

favor fell upon Is h b a a l and beheading him brought

, ,

this gory proof of their trea chery to H e bron They .

entirely mistook the character and mood of David .

From the fi rst he had posed not as the enemy , ,

but as the champion of the house of Saul He there .

fore hastened to pour out the blood of the mur der

ers as a further p eace -o ffering ; their hands and fe et
were hung b e side t h e pool Of Hebron as an expres
’
sion of David s abhorrence of the deed and the he ad ,

O f Is h b a a l was int e rr e d in the grave of A bn e r De .

r ived of their king and general and encircled by

p ,

strong enemies there remained for the northern and

,

eas t ern tribes but one mean s of deliverance O f thi s .

14 2 A H IST OR Y OF T HE H EB REW PEOPLE

they hastened to avail themselves The seven and

.

one -half years of civil di scord and struggle had again

demonstrated that di vision meant national di stress and ,

that without a king who could command and o rganiz e ,

foreign bondage was unavoidable . T hi s therefore

, ,

represented real progress ; for the proud spiri t of the

house of Joseph b e ing broken and the ancie nt j ealo us y
,

between the tribes for the time being smothered Israe l,

w a s o n t h e eve of her most glorious epoch .

 DA VID EST A B LISH ED A S K ING O VER AL L ISR A E L

113 . Hebron Davi d w as again anointed king

AT .

Thi s time a solemn covenant was formed bindi ng to ,

gether all the Israelitish tribes in allegiance to the son

O f Jesse In accepting the fealty of the elders of the
.

northern clans David prac t ically renounced hi s v a s

,

salage to the Philistines ; for before he could become

in reality king over hi s new heritage thi s foreign yoke ,

must b e shaken o ff Like Sau l hi s predecessor he

.
, ,

could rule in di sputably only after he had w on hi s

kingdom by the s w ord The P hi listines recognizing
.
,

the Signifi cance of his election immediately pour ed ,

the i r forces into centr al and southern Israel The .

records are s t rangely si len t respecting the deta ils of

this war of independence The account of the dee ds.

of David s heroes in II Samuel xxiii 8— 3 9 supplies

’
. .

certain interesting data From these it is evident that

.

David was caught u nprepared The P hi listines over .

ran Judah and even captured Bethl ehem forcing ,

David as during hi s outlaw days to t ake refuge in

, _
,

the cave of A dullam But the Hebrew king was

.

familiar with the land and with h s foes In the gu e r

i .

illa warfare to which h e was obliged to resort the a d ,

vantage was with the Israelites Gradually they .

gained in strength as they rallied in ever-increasing

,

numbers about their king The P hi listines unable to .

,

1 43
1 44 A H IST OR Y O F T HE HEB REW PEOPLE

mainta in themselves permanently among the barren

J u d e a n bi lls were forced to re tire R epeatedly they
, .

marched up through the valley O f R ephaim which lea ds ,

to the north of Jebus and were met and defeated by

,

the H e brews A t last near Gibeon the Philistines

.
, ,

were completely routed and driven from the territory

,

of Israel even to Gezer on the plain The V icto r y

, .

was so overwhelming that the Israelites were c fl e c t u

all y and forever delivered from the invasio n s O f thi s
foe whi ch for more than a generati on had sapped their
,

national lif e and threate ned them with utter a n ni hi

lation .

114 The biblical narrative gives few hin t s respect

.

’
ing the order of even t s in David s reign The next .

ste p probably was the capture O f the stronghold of

Jebus E ven down to the days of David certain
.
,

Canaanitish tribes had remained in undisturbed posses

sion of their towns and lan ds A S the Hebrews grew .

in s t rength they began to look wi th envio us eyes upon

,

the possessions O f these earlier masters of the land .

A ccor di n g to II Samuel xxi Saul dis regarding the

. .
,

ancient treaty attacked the Canaanitish town of G i b

,

eon ; later Solomon reduced the Canaanites to serf

,

dom David in seeking a site for hi s n e w capital

.
, ,

recognized the peculiar advantages of Jebus which ,

w a s located on the northern boundaries of Judah and ,

held by a local Canaanitish tribe Like other impor .

tant to wns of that age it had a citadel to whi ch the ,

people fled when attacked Thi s was regarded as i m .

pre gnabl e Its strength was due to its Si t uation It

. .

was pro bably locate d at O ph e l the Spur of rock which ,

exte nds southward from the hill whi ch was defended ,

on the east by the Kidron valley and on the west by ,

 P
CA T U RE OF T H E STR ONG HO L D O F JEB U S 1 45

the T e p oea n These two valleys met to ward the

.

south so that the only vulnerable point was to ward

,

the north where a high wall would na t u rally be built

, .

A perennial spring (now known as the V irgin s Fount)

’

de t ermined the location O f the town and furnished

water whi c h is so rare among the hi lls of Judah
, .

1 15 David as king of Israel demanded peaceable

.
, ,

possession of t h e Jc h usite s t ronghold Trusting in .

the strength of their posit ion the in habitants taunt ,

i n gly suggested th at the blind and lame of their to wn

alone would be able to protect it from atta ck A ccept .

ing the implied challenge David urged his men to the

,

a s sault and spee di ly captured it Some O f the na t ives

, .
,

at least he left in possession of their land for at a

, ,

subsequent period he purchased the Temple site from

A raunah the J c husite (II Sa m xxiv 1 6 . The . .

stronghold however he took and for t ifying i t made

, , , , ,

it hi s capital ; among hi s contemporaries it was known

”
as the city of David
“
The importance of thi s act
.

cannot be ov e restimate d ; it is one o f t h e best ill ustra

tions of D a v i d s fo r e s i gh t and executive ability If he
’
,
.

had retained the J u d ea n town of Hebron as hi s capi

tal it is doubtful whether he wo ul d ever have been
,

able to command the loyal allegiance of the jealous

house of Joseph No t only was Jebu s more centrally
.

located but it was captured and rechr iste ned as the

,

c ommon possession of all the tribes Its location on

—
.
,

t h e border b e tw e en Judah and B enjam i n was s u gges ,

tive of the union between the north and the south of ,

which it was the seal Past it ran the highways of

.

inland trade Its natural str ength made it a fi t t ing

.

centre for the political life of the Hebre w kingdom ,

which was crystallizing about it .

10
146 A H IST O R Y OF T HE HE B REW PEOPLE

116 . Dav id following the example of former rul e r s

, ,

proceeded to make his city also the religious cen t re of

h is state . T O this end he assembled hi s army and ,

with great pomp escorted the Ar k from the plac e

where it had been left after i t s re t urn from the Phil
i s tin e s
. The undertaking however was for a time
, ,

abandoned because of the sudden death of Uzziah one ,

O f the attendants as he reached out his hand to keep

,

the sacred symbol from falling The Hebrews r e .

garded thi s as a token of Jehovah s di spleasure ; but ’

when marked prosperi t y came to O bed—edom the Git

tite at whose house it was left they again took cour
, ,

age to bring it into the city of David Whi le the .

procession advanced the king sacri fi ced an ox and a

,

fatling every six paces and girded with a linen ephod

, ,
”
he d anced before the Lord with all hi s might
“
.

A mids t shouting and the blare of trumpets the A r k ,

w a s brought to the te n t prepared for it withi n the city .

It s arrival was celebrated by a great na t ional festival ,

at which the kin g himself sacri fi ced burnt-o fl e r i n gs

and peace O fferin gs and di stri buted plentifull y to the
—
,

people Thi s Simple act is one of the most importa nt

.

event s in human hi story ; for in establishing a royal

shr ine at h i s new capital David made Jerus alem the
,

city of religions the supreme religious sanctua ry o f

,

half humanity .
 D A VID S
’
F O R EIG N W A R S A ND CON Q
U EST S

11 7 . David had freed his land from the for

A F T ER ~

e i gn invader and consolidated his kingdom he tu rned ,

his atte ntion to foreign conquest In the mi ds t O f the

.

hostile foes which encircled the Hebrews conquest was ,

the only guaranty of immunity from attack A t this .

time a lull in t h e invasions from E gypt and A ssyria ,

due to the w eakness of these world powers gave David

-
,

an opportunity to become maste r of the Canaanit ish

world without foreign opposition During hi s long and
.

varied experience fi rst as an outlaw and then as king

,

of Judah he had gathered about him a brave and tried

,

band of warriors Chief among them was hi s com

.

mander Joab Thi s warrior was a man of blood who

, .
,

n ev e r hesitated to take the life O f one who stood in

his way If he had no fear of moral laws he certainly
.
,

knew no fear of man Combined with an intrepid

.

courage he p ossessed rare skill as a military com

,

mander His faul ts were many and he often acte d

.
,
’
counter to David s orders ye t from fi rst to last he
,

was loyal to the best interests of hi s king ; to him

David largely owed his military successes and the con
qu e s ts which mad e h i s reign glorious Next in honor .

stood the thirty -seven h e roes who had each disti nguished
themselves by acts of daring during the Philistine wars .

A lso atta ched to the person of the monarch and con ,

147
148 A H IST OR Y OF T H E HE B REW PEOPL E

body-guard was the band of six hundre d

s t i t u t i n g hi s ,

hired mercenaries call e d the Pelethites Cherethites

, , ,

and Gittite s ; the i r name in di cates th at they were for

t h e most part Phili sti nes It is at fir st surprising to
.

’
not e that Israel s beloved king t rusted hi s personal
safety not t o hi s countrymen but to foreigners
, who, , ,

like the Papal Swiss guard of to -day knew no master ,

but the one who paid them ; but even during the life
ti m e o f David i t s necessity was demonstrated O ver .

thi s body-guard w a s placed Benaiah who by V irtue of ,

hi s position sto od next to Joab the commander-i n —chi ef , .

In time of war when the militia was called out the

, ,

thirty—seven heroes who had di stinguished th emselves

in former campaigns were probably placed in command
O f the di fferent co m pani es The pre sence of the exp o
.

r i e n c e d six hundred also gave con fi dence to the entire

host With such an army it w a s n o t strange that

.

David rapi dl y extended his boundaries .

1 1 8 A nother advantage resulting from con di tions

.

in the Canaani t ish world was that David was able to

deal with his adve r saries not all at once but in turn
, , .

The land of Moab was overrun and i t s inhabitan t s ,

were treated with that barbari ty which was characte r

i s t i c of the age The fate of the E domite s was even
.

worse Near t h e Dead Se a a great bat tle was fought

. ,

in which they were defeate d and according to I Kings ,

.

xi 1 5 1 6 all the males were put to death Hebrew

.
,
.

garrisons were esta blished throughout the te rrito ry o f

the conquered peoples to hold the m in subjection The .

wandering desert robbers the A malekites were pur , ,

sued by David with a re lentl e ssness which was doub t

less intens i fi ed because o f his previous encoun te rs with
them ; they were so thoroughly exterminated that they
 SU B JU GA T ION O F T HE A MM ONIT ES 1 49

never fi gure again in Hebrew history Thus the s w ord .

of David was potent even to t h e R e d Se a

,
.

11 9 His aggressive foreign policy was already gen

.

o rally recognized O therwise his amba ssadors sent

.
,

with a message of condole n ce w ould not have been ,

treate d so shamefully by the A m m oh i t e king Sus .

p ec t i n
g some hostile p u rpose the latt e r practically ,

declared war against Da vi d by sen di ng back hi s mes,

s e n ge r s ,
each stripped and Shorn on one side Thi s .

gauntlet was quickly ta ken up and Joab a t the head , ,

of an army was despatched against them Meantim e

,
.

they had hired their neighbors the m e n of Tob and ,

Maacah and the A rameans from t h e north (known as

Syrians in the E nglish version ) to come to their aid , .

O n their arrival the Israelites found themselves ex

posed to a double attack with the A mmonite s on their
,

front and the A rameans in their rear A t this crisis .

J o a b s generalshi p saved the day Divi di ng hi s forces

’
.

into two divisions with back to b ack so as mu t ually

,

t o support each other he led one line against the

,

A rameans while the other under his brother faced

, , ,

the Ammonites Joab as usual w a s successful ; and

.
, ,

the A mmonite s perceiving the flight of their alli es

, ,

retir ed within their ci t y Their strongly fortifi ed towns

.

enabled them t o hold out several years again st the

Israelitish armies whi ch were sent against them In .

the second campaign the A m monites summoned other

A rameans but in vain ; for they were put to flight
, ,

and those to whose ass i stance they had come were l e ft

’
a prey to David s warriors A t last their capita l
.
,

R abbath—A mmon surrendered , The A rameans who .

had been called in to aid the A mmonites we re forced

t o a ckno w ledge David s rule It is di ffi cult to d e t er
’
.
e
15 0 A H IST OR Y O F T H E H EB R EW P EOPLE

m ine from the records just how far thi s exte nded The .

A rameans b e yond Mount Hermon and about Damascus

seem to have retained their i ndependence by paying
tribute to David d u ring hi s lifeti me .

1 2 0 B etween the peoples on the north and we s t and

.

the Hebrews the relatio n s were most fri en dl y Toi king .

,

of Hamath be t w een the Lebanons rejoicing that David

,

had humbled hi s ene m i es the A rameans of Z obah sent ,

him messages of congratulation Hiram king of Tyre

.
, ,

appreciating the advanta ges that would accrue from an

alli ance with the rising Hebrew state readily furn i shed
,

materials and workmen to build a palace for D avid .

A fter their fir st bitte r strug gles were over the Is ,

r a e l i t e s and Phili stines li ved amicably Side by side ;

’
many of Davi d s most tr usted warriors and fr ien ds
were P hi listines . Thus at last the Israelites were
freed from all fear of hos t ile attack for they were ,

masters of the Canaanitish world From Phili stia .

and P h ce n i c i a to the A rabian desert on the east and ,

from the Lebanons to the R e d Se a David s sway was

,
’

absolute . The political po w er of the Heb rews h a d

reached i ts zenith .
 ’
T H E O R G A NI%A T IO N O F DA VID S K ING D O M

1 21 . empire whi ch David succeeded in found

TH E
ing was like the kingdom of Saul military in i ts
, ,

genesis and organization David had been called by

.

the Israelites to be their civil head because he had

proved h i mself able to lead the i r armies t o V icto ry .

In the simplicity of the earli er days his functions were

also for the most part military ; his capita l was at fi rst
little more than a fortress and the c hi ef O bligation
,

which hi s subj ec t s in tur n acknowledged to their king

was to respond to the call to arms when a war threat
’
ened But David s foreign acquisitions made a more
.

complicated organ i zat ion necessary Side by Side with .

the conquests of hi s foes by the sword came the peace

ful conquest of those Israelite s living on the outs kir t s
of Canaan who in their long and diffi cult struggle for
,

the possession of the soil had almost forgotten the rest

,

of their kinsmen For the fir st time in their hi story

.

they recognized the bond of common blood and reli

gion and became in reality a part of the Hebrew state ;
,

their accession swelled the ranks O f the Israeli te s and ,

’
perhaps par t ially explai ns David s desire to take a
census of hi s people Joab the captain of the host
.
, ,

was detailed to attend to it A lthough he seems to .

have included many of the dependent peoples hi s re ,

port — eight hun dr ed thousand fi ghting men in Israel

and fi ve hundred thousand in Judah i s almost i n
1 51
15 2 A H IST O R Y O F T HE H EB R E W PEOPLE

cre d ible T h e round num bers at l e ast suggest that i t

.
, ,

w a s only a g e neral e sti m a t e such as the time devoted ,

to the cens us n i ne months and twent

y days alone
made possible .

1 2 2 A s has been fr e quently ill us t rated in Hebrew

.

histo ry the Israeli t e s of thi s age in common with their

, ,

contemporaries always inte rprete d a public mi sfortune

,

as an indication that the deity had been di sple a sed ; and

it w a s the duty of their pri e sts and se e rs to explain in
what r e spect the people had e rred When a drought .

for three years a ffli cted Israel it was ann oun ced a p , ,

p a r en t l
y by the priestly oracle ( II Sa m xxi that . . .

it was because Saul s wrong to the Gibeo ni te s had been

’

left un avenged Ignorant of the t ruth that Jehovah

.

takes no pleasur e in human sacri fi ce they hun g the ,

seven sons of Saul out un der the heave ns unti l the ,

ra in at last came whi ch they regard e d as an index that

,

Jehovah s wrath had been appeased Simil arly when

’
.
,

a pestil ence affli cted the land of Israel it was a s soci

ated with the cens u s whi ch had been recen
David s command The ancient narrati ve in II Sa m
’
. . .

xxiv even declares that Jehovah moved David to

.

number t h e people because hi s anger was ki n dl ed

“

”
against Israel The author of this passage however
.
, ,

gives no hi nt as to why the anger of the Lord was

kindl e d against Israel nor what was the natur e of ,
’
David s sin B e ing ignorant of the teac hi ng of the
.

B ook of Job and of late r prophets he with hi s con , ,

t e m porari e s r e garded a calam ity as a certain i ndication

,

that a sin had b e e n co m m itted P erhaps he also shared .

t h e O ri e ntal superstition against numbering or more , ,

probably associated thi s c e nsus of Davi d wi th the s u b

,

s e qu e nt u npop ul ar di vision O f the people for p ur poses

of taxation .
 T HE O FFICER S OF D A VID S ’
COU RT 1 53

’
1 23 . The favorable issue of David s wars brought
not only added numbers but also increased wealth for
,

Israel Peace and prosperity w ent hand in hand R ich

. .

tribute also flowed into t h e public treas ur y The close .

diplo m atic relations with the surroun di ng peoples made

it n e cessary to consti t u te new offi ces The R oyal Scri b e .

w h o corresponded to t h e modern Secretary of State ,

or Chancellor — was Seraiah E vents in the na t ional .

life had begun to assum e such i m portance that the

O ffi ce of State R ecorder or Chronicler was created ;
, ,

during David s reign this was held by J eh o s h a p h a t the

’

son of A hilud A mong t h e nobl e s and state counsel

.

lors was found the prophet Nathan The royal pries t s .

A b iatha r the son of A himelech a n d Zadok the son ,

’
of A hitub — were also cour t o ffi cials David s sons .

are likewise referred to as priests (II Sa m viii . . .

1 24 A mong the ever-increasing throng whi ch con

. .

stituted the court was Jonathan s son M er ib a a l who ’

, ,

is known in II Samuel by the later name of Mep hi

.

b o s h eth .When a chi ld he had m e t with an accident ,

as h i s nur se fled with him after the fall of hi s father

at Gilboa and ever Since tha t time as t h e result had
, , ,

been lame His boyhood had been spent in retirement

.

at Lo-debar east of the Jordan He alone Of the house

,
.
,

of Saul had escaped the bloody sacrifi ce at Gibeon

, .

David seeking to do honor to the memory of hi s friend

,

Jonathan in time sought out M er i b a a l and restored to

,

h i m his ancestral possessions His in fi rmity incapaci .

t a t e d him for the kingship David ho w ever to ok t h e

.
, ,

pr e caution of bringing hi m to h i s court where h e had ,

’
a place at the king s table In this Simple mann er t h e .

military cam p of the J u d e a n prince grew into an O ri

e ntal court and the Hebrew peasan t s were organiz ed
,

in to a powerful empire .
 ’
DA VID S F A MIL Y H IST OR Y

1 25 . domestic hi s tory of David presen t s a sad

TH E
contrast to the poli t ical The harem with i ts atte ndant .
,

evils is in part responsible for thi s By an aspiring

,
.

prin ce like David marriage was regarded as one of the

,

most effi cient means O f gaining in fl uence and wealth .

The te m pta t ion to mul t iply wives was strong Whi le .

king at Hebron David had at least six wives and sub

, ,

sequently added s t ill others to his harem The mother .

of his fi r s t-born A mn on was A hi noam the J e zr eeli t e s s

, , .

His second C hil eab the son of A bigai l must have di e d

, , ,

in hi s youth for h e does not appear in the la ter hi s to ry

, .

His thi rd son born at Hebron was A bsalom the child

, , ,

of a foreign princess Maacah the daughter of Tal , ,

mai king of Geshur The fourth was A do ni jah t h e

,
.
,

son of Haggith probably an Is r a eli te s s A ltogether

,
.

the names of seventeen sons born to David by his di f ,

fe r e n t W ives are mentioned

,
.

1 26 During t h e earlier part of hi s reign as king

.

over all Israel whil e the A mmonite war was in prog

,

ress David comm itted the doubl e Si n of deliberate

,

adultery and murde r which blackened his hi therto ,

fair record It is true that accor di ng to the ideas of the

.
,

O rient the monarch was privileged to take as his wife

,

a n
y of the daughte rs of the land ; but alr eady the

Hebrews knew a higher standard and the rudeness of ,

154
 DA VID S ’
SIN A ND IT S CONSE Q
U
ENCES 155

his age does not palliate the sin of adulte r y even in a

king A lthough Bathsheba rea di ly abetted him in hi s
.

intrigue David consciously transgressed ; this is de

,

m o n s t r a te d by the efforts whi ch h e made to cover his

crime ,
e ffort s whi ch resulted in the murder Of Uri ah ,

the one whom he had most deeply wronged But the .

king inste ad of repenting for hi s heinous act proceeded

, ,

to take Baths heba in t o his harem The knowledge of .

his crime soon became public The n it was accordi ng .

,

to the re cord that Nathan the prophet and royal coun

,

s e llo r as the messenger of the God of righteousness

, ,

came before the king with the parable of the poor m a n

who was deprived Of hi s one lamb by the rich a n d
powerful robber Whi le David was deno u ncing the.

d e ed of injustice condemnati on fell on hi s own guilty

,

head To refute the charge was impossible : the royal

.

culprit admitted that he had sinned There is little .

,

however in these words and in hi s subsequent life t o

,

in di cate that his repentance was as deep as it is some

times pictu red although in the light Of his age and
,

position it is remarkable He passionately besought .

Jehovah that the c hi ld of hi s sin m ight be Spared .

Bathsheba s baneful infl uence continued to rul e the

’

king until in hi s old age Sh e induced hi m t o set

,

aside his eldest son and to nominate her child as his

successor .

1 2 7 David s Sins and t h e weakness of whi ch they

’
.
,

were the expression certainl y darkened the latter ye ars ,

of hi s reign Israel s champion and idol the one who

.
’
,

was regarded as the personifi cation of all that was best

and noblest had broken the holiest laws known to man
, .

If he the most favored thus fell what could be ex

, , ,

p ec t e d of the ignorant masses ? The degeneracy of

156 A H IST OR Y OF T H E H EB R EW PEO PLE
’
Solomon s reign is also largely t raceable to this example
”
of t h e mighty fall en but not gloriously In David s , .
’

imme di ate fami ly history the evil resul t s of his weak ~

ness are even more O bvious Impelled by lust the .

,

eldest son A mnon basely deceived and wronged his

, ,

half-siste r Tamar Instead of at least, compelli ng

, .
,

him to make reparation to her for the wrong in the

manner di ctated by the usages of the times Davi d , ,

ignoring the duties of king and father merely rebuked ,

him His cri minal leniency cost the life of hi s fi r s t

.

born A bsalom t h e O w n brother of Tamar perhaps

.
, ,

only too ready to fi n d a pretext to re m ove hi s O lder

brother who stood in the way of his succession es
, ,

o u s e d her cause Two years he wai t ed until s usp i

p .
,

cions were allayed ; then he invited hi s brothers to a

great feast at hi s estate at Baal-Hazor in E phraim .

When A mnon was half drunk with wine A bsalom ,

gave the signal to his servant s and they slew hi m , .

1 2 8 Slowly but relentlessly thi s stupendous tragedy

.

unfolds A bsalom fled to hi s mother s father the king

.
’
,

of Geshur and remained there thr ee ye ars David in

, .
,

time forge tt ing the mur der of A mnon began to long ,

for hi s exiled son Joab perceivin g thi s secur ed hi s

.
, ,

recall thr ough the cunni ng O ffi ces of a certain wis e

woman of T e koa Sh e employing the metho ds of .
,
’
Nathan (sect appealed to the king s compassion
.

and induced h i m to commit himself to a certain prin

c i p le whi ch she in tu rn demanded that he apply to the
,

case of his son A bsalom as a consequence was a l

.
, ,

lowed to return and in t ime was received back into

,

royal favor The spoiled favorite soon conceived the

.

idea of seizing the supreme power for himself T o .

that end he secured a chariot and body-guard of fi fty

 T HE R EB ELL ION OF A B SA L O M 15 7

runners with whic h to impress the people wh eneve r

,

he appeared in p u b lIc His princely fi gure and bear

.

ing were also in his favor During hi s latter days the

.

old king neglecting his functi ons as supreme judge of

,

the empire shrank more and more from the public gaze
,
.

This opport unity the aspirin g prince improved w h i s ,

pering in the ears of those who came up to the k i ng

for judgment that their case was good and hinting ,

that they would receive their dues if only he were

their judge For four years A bsalom syste matically
.

courted popularity and succeeded in winning it

, ,
’
although hi s rival was Israel s conqueror king .

1 2 9 A t the old J u d e a n capital Hebron the con

.
, ,

s p i r a c y was launched Thither A bsalom invited a ll

.

his sympathi zers and many others who were thus u n ,

s u s p e c t i n gly involved A lmost all the nobles of the

.

court were with A bsalom when he was proclaimed

’
king It is a surprising fact that David s kinsmen
.
,

the J u d e a n s were at fir st the c hi ef supporte rs of the

,

rebel ; many from the other tr ib e s also quickly rallied

about hi s standard The plot had been so carefully
.

developed that David was taken entirely unprepared .

In haste he s e t out from Jerusalem accompanied by ,

hi s wives and the faithful body-guard who saved hi m ,

at this c r rs rs J c a b and a certain I t tai a Gittite als o

.
, ,

remained t rue to the king The pries t s A biathar and

.

Z adok accompanied him beari ng the A r k David

,
.
,

however bade them retur n with it to the city trusting

, ,

his cau se to Jehovah even though the V isible symbol

,

of hi s presenc e was in the hands of the cons pirators .

His old energy and di plomatic skill re t ur ned in the

c r ISIs ; he sent back his t rusted counsellor Hu shai , ,

with comman ds to profess allegiance to A bsalom and ,

 A H IST O R Y OF T HE H EB REW PEOPLE

by flatte ry and false advice to defeat the plans of t h e

rebel The secre t ha t red of t h e house of Saul w a s
.

mani fested at thi s t ime Ziba the servant of Meri

.
,

baal came to David with the news that h is master h a d

,

d e cid e d to cast hi s lot wi th the conspirator E ven .

more marked w a s the enmi t y of a certain B enjaminite

by the name of Sh e m e i who pur sued hi m with bitte r
,

curses and reproaches for hi s t reat ment of the sons of

Sa uL

1 30 Meantime A bsalom with a huge follow in g

.
, ,

entere d un opposed into the possession of Jerus alem .

A hi thoph e l a J u d e a n and the most respected coun s ellor

,

of t h e realm ur ged hi m to p ur sue at once and smite

,

the defenceless k i ng ; but David was delivered at thi s

critical mom e nt by the cun ning of Hus hai A ppealing .

t o the fear and van i ty O f A bsalom he suggested that it ,

woul d be un wise to attack the desperate men about

David and that a far safer plan would be assembli ng
, ,

all the Israelites t o crush hi m without danger or

,

trouble A hi thophel perc e iving that in followin g thi s

.
,

co u nsel A bsalom w a s rejectin g hi s supreme O p p o r t u

ni t y, in chagrin comm i tted suicide By the sons of .

the pri e s t s Hushai in f ormed David concerning the

,

progress of events in thi s city and warned hi m to ,

haste n hi s flight .

1 31 It is inte resting to note that t h e e a st-Jordan

.

trib e s who had be e n last to forsake the house of Saul

, ,

remained truest to the exil e d king A t Mahanai m he .

took hi s stand The Chieftains of Gilead rallied about

.

hi m wi th their forces ; the subject king of the A m

m o n i t e s also came to hi s a ssistance A mong the fugi .

t i v e s who had accompa ni ed hi m from Jerusalem were

foun d the mi litary leaders of Israel SO that hi s army ,
 DA VID S ’
R EST O RA T ION T O T H E T H R ONE 15 9

wa s quickly organized In the forest of E phraim east .

,
’
of the Jordan the decisive battle was fought David s
,
.

followers in their devotion would not permit hi m to

take part in the engagement His army was divided .

into thr ee divisions under Joab A bishai his brother

, , ,
’
and Ittai the Gittite A bsalom s commander w a s .

’
A masa the s o n of an Ishmaelite
,
David s forces .

were victo rious In the flight A bsalom was caught

.
,

by hi s hair in the branc hes of a t erebinth When thi s .

was reporte d to Joab he hastened to slay him totally ,

disregarding the strict injunctions of hi s king By this .

act the battle was ended .

1 3 2 The r e j o rc rn g over the V ictory was saddened

.

by the bitter lam entations of the bereaved father .

Discontent began to Spre a d among the people Joab .

,

not without reason rebuked the king for hi s acti on , ,

and warn e d hi m against the consequences A waken .

i n g to h i s d uty David endeavored t o conciliate hi s

,

subj ec t s ; but the Old rivalry and j ealousy be t ween

the houses of Judah and Joseph had again broken out .

The northern tr ibes took the in i t iat ive in bringing back

their king while the J u d ea n s held aloof in s ul len
,

silence To reconcile them and free hi mself from the

.

power of Joab which had become so o di ous to hi m

, ,

David invite d hi s own tr ibe to escort hi m back to hi s

capital and appointed A masa the captain of the d e
, ,

feate d army as his comm a nder-i n -chief A general

, .

amn e sty was granted to all t h e rebels ; even Sh e m e i

was not excepted Suspecting Me r i b a a l s protesta t io n s
.
’

that he had b e en wrongfully misrepresented by hi s s er

vant the king re stored to him o n l y half his posses
,

sions and refrained from further inquiry Those who

, .

had been tr ue to him in hi s ti me of danger w ere richl y

rewarded .
16 0 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE

133 . A lthough
there w a s great re j oicing over the
r e storation of their hero the jealousy be t w een the,

north and the south repeate dl y flamed up and fi nall y ,

the favors shown to the tribe of Judah kindled it

into a blaze The leader of this rebellion was Sheba
.
,

a Benjam i ni te The spiri t O f revolt Spread throughout

.

the north David co m m anded A masa to rally hi s

.

forces and suppress it but the Hebrews were r e lu c

,

ta nt to follow the leader of an un s uccessful rebel

lion Joab whose hands had been stained by many a
.
,

murder treacherou sly slew hi s rival and gathering

, ,

the forces of David hunte d the rebe ls t o the city of

A bel in the north where their leader was kill ed and
, ,
’
the in s ur rection quelled J o a b s energy and m ilitary
.

ability preserved the unity of Israel and again secur ed ,

for hims elf the position whi ch he had held so long .

’
The few remain i ng years of David s reign passed
peacefully The O ld king retir ed more and more from
.

public life as hi s powers relaxe d until he fin ally handed,

over hi s authori ty to hi s son Solomon .

 T H E CH A R A CT ER A ND W OR K O F DA VID

1 34 IN. the David of history the element s Of strength

a n d weakn e ss p e culiar to his age fi n d the i r clearest illus

tr a tio n . His versatility and tendency to do everythi ng

in t h e superlativ e explain why di fferent generati ons
and in di viduals have regard e d hi m with such varying
d e gre e s of favor A s a matter of fact his character
.
,

was n e ither that o f the Chr istian saint nor of the

d e signing villain The two opposite tendencies
.

e ith e r to condone his faults while idealizing hi s V i r

t u e s or to try and condemn hi m

, before the bar of
modern ethics — are equally unjust and misleadi ng .

He was a man of his times and Should ther e fore be ,

m e asured by the standards O f his own day In so .

doing the mistake of hol di ng up an imperf e ct charac

,
.

ter as a model fo r the present is avoid e d and at t h e ,

Sa me ti m e a true esti m ate of the real David is gained .

It must be r e membered constantly that he was removed

from the p e riod of the judges by only o n e generation .

T h e years O f bitter warfare which joined the days of

Gideon and D avid w e r e not c a lculated to softe n the
’
barbarity of Israel s pion e e r epoch Wh e n an enligh t .

e n e d s e e r lik e Sa m u e l h e wed a cap t u red ene m y into

pi e c e s (I Sa m . little clemency can be e xp e cte d

.

from a conqu e ring king W e Shudde r wh e n w e re ad

.

o f David s treatment of t h e subjugat e d Moabites and

’

11 16 1
16 2 A H IST OR Y O F T H E H EB R EW P EO P L E

E domi te s and yet he was only acting i n accordance

,
‘
with the practices of the old Se m i t i c w o r ld He did .

not hesitate on many occasions to pervert the truth

when an O bj ect was to be gained ; in the words of
”
Saul , he was able to deal very subtly To the .

priests O f Nob and hi s P hilistine patron A chish king ,

of Gath he deliberately made misrepresentations ; but

,

he lived among a people who at that stage in their de

v e lo p m e n t regarded the ability to deceive successful ly

as almost a virt u e E ven to day the proverb A li e

.
- “
,

is the salt of a man voices the sentiment of the O rient

, .

The means whi ch David used to secure the kingship

of all Israel certainly are laudable compared with
those which were then in vogu e The defects which .
,

we who stand in the full light of New Testament

revelation so deeply deplore commended rather than
,

condemned David in the eyes of hi s contemporaries .

O f all his recorded acts two alone fall far below the
,

standards whi ch were known at that time The de .

throned ty rants Lust and Murder who had ruled

, ,

supreme over primitive man for the time being mas ,

t e r e d Israel s king A S we have seen they gained the

’
.
,

ascendency under the guise of those current O riental

ideas accordi ng to which a monarch was regarded as
the irresponsible master of his subj ec t s But David .

as a Hebrew king was responsible both to his people

and to Jehovah the God of righteousness ; agains t
,

both he sinned consciously It is sad to note the

.

e ffec t s upon the royal culprit of these crimes and

the circumstances which led up to them In hi s .

later days David is not nearly SO attr active as the

Shepherd boy who by gradu a l steps came to the thr one

o f Israel .
ELEM ENT S OF ST R ENGT H IN D A VID S CH A RA CT ER 1 63
’

’
1 35 .While David s crimes against society were
the most culpable the greatness and breadth of his
,

character were demonstrated by his repentance The .

narrative does not suggest that he felt any such over

powern sense of sin as came to the enlightened H e
bre w s o f a late r age ; but the sight of a conquering
monarch humbly confessing his sins w a s u n p r e c e
dented It bespoke a high degree of moral sensi
.

b ili t y and furnished m o s t unequivocal evidence that

,
l

he recognized the law O f Jehovah as superior to that

of his own royal will The recognition of thi s divine
.

law is the key to the understandi ng of his character .

He was naturally gifted with a rare grace and win

s o m e n es s ; but thes e qualities alone do not call forth

such loyalty as he evoked from his associates and

followers The friendship of Jonathan is a lofty
.

’
tribute to David s nobility He had but to express .

a wish for a dr ink of wate r from the well at B e t h le

hem and three of hi s heroes at the cost of their lives
, , ,

fought their way through the ranks of the Phi li s t ines

to secure it (II Sa m xxiii 15
. . A bsalom s reb e l
.
’

lion demonstrate d that there Were many in hi s court ,

foreigners as well as Israelites who were attached to ,

him Simply by the bon ds of personal affection The .

fi d el i t V of those with whom he came into closest con

’
ta ct was a far higher testi monial to David s gen ui ne
ness than the eulogi e s of subse q uent ge nerations His .

magnanimity is illustrated by his action in sparing t h e

life o f hi s pers e cutor Saul and by hi s graciously for
, ,

giving the reb e l Sh e m e i who had made hi mself e x

,

c ee di n l bnoxious II S xix 1 8 It is not

gy O ( a m . . .

i m probable that the comm and to Solomon to slay

Sh e m e i and Joab were put into the mouth of t h e
164 A H IST OR Y OF T HE H EB R EW PEOPL E

dying king by a later e di tor who sought thereby t o ,

j us tif y Solomon s subsequent ac t s ; if it originally

’

’
proceeded from David s li ps it w a s due to the chi ld ,

ish spite of a dotard In courage also of whi ch mag

.
,

n a ni m i t
y is the complement David w a s not lacki n g , .

This was demonstrate d not onl y during hi s youth ,

when he won the title of champion of the Israelite s ,

but also in hi s O l d age when he was eager to lead

,

hi s forces agains t the rebelli on headed by A bs alom

( II
. S a m
. xviii The
. quality however w hi ch was , ,

rarest in hi s day and whi ch was one of the chi ef

,

el e m e n ts of hi s strength was moderation It found

, .

expression in a careful regard for human life at least ,

for that of the Israelites ; the water secur e d from the

well of B ethlehem at t h e risk of the lives of hi s follow
ers h e pou ed on the ground Unlike most asp i ran t s
r
.

for power he was content to wait A lthough hi s fol

, .

lowers advocated violence Saul was safe in his han d s

, ,

and Is hb a a l was allowed to rule un di s t urbed by him

until the elders of the northern tribes thems elv e s
called him to the thr one of all Israel His modera .

tion was begotten by a keen sens e of justice which ,

fi tted him to decide with equity the c a ses that were

brought to h i m as the supre m e judge of the realm .

Thus in the p e rson of the son of Jesse were found

those elements of courag e g e nerosity moderation , , ,

and j u stice which made him t h e great national he ro

of the H e brews A lthough hi s characte r was not
.

above r e proach it was far above the average sta ndards

,

of hi s age and was an earn e st of that p e rfection

,

whi ch found its only and co m plete reali z ation in t h e

So n of Man .

13 6 In hi s religious life the Davi d of history a p

.
,
 DA VID S
’
R EPUT A T ION A s A P SA L M—W R IT ER 165

pears to have been subject also to the limitations of

hi s day It is dangerous to derive a concepti on of his
.

hear t -life from the Psalms whose connection with

Israel s illustr ious king depends solely upon the
’

doubtful testimony of their superscriptions That he .

was a poet is attested by his lamenta tion over Saul

and Jonathan and later over A bner His skill as
,
.

a musician was well established In antiquity the .

player commonly sang a song frequently improvised , ,

to the accompaniment of hi s instrument A mos .

speaks of those who devise for themselves i n s t r u

”
ments of music like David in di cating that in the,

centuries following the di vision of the kingdom David

was re garded as t h e inventor of musical instruments ,

or at least as a patron of music A lover Of song and .

a poet it would be s trange indeed if he had not given

,

expression to his religious sentiments in verse There .

fore it is probable in the light O f hi story that some O f

the psalms in the Psalter came from him ; j ust how
many is one of the most ba ffling probl e m s in O ld Tes
,

tament study It is evide n t that the question of the

.

a u thors hi p of each p salm must be decided i n d ep e n

d e nt ly by a comparison of the thought w ith the David
,

of history and the degree of re ligious enlightenment of

which he gives evidence When a psalm aboun ds in
.

the form of e xpression and deep spiritual ideas whi ch

represent the rich fruitage of the teachi ng of such
prophets as A mos Hosea and Isaiah the s u p e r s c r i p
, , ,
”
tion A Psalm of David m ust be inte rpr e ted like
”
t h e t e rm “
The Law of Mos e s ( sect “
The .

”
Proverbs of Solomon in the Book of Proverbs ( s e c t
or the titl e of the apocryphal book The Wis
“

”
dom of Solomon as a general designation for a ty pe
,
166 A HIST O R Y OF T HE HEB REW PEOPLE

of lite rature whi ch was closely associate d w ith the

name of its earliest and most illustrious contri butor
and patron .

1 3 7 In s tudyi ng the religious life of Kin g David it

.
,

is essential not to be misled by the wor ds whi ch later

prophetic hi storians guided more by the religious than
,

by the hi storical sense have put into the mouth of their

,

hero NO one certainly woul d be so hasty as to criticise

.

their acti on in this respect for it renders their narra

,

t i ve s graphi c making them more real and tr u er pictures

,

of the ac t u al con di ti ons than a dull chronicle of even t s ;

at the same ti me by these means their di dactic p ur pose
,

is conserved far better His recorded dee ds however

.
, ,

more than the words attribute d to hi m introduce us to ,

’
the inner sanctuary of David s soul If he had stood .

in the full light of prophe t ic teachi ng it is doubtful ,

whether he woul d have committed hi s dark crimes ;

surely the Spiri tual light withi n hi m was not str ong
,

enough to reveal the heinousness Of deceit and of

cru e lty to his enemies A t the s ame time it is clear
.
,

that he was one who deeply and genuinely feared

Jehovah ; in this respect he was far in advance of the
kings who preceded and imme di ately followed hi m .

His religious instinc t s however found expression in

, ,

external forms rather than in those soul-throbs w hich

are refl e cte d in certain of the most spiritual psal m s of
the Psalter For example whenever he entered upon
.
,

an i m portant undertaking ins tead of going di r ectly

,

to Jehovah in prayer he cons ul te d hi m through the

,

priestly oracle He haste ned to bring the A r k of

.

J e hovah to hi s new capital that the symbol of the ,

God whom he s e rved might be with him While th is .

wa s being carried w ithin the city of David the o ld ,

 DA VID S ’
R EL IG IOUS CONCE T IONS P 16 7

“
r ecord tells us that he danced before the Lord wi th
”
all his might A s we see him dancing and leaping
.

before the Lord we recognize that hi s piety is gen

,

uin o ; at the same time we have no reason to be lieve ,

that hi s faith was radically di fferent from that of his

c ontemporaries In fact when we fi n d that he yielded
.
,

apparently without a protest to the superstition of hi s

age and allowed the innocent sons of Saul to be hun g
,
”
up un to the Lord in Gibeah ( II Sa m xxi we . . .

feel not that he was a treacherous hypocrite but

, ,

that he had not yet gained that int imate acquaint

ance w ith the Jehovah who revealed hi mself to late r
genera t ion s as the one who had no delight in sacrifi ce
nor in burnt-Offering and whose tender mercies were
,

s o un limited that he wo ul d blot out the greatest trans

g r es s i o n
( Psalms li 1 6 A ccor di
. n g to
, hi s li ght ,

David served the Jehovah whom he knew with mar

v e ll o us fi delity and consta ncy The idea of a the .

ocracy was fi rst formul ate d by late r ages yet during ,

his reign it was fi rst practically realized He r ul ed .

’
o ver the united Hebrew tribes as Jehovah s r e r es e n
p
ta tive . In his nam e he f ought the battles against
’ ’
Isra e l s foes whom he regarded as Jehovah s als o
, .

C ont rary to the traditions of hi s day he establis hed a

new sanctuary at hi s capita l From the spoils whi ch .

he won in hi s wars he provided the means wherewith

to bui ld a fi tting dwell ing p lace for the God O f hi s -

nat ion The priests foun d in hi m a generous patron

.
,

and prophets like Nathan were among hi s most trus ted

coun sellors .To do the will of Jehovah as it was ,

revealed to hi m was the dominating principle of hi s

,

life More cannot be said of any one

. .

1 3 8 C ombined with David s p e rsonal charms and

.
’

genui ne piety was a rare executive ability He not .

168 A H IST OR Y OF T HE HEB RE W PEOPLE

o nl y un derstood but was also able to comman d men .

His varied experienc e s as shepherd cour ti e r outlaw

, , ,

and vassal-pri nce had developed all those many quali

ti es whi ch were demanded In a Hebrew kin g Dur ing .

these days of t raini ng h e had enj oyed rare opportun i ti es

for becoming acquainted with con di t ions withi n and
about Israel During his outlaw period he gathered
.

about hi m a body of warriors who subsequently won

for hi m hi s conques t s He appreciate d perhaps b e t
.
,

t e r than any one in his kingdo m the intensity O f

,

the rivalr y between the tribes of Joseph and Judah .

C onsequently although hi mself a J u d ea n he was

, ,

able to soothe the bitter tribal j ealousy to overcome ,

the instin ct of separation whi ch is natur ally str ong

among Se m i tic peoples and had been intensi fi ed dur ing
the period of the j udges and to evolve out of the chaos
,

a un ited Israel A lthough the Old rivalries frequently

.

flamed into a passion hi s wise and strong home-policy

,

enabled hi m to hand over to hi s son an un di vided king

dom His able military policy extended the boundaries
.

O f the little Hebrew state un til it included the small

Canaaniti sh world whi ch is boun ded on the north by

the Lebanons on t h e east and south by the A rabian
,

desert and on the west by the co a s t plain s When he

, .

was call e d to the throne the maj ority of the Israelites

,

were va ssals of the powerful P hi lis t ines ; when he di ed ,

the Hebrew empire was recognized as paramount fro m

the desert on the east to the great sea It is not strange
.

that later Hebrews idealized the character O f Davi d ;

they had ev e ry reason to regard hi m with pride and
adm i ration When we appreciate the li mitations under
.

which he accomplished hi s gr e at achi evements we can ,

not hesitate to place hi m among the fir st conquerors

a n d ki ngs of antiquity .
 T H E A CCE SSIO N O F SO L O M O N

1 39
’
D UR ING the latter days of David s rule the
.

vitiating influence of O riental ideas and custo m s h e

came potent in the court at Jerusalem The simplicity .

of the earlier days rapidl y di sappeared ; the di stanc e

be t ween the king and hi s subjects constantly increas e d .

Broken by the effe cts of hi s own Sins and those of his

sons David withdrew more and more into the s e c lu
,

sion of the harem A S growing i n fir m i t i e s caus e d him

.

to relax hi s hold on affairs the question of who Should

,

be the next king became important ; the laws whi ch

were to determine the succession were still in the mak
’
ing D u ring the period of the judges Gideon s Shame
.
,

less son A bimelech ( sect 5 6 ) had prepared hi s way to

.

the thr one O f his father by the slaughter of hi s brothers .

Saul s eldest son Jonathan seems to have been r e

’
, ,

garded as the prince regent ; but death prevented his

com i ng to the thr one In the subsequent hi story of
.

’
Davi d s family the eldest regularly succeeded e xc e pt ,

in one or t w o cases when he was ine fficient In the

, .

Semi t ic world the law O f primoge n i tur e was generally

in force ; among the Hebrews however the kingshi p
, ,

was s u ch a new institution that it was still elective in ,

the sense that the people claimed the right of accept

ing or rejectin g a new can di date even though he had
,

been nominated by the preceding king Thi s fac t .

169
17 0 A HIST OR Y OF T HE HEB REW PEOPL E

was demons t rate d afte r the death of Solomon by th e

attitude of the northe rn tribes David unfort unately .
,

perhaps because of hi s i n fi r m i ti e s had not publicly ,

nomi nated hi s successor Con di t ions there fore in hi s

.
, ,

cour t were peculiarly favorable for intrigue .

140 The oldest surviving prince was A do n ijah the

.
,

son of Haggith The prophetic hi sto rian states em

.

”
phaticall y that he was a very goo dl y man (I Kings .

i
. referring probably to hi s personal appearance
, ,
.

B e ing the eldest he nat urally aspired to the kingshi p

,
.

Following the example of s ill fate d brother A bsalom

hi -
,

he assumed royal honors preparing chario t s hor semen , , ,

and fifty runners to go before hi m when he appeared

in public The old king although well aware of the
.
,

signi fi cance of this act gave no evidence of di s p le a s

,

ure The strength of A doni jah s claim was further

.
’

established by the atti t u de of the s t ronger nobles of

the re alm ; Joab the old commander A biathar the
, , ,

priest who had followed David during his outlaw days ,

and most of the princes espoused his cause The .

ancient narrative gives o nl y a few suggestions re

specting the actual conditi ons wi thin David s court ’
.

It must have been clear to A donijah that he had a

formidable rival in Solomon the son of the favorite ,

B aths heba Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet

.

were the chi e f supporte rs of th is younger aspirant .

A pparently desiring to anticipate any sudden c o up

d e t a t whi ch wo ul d place hi s rival on the thr one A doni
’ ’

jah invite d his supporters and the lea di ng nobles of

the realm to a great feast at En -rogel whi ch may be ,

identi fi ed with Job s well located in the Kidr on val

’
,

ley a little to the south of J e rusalem A t a similar

, .

celebration at Hebron A bsalom had been proclaime d

,
 SOL OM ON PR OCL A IMED K ING 17 1

king . the conspicuous omission of Solo

Furthermore ,
m on and his partisans from the list of the invite d
gu e sts w a s suspicious Nathan at once inte rpreting
.
,

this act as a conspiracy to place A donijah on t h e

throne hastened to inform Bathsheba that the son O f
,

h e r rival had been proclaimed king With the announce

ment he proposed a plan whereby they migh t yet
,

secure Solomon s succession In accordance with h is

’
.

suggestion Bathsheba gained an interview with the

,

old king ; recalling hi s promise to her that her son

Should reign she inquired how it was that A donijah
,

was already king The announcement which was

.
,

calculated to arous e t h e resentment of a man who

already fe lt t h e rei n s of power Slipping from hi s
nerveless grasp w a s confi rmed by Nathan who came
, ,

in accordi ng to arrangement whi le the queen was still

with the king The news of A donijah s action and
.
’

the artful words of the beautiful Bathsheba aroused

David First he solemnly swore to her that her son
.
,

should succeed him Nathan Zadok and B enaiah .

, , ,

h
t e commander of t h e royal body-guard although b e ,

longing to the younger nobility re presente d the r e ,

li gi o u s and military classes of the kingdom These .

supporters of Solomon whom A donijah to the wreck ,

of his cause had left about the king David in order , ,

to carry hi s promi ses into imme di ate execution sum ,

mon o d and commanded to place Solomon upon the

royal mule thus announcing to the people that he
,

had b e en chosen by the king as hi s succ e ssor ; then ,

un der the escort of the body-guard they were to take ,

hi m do wn t o Gih on whi ch perhaps was that Spring

,
’
n o w known as the V irgin s Fo un t Si t u ated a little ,

above Eu —rogel Ther e Zadok and Nathan were t o

.
17 2 A HIST OR Y O F T HE HEB R EW PEOP LE

ano i nt him king These direc t ions were immediate ly .

carried out A fte r the an o inti ng the trumpet was

.

blo w n announcing that Solomon sat on the thr one of

,

David The people accepted hi m with loud acclam a

.

t ions cryi ng
,
“
God save King Solomon % A s the
,
”

crowd ascended to the upper city the sound of their

trumpets fell upon the ears of the banquete rs who
were with A donijah ; his question concerning the
cause of the uproar was spee di ly ans wered by a mes
s e nger who ann ounc e d that David h a d made Solomon
,

king and that already the old monarch was receivin g

,

the congra t ul a ti o ns of the people over the accession of

his son .

141 The plan of Nathan and Bath s heba had suc

.

c ee d e d Solomon was master of the si t u ation for h e

.
,

had not only the sanction a n d influence of the former

king but also t h e support of t h e chi ef milita ry force
,
’
i n the empire the s i x hun dr ed A donijah s guests
,
.

fled to their homes and he sought refuge at the altar , ,

f e arin g the sword of Solomon But the new mon .

arch s success was so complete that he coul d afford for

’
,

the present at least to refrain from bloo ds hed A doni ,

.

jah s pardon was granted with the Signi fi cant words

’
,

If he shall Show himself a worthy man there shall ,

not an hair of him fall to the earth ; but if wick

”
e dn es s be fo un d in hi m he shall di e Solomon re ,
.

“
c e i v e d hi s obeisance and curtly commanded Go to
, ,
”
thi ne house His leni e ncy was ominous
. .

Israel s new sovereign had good groun ds to fear one

’

whose claims to the thr one were so strong Un fo r t u .

’
n a te l for A donijah he soon arous e d hi s brother s
y ,

s u spicions A ccor di ng to the record he soon afte r

. ,

re queste d Baths heba who as t e queen mother w a s

h -
,
 RA T E O F A D O NI A H A ND J JO A B 17 3

recognized as one of the most influential in the state ,

to intercede with Solomon that he might give him as a

wife the fair Shu n a m i t e who had cared for David d ur
ing his last days The request seemed so harmless .

that Bathsheba prompte d perhaps by the love of ,

intrigue and matchmaking consented The petition , .

,
’
however at once stirred up the king s wrath A ccord
, .

ing to O riental ideas the one who made the wives of a ,

former king hi s own aspired to hi s regal power ; this

was the charge which Is h b a a l brought against A bner
( sect . and in thi s manner A bsalom pub l icly
’
announced that he had mounte d hi s father s thr one
’

( II
. S a m xvi . Whether A.donijah s request was
prompted by an ulterior design cannot be absolutely
de termined Solomon s subsequent acts in di cate that
.
’

he w a s eager to remove all restraint s upon hi s a u

t h o r i ty H e could never attain that absoluti sm whi ch
.

he craved while A donijah and his sympathi zers lived ;

consequ e ntly he improved the oppor t u nity to remove
,

them at o n e blow In the aspiring B enaiah the head .

,

of the royal body-guard he found a ready instrument , .

A don i jah at Solom o n s command was slain without

’
, ,

O pportunity for defence Nor was A doni jah the only .

’
V ictim J o a b s gray hairs hi s patriotic services for
.
,

Israel and the sanctity of the altar to whi ch he fled

, ,

di d not save him The life of A biathar the descend

.
,

ant O f the priestly house of E li was spared because of ,

hi s fi delity to David and probably out of regard to , , ,

his sacred offi ce ; h e howe v e r was deposed and ban , ,

i s h e d to his estate at A nathoth The B enjam i ni te .

prince Sh e m e i who had b etraye d his hostility to the

,
’
Judean house of David on the occasion of A bsalom s
rebellion was ordere d never to leav e the li mits of
,
17 4 A H IST OR Y O F T HE H EB REW P EOPLE

J e rusalem under penalty of death Thr ee years late r .

h e went to Gath in pu rs uit of one of hi s slaves who

had fled thither ; when he returned Solomon merci ,

lessly carried out his threat .

14 2 By these acts Of bloodshed Solomon revealed

.

hi s real character and paved the way for that despot

,

ism whi ch di stingui shed hi s reign David had taken .

Bathsheba to hi s hare m during the years of the war

with the A mmonites so that Solomon was not born ,

un til hi s fath e r had re igned some time over all Israel

consequently like Nero he must have been young
, ,

when the intrigues of his mother placed hi m upon the

thr one of Israel That mother was Bathsheba the
.
,

one who had kno wingly entered the harem of the mur
dere r of her former husband ; she imparted to Solomon
her beauty passion for Show love of power and u n
, ,

scrupulous metho ds In the harem of David there was

.

little to counteract and much to intensi fy thi s i n fl u

ence With these facts in mind it is easier to un der
.
,

stand the Solomon of histo ry than the inconsistent

character t o whi ch we are introduced by later writers
who in their religious teachi ng idealized the builder of
their Temple ( sect The influential members O f
.

hi s co ur t also w e re those w h o had helped him to the

throne or who were ready to act subs e rviently to his
,

will A zariah the son of Nathan was one of his com

.

manders and another son Z abud bore t h e ti tle of

, , ,
’”
“
king s friend Zadok of an unknown fa m ily was
.
, ,

placed in charge of t h e royal sanctuary to succ e e d the

banished A biathar Benaia h who had s e rved hi m
.
,

faithf t in r e moving his rivals and foes was a p ,

pointed to the command of the army O ne of the so n s .

of Zadok was a royal secretary ; and another who he ,

 SO L O M ON S CO U RT O
’
FFICIA LS 17 5

came the king s son law had charge O f the levies in

’
-i n -
,

N a p h t a li
. J eh o s h a p h a t the R ecorder and A doram
, , ,

who had charge of the levy appear to have been the

,

only prominent o ffi cials under David who retained

their positions in the court of the new monarch It .

was evident that the former traditions of the Hebrew

empire were being cast aside and entirely different
,

principles were in the ascendency .

 T HE F O R EIG N A ND H O ME P O LICY OF SO L O M O N

143 . reared in the enerva t ing atmosphere

SO L O M O N,
o f an O riental harem had neither fondness nor apti
,

tude for war The unbroken peace which character

.

iz o d his reign was due to the martial prestige i nh erite d

from hi s father and hi s own di sinclin ation to take up
the sword In E dom the standard of revolt was raised
.

by a c e rtain Hadad who had escaped the general mas

,

s acr e of hi s kins men atte ndant upon their conquest by

Joab A t the E gyptian court whi ther he sought ref

. ,

uge he had b e e n received favorably and in ti me w a s

, ,

given a daughter of t h e reigning Pharaoh for wife .

When he heard of the death of David he forthwith

returned to rally hi s peopl e ; and among the rocky
fastn esses of Mount Se i r they successful ly de fi ed the
son of their conqueror A still more formi dable rebel
.

lion broke out on the northeastern boundaries of Solo

’
mon s empire It w a s headed b y a A ramean
. R ezon , ,

the son of E liada a form er d e pendant of Hadadezer

, ,
’
that king of Z obah who fi gured in David s day as an
a ll y of t h e A m m onite s and subs e qu e ntly as o n e O f the
,

princ e s tributary to the H e brews R ezon in time b e .

,

coming m a s t er O f Damascus renoun c e d the Israeli t ish

,

yoke B eing unmoleste d by Solomon he was able to

.
,

lay the foun dations of a powe rful Syrian ki ngdom ,

17 6
 M IL IT A R Y F
D E ENCES O F T H E EM PIRE 1 77

which was destined for generations to menace the i n ~

dependence of the Hebrews .

144 Instead of maintaining the supremacy of hi s

.

nation by assuming the offensive Solomon reversed ,

the poli cy of hi s father and devote d the energies Of

his empire to strengthening i ts forti fi ca tions His ser .

vices i n this direction certain l y were most commend

able David had done little more than to fortify his
.

capita l city ; but if the Israelites were to enj oy con

ti n u e d prosperity and freedom the i r state must a lso be
,

consolidate d and pro vided with defences A t strategic .

points Solomon established forti fi ed cities equipped as ,

arsenals encircled with walls and garrisoned with sol

, ,

di ers . Hazor prote c ted the territory of Israel from

attack on the north and northeast ; Megiddo on the ,

s outhern side of the plain of E sdraelon comm anded the ,

central parts of the land and the great hi ghways whi ch

led up fro m the coast-plains to the w e st Farth e r .

south out on the borders of t h e P hi li stine plain the

, ,

Canaanitish town of G e zer rec e ntly destroyed by the

,

Egyptians and rebuilt by Solom on guarded the west ,

ern boundaries Farther up among the hi lls of central

.

Canaan was locate d the forti fi ed town O f B eth-horon ,

which commanded the passes lea di ng from the low

lands to the neighborhood of Jerusale m Baalath .
,

w hose exact Site is u nk n own was also si m il arly ,

s t rengthened The forti fi ed t o wn of Tamar whi ch

.
,

was located on the southern li mits O f Canaan out in ,

t h e Judean desert ( E zek xlvii 19 xlviii . f ur .

, .

n i shed a def e nce against the incursions of desert rob

b e rs and probably guarded the highway whi ch led t o

,

the port of E z i o n —geb e r on the arm of the R e d Se a .

The walls and fortifi cations Of Jeru s alem were also

12
17 8 A H IST O R Y O F T H E HEB RE W PEOPLE

extended and greatly s t rengthene d SO that the humble ,

city of David became a worthy capital of the Hebr e w

empi re .

1 45 In his relations with the surrounding nations

.
,
’
Solomon s defensive policy was supple m ente d by di plo
macy ; what he could not win by arms he gained by
intrigue A lliances far more than conquests were
.
, ,

conducive to the realization of his ambitions ; accord

i n gly the friendl y relations which had exist e d be t w een
,

Hir am of Tyre and David O f Isra e l were cemente d even

more closely by his son The Israelite s had for bar .

t e r the gra i n and wool which th e i r trading neighbo r s

needed ; the P ll (E n 10 1a IlS on t h e other hand were in
, ,

possession of the arts and pr o ducts of that ancient

civilization with whi ch t h e H e bre ws were s ti ll u n fa m i l
iar and wh ich w e re absolutely essenti al to the carryi ng
,

out of Solomon s b ui l di ng enterpris es

’
consequently , ,

t h e alliance was comm e rcial in i ts na t u re and mutually

pro fi table to both p e opl e s The gre ater advanta ge .

natur ally accru e d to the Isra e litish king fo r hi s wan t s ,

were more imperative T h e Hebrew histo rian a l so

.

states that Hir am of Tyr e was di ssatis fi ed with the

cities of western Galilee whi ch Solomon ceded to him,

in return for his s e rvices ( I Kings ix 1 0 Wi t h

. .

the assistance of the artisans and sailors furnished by

hi s S riy an ally S o lomon was able to build s hi ps at
,

Ezi o n -geber on t h e ,
Gulf of A ka b a h and t o send them ,

out to engage in t rade with the rich E ast Settin g sail .

from thi s southernmost point in the Hebrew e m p i r e ,

which then enj oyed a high de gree of prosperity and

civilization ; th e re they would fi n d almost u n li m rt e d
O pportu ni ties for barter If O phi r is rightly
. identi fi ed
 COMM ER CE A ND F OREIGN A LL IA NCES 17 9

1
with A b h ir a at the mouth of the Indus they continued ,

their voyages even to India the character of the prod

u c t s whi ch they brought back
— ivory apes and pea , , ,

cocks ,
and the foreign names which they applied to
’

them tend to con fi rm this conjec t ure E ven with their

,
.

imperfect methods of navigation it w ould be possible ,

to go and return from these di stant ports withi n the

three years w hich was the time req u ired for a voyage .

Such an extensive enterp ri se was in perfect keeping

with the Spirit and aims of Solomon ; and th e P h oen i
o ian sailors on other seas demonstr ate d conclusively

their ability to carry it into execution .

Q
146 Without much doubt the aim of the visit of
.
_

the ueen of Sheba to Solomon was to establish a

commercial t reaty between the two peoples whom th e y
represented ; for A rabia with its Spices and precious,

stones had much to export whi ch the Hebrews were

,

e ager to secur e The stories which are recorded in

.

connection with this event are quite in keeping with

the prac t ices of O riental di plomacy A lliances sealed .
,

with royal marriages were m a de with other surround

,

ing nations includi ng the Hittites Moabites A m

, , ,

m o n i t es and E do m i tes To t h e m i nds of Solomon s

,
.
’

subjects the crowni ng glory O f his reign was the m a r

riage of th e ir king to the daughter O f P a s eb c h a n u II .
,

the last king of the twenty-fir s t E gypti an dynas ty .

Thi s union with the venerable line of the Phara ohs

was most flattering to t h e vanity of a Canaani tish
prince whose father had be e n a humble shepherd ; but
aside from the bride s d owry whi ch was the Canaan
’
,

i t i s h town of G e zer it brought little lasting political

,

adv antage to the Hebrews for before Solomon s death ,

’

1 See Ch r i s t i a n La s s e n : l
In d is c h e A t er t u m s kun d e .
18 0 H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R EW PEO PLE

the thr one Of E gypt was seized by the Lyb i a n usurper

Shishak . E ven the alliance with E gypt had a com
m e r c i a l end .Solomon hi mself became a trader and ,

exported thence great droves of horses whi ch he in ,

tur n sold to his northern neighbors the Syri ans and

,

Hittites .

14 7 The e ffect of these close alli ances with the

.

nations about and of th e exte ns ive commerce whi ch

,

sprang up a s a res ul t was suddenly to i ntroduce the

,

Israelite s to the product s and arts of the gr e at Se m i tic

world about them Hitherto struggles within and hos
.

t i li t y without had rendered the Hebrew peasants almost

impervi ou s to for e ign i nfluences ; now all at once the
, ,

bars were thr own down and the se came rushing in

,

like a tidal wave The horse to ok the place of the

.

ass ; metal weapons and tools supplante d the rude

ones of flint and wood ; wall ed cities arose on t h e
site s of the prim i tive to wn s with their mud and stone
hovels ; t h e rude barracks of David grew into a pal
ace ; the Simple gathering of followers about Saul as ,

he sat un der his tamarisk tree in R amah d eveloped

-
,

into a great O riental court ; luxuri e s undreamed of b e

fore came to be regarde d as necessities ; foreign Spices ,

apes peacocks ivory precious stones and woods aroused

, , ,

the curiosity and d e light e d the sens es of the in h abitants

of the ga y capital With the se radical changes in their
.

material surroun di n gs came new customs whi ch tende d ,

to mo di fy mat e rially their social life The gods of a

.

Semitic nation were SO thoroughl y identi fi ed with the

state that an alli ance between two peopl e s was r e
garded as an alliance between the m also ; cons e qu e ntly ,

t h e tol e r ation of the wo rs hip of t h e god or go d s of each

ally withi n t h e territory of the other w a s at le a s t postu
 SOL O M O N S P OL ICY OF ORIENT A L ISM 18 1
’

lated . In accordance with the terms of his alliances ,

Solomon was therefore bound to rear temples for the

g o ds of his wives Thus the realization of his foreign
.

policy introduced grave religious dangers ; whi l e J e

hovah was still universally regarded as the God of
Israel he was being placed on the same plane with t h e
,

gods of the other nations Solomon intent upon real

.
,

izing his ideal O f kingsh ip probably di d not perceive ,

that the religion of Jehovah was menaced in fact ,

the danger was greater because so few recogni z e d

its presence Certain enlightened prophets showed b y
.

their subsequent action that they alone appreciated in

part at least the Signifi cance of the religious crisis
, ,

which was so apparent to later writers .

148 A study of his foreign policy has revealed the

.

do m inating desires of Solomon They were to m ake .

Israel like the nations about ; to attain for hims elf t h e

absolute power of other O riental monarchs and to rival ,

them in the Splendor and wealth of cour t and capital .

Totally disregar di ng those elements of originality which

gave the Hebrews their superiority over their neigh
bors he sough t only to level and imitate Much that
,
.

his policy brought to hi s people was good in itself but ,

it was pur chased at a great price His e fl o r t s bein g .

chi efly di rected toward gratifying hi s o wn love of di s

play and luxur y hi s subj ects as a whole suffered more
, , ,

than they were bene fi ted The royal estates were .

wide ly extended which meant that free land-holders

,

w ere deprived of their ancestral hol di ngs and in m any ,

cases reduced to serfdom A t Jerus alem he reared a

.

costly palace for himself ; up among the Lebanons h e

had another summer re sidence whither he and hi s ,

c ourt retired d u ring the hot summer months The .

18 2 A H IST O R Y OF T HE H EB R EW PEOPLE

cour t i t self a ssumed a Size and magni fi cence out of

all proportion to t h e wealth and n e e ds of the empire .

Later hi storians have un doubtedly exaggerated the

number of Solomon s wives : the Song of Songs Speaks
’

of only thi rty quee n s and forty wives of t h e second

rank (vi . but the actual magnitude of hi s harem
presented a glaring contrast to the Simplicity of the
preceding generation Indeed the institution it self
.
,

was contrary to the hi gher ideals of the Hebrews ,

as t h e teachings O f the wise in their proverbs and the ,

practice of proph e t and priest demonstrate It was , .

in t roduced by David and Solomon partially as a mea n s ,

of extendi ng their i n fluenc e and partially in imitation

,

of the O riental potentates about them .

14 9 Al though commerce and tribute must have

.

brought to So l o m On a large revenue the c hi ef ex ,

pense of hi s luxurious court and extensive buil di ng

e nterprises necessarily rested upon the shoulders of

his people His palaces and citadels di d not rise by

.

magic nor with the aid of the jinns as the nai ve lat er ,

traditions maintain It was in keeping with his policy

.

of O rientalism to reduce hi s subj ects to serfdom Up .

to thi s time the Canaan i tes the ancient inhabitants of

,

t h e land had been allow e d to dwell among the Hebrews

, ,

enjoying with t h o rn almost equal right s ; in certain

cases they e ven r e ta ined their own inde pendent cities ,

as for example Gibeon and Gezer But unde r

, , .

Solomon forced labor was imposed upon them a n d ,

that process of subjugation began which ultimately

made them hewers O f wood and dr awers Of wate r
“
.

Nor were the Israelites themselves exempted In a o .

c o r d a n c e with the system in vogue in the E ast the ,

land was divided into twelve di stric t s In this d i V L .

 E FF ECT S OF SOL O M O N S
’
P O L ICY 183

sion the trib al boundaries were purposely disregarded ;

Judah alone is not mentioned suggesting that Solo ,

mon favored his own tribe O ver these di stricts were

.

placed royal O ffi cers whose duty was to collect taxes

,

for the support of the court Probably also under .

, ,

their direction were raised the great levies of men

through whose labors Solomon s huge buil di n g projects
’

were carried into e xecution The later prophetic hi s

.

torian who penned the eighth chapter of I Samuel (sect

,
. .

undoubtedly had clearly in mind the condition of

t h e Israelites under their grand monarch when he rep
resented the Ol d seer as declaring : He will ta ke yo ur
sons and appoint them unto hi m for his chariots and to
be his horsemen and they shall run before his chariots ;
,

and he will appoint them unto him for captains of thou

sands and captains of fi fties and some to plough hi s
,

ground and to reap his h arvest and to make hi s i n ,

s t r u m e n t s of war and the equipment of his chariots .

A n d he will tak e your daughters to be perfumers and

cooks and bakers A n d he will take your fi elds and
.

your vineyards and your oliveyards even the best of ,

them and give them to his s ervant s ; and he will take

,

the tenth O f your seed and of yo ur vineyards and give ,

them to his o ffi cers and to his servants A n d he will .

take your menservants and your mai ds ervants and your ,

goo dl iest young men a n d your asses and put them

, ,

to work . He will take the tenth of your flocks ;

”
and ye shall be his servant s .

1 5 0 The free born Israelites soon learned by bitter

.
-

experience the cost of all the Show glitter pomp and , , ,

splendor whi ch dazzled them for a time and render e d ,

the reign O f Solomon so glorious in the eyes of later

generations Undoubtedly man y a passionate cry fo r
.
,
1 84 A H IST OR Y O F T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE

deliverance went up to Jehovah In one instance at .

,

le a st their res e n t ment against thi s subversion of their

,

hereditary rights found expression in a revolt ; it broke

forth at Jerusalem its elf and was headed by J er o b o a m
, ,

an E phraim i te who because of his abili ty had been

, , ,

placed in charge of a di vision of his fellow-workmen .

The king was able to quell the outbreak easily and i ts ,

leader fled an exile to E gypt B e cause of hi s complete.

inte rnal organi zation and with the aid of his strong
,

standi ng army Solomon succ e eded whi le he li ved in

,

suppressing all expressions of popular di s conte nt ; but

in realizing hi s policy of O rientali sm the independence
of the in di vidual subject was ignore d the religion of ,

Jehovah endang e red and that spirit of bitte r antagoni sm

,

arou sed among the northern tribes whi ch led to the di s

memberment of the empire In the end Solomon s .
,
’

elaborate organization and brilliant foreign and home

poli cy left Israel far weaker than when he ascended
the thr one s o that in the light of hi story the designa
tion the most foolis h is more appropriate than that
“

“ ”
of the wisest of rulers .

15 1 It may be asked at this point Whence di d

.
, ,

Solomon ga i n hi s great reputation for wisdom ? The

historian of I Kings declares that his wisdom excelled
.

the wisdom of the chi ldr en of the E ast and all the wi s ,

dom of E gyp t ; not even the famous sages of hi s age

were wi ser than he and his fame was in all the nations
,

round about The comparisons indicate that hi s wi s

.

dom was not necessarily of that characte r which is sug

gested by the te rm to-day ; the absence of moral and
sp i ri t ual perception was not incompatible with it for ,

the wisdom whi ch the wri t er has in m i nd is the secular

type found also among the surroun di ng peoples A t .
 CH A R A CT ER OF SOL O M ON S
’
W ISD O M 1 85

this period the designation wise was used in an ex

c e e di n gly restricted sense ; it was applied to the woman
’
of Tekoah whose services Joab solicited to gain David s
,

consent to A bsalom s recall ( II Sa m xiv ’

and even . . .

to the unprincipled cousin who planned A m n o n s vile ’

intrigue ( II Sa m xiii. .Subtle Cunn i ng keen to

.
, ,

perceive that which is not at fi rst apparent is i t s mean ,

ing The best illustrations are the stories whi ch are

.

told respecting Solomon as examples of hi s remarkable ,

wisdo m . While two mothers were sleeping by night

in the same room with their babies the c hi ld of one was
accidentally killed ; t h e next morning they appeared
before the royal judge each claiming that the survivin g
,

child was her o w n Solomon quickly solved the di ffi

.

culty by ordering his attendant to o u t it in t w o that ,

each might have half the prospect of harm to her chi ld

so horrifi ed the real mother that her identi t y was clearly
esta blish e d W hen all Israel hear d of thi s act they
.

feared the king for they saw that the wisdom of God
,
”
was in hi m to d o judgment ( I Kings iii The . .

introduction O f some bees t o in di cate whi ch were the

Q
real and which the arti fi cial flowers made a similar i m
pression upon the ueen of Sheba Later tra di tion .

preserves the memory of an interchange of riddles b e

’
tween Israel s king and Hiram of Tyre Solomon s .
’

wisdom therefore was that facile wit which i s much

, ,

admired in the O rient ; it is often the possession of a

superfi cial mind and is not necessarily a check upon
,

ac t s of the greatest folly C o nsequently Solomon s .

,
’

mistakes as a ruler di d not impai r hi s reputati on as the

most famous wise man of hi s race and a ge .

15 2 The Hebrew historian adds that Solomon s keen

.
’

o b servations and w itticisms found expression in a grea t

186 A H IST O R Y O F T H E HEB R EW PEOPL E

number of proverbial sayings and songs Like the late r .

wi se b e employed many comparis on s dr awn from N a

,

t u re — fables concerning the trees beasts and fi shes

, , , ,

to impress and ill us trate hi s brilliant deduc t ions Thi s .

ki nd of wit is peculiarly acceptable to the O riental

mind When it fell from the lips of such a king as
.

Solomon there is li ttle wonder that many came from

,

afar to lis ten to and enj oy the luxuriance of hi s court .

Long after when posterity had forgotten hi s foll ies hi s

, ,

sage maxi m s w ere cherished and hi s reputation as the ,

father of wisdom-thought stea di ly grew In the suc .

c e e di n cen t u ries proverbs of unknown authorsh i p

g ,

coming from an earli er period were na t urally attributed

to him Since a proverb voices the common e x p er i
.

ence of humanity it is Obvious that the name of the one

,

who fi rst gave it de fin ite expression if known at fi rst ,

i
,

i s quickly forgotten ; cons e quently the c o llec ti o n o f ,

maxims whi ch bore the general title P roverbs of S0 10

”
mon rapi dl y increased In s rze Thi s point is well .

ill ustrated by the B ook of Proverbs It s general super .

scription sugges ts that the entire anthology came from

th e son of David ; but a further investigation demon
s trates that accor di ng to the testi mony of the book
, ,

its elf a large part cam e from other wise men

, Chapter .

xxii 1 7 introduces a small gr o ir p of maxims whi ch are

.

”
'

designated as t h e wor ds of the wis e and a still ,

shorte r collection also from the wise is pres e rved in

”
xxiv 23— 34 In chapter xxx the words Of A gur
. .
“
.
,
”
and in chapter xxxi the words of Kin g Lemuel are .
,

found A study of the conten t s of chapters i —ix r e

. . .

veals the fact that they consist of a general commenda

tion of wisdo m probably written by a later e di tor as an

,

Introduction to the collecti on contained in x 1—xxii . .

 SO L O M ON A S A PR OVERB -M A K ER 18 7

16 , which bears the titl e The Proverbs of Solomon

, .

Consequently only the two larger sections of the book

,

x 1 xxii 6 and xxviii xxix — are de fi nitely as

.
- 1 .
- . .

signed to Solomon When among these are found

.

pictures O f a ruler j ust and considerate of the interests

of his people the antithesis of the Solomon of his
‘

-
,

tory , and proverbs commending monogamy and fru

a li ty and religious maxims infused with the spirit of
g ,

genuine piety the conviction grows that a large propor

,

tion of the proverbs in these collections could never

have come from Solomon The ti tles therefore must
.
, ,

be regarded as characteri stically concrete Hebrew ex

”
pressions for Proverbs of A ntiquity This inferenc e .

is confir med by the observation that most of them are

written not from the point of V iew O f a king but of a
, ,

subj ect belonging to the middl e class ; consequ e ntly ,

they represent the combined wisdom of many di ffer

ent wise men living during the centuries following
Solomon That some of the thr ee thousand proverbs
.

which the great king is reputed to have Spoken are

preserved in these anthologies is excee di ngly probable ,

although it is far easier to in di cate with certainty those

which are not rather than those which are from him .

The same tendency to attribute all wisdom-writi ngs to

Solomon explains the title of the late book of Ec c l e s i
astes The words of Koheleth the son of David king
, , ,

”
in Jerusalem Similarly a n apocryphal writer enti
.
,
”
t l e d his book “
The Wisdom O f Solomon .

1 5 3 The further idealization of the character and

.

reign Of Solomon may be followed in later tradi tion .

The broader and de eper elements whi ch have gradually

“
come to be associated with the adjective wise have
be e n attributed by succeeding generations to that one
18 8 A HIST O R Y O F T HE H EB REW PEOPLE

who was wise o nl y accordi ng to the imperfect standards

of his age In organi zing the emp i re and in i n a u gu
.
,

ra t ing a more perfect system of civil tribunals Solomon ,

proved hi m self wise in the hi ghest se ns e but in adopt

ing the policy of the O riental rul ers about hi m he ,

deliberately tu rned his back upon the hi gher ideals of

h i s race . Saul with a ll his defec t s was a far nobler
, ,

man and a truer patriot Solomon forgot the best in

.

t e r e s t s of hi s people in the pursuit of luxu ry and Splen

dor In reali zing hi s ambition he nearly wrecked hi s
.

nati on The little state whi ch his s on i nh erite d main

.

t a i n e d a struggling existence for a few centur ies ; whi le

the northern kingdom battling against greater O dds
, ,

soon w ent down to i t s ruin .

 TH E PA LA CE A ND T EM PLE O F SO L O M O N

154 . favor which Solomon enj oyed in the eyes

THE
of later generations of Jews grew because they recog
n i z e d in him the builder O f the sanctuary about which

their national faith centred It is excee di ngly i m p r o b

.

able however that the founder of the Temple a p p r e

, ,

c i a t e d the real signi fi c a nce of hi s action He may even

.

have regarded the temple which he reared as onl y one

O f the more important of the collec t ion of buildings

whi ch together cons t i t u ted the royal palace Its siz e .

and magnifi cence were tangible proofs of the grati t u de

whi ch he and his father felt toward Jehovah for the
V ictories and prosperity which he had given them Be .

ing the royal shr ine it was in a sense from the fi rst
,

a national sanc t u ary ; but the ide a of its entirely sup

planti ng all others di d not arise until cent uries later ,

as the study of the subsequent history will demon

s t rate E ven in buildi ng the Temple Solomon was
.
,

emulating the example O f the O riental kings about

hi m. Hiram of Tyre readil y understood his d e sire ,

and rendered most valuabl e assistance Solomon s .

’

subjects were entirely ignorant of the higher arts

which were so essential to palace building Tyrian .

artisans taught and aided the Israelites who unde r , ,

Solomon s rul e becam e a nation of toilers

’
, Upon the .

heigh t s of Lebanon cedars and cypresses were cut

189
10 0 A H IST O R Y OF T H E H EB R E W PE OP L E

do w n ; with great labor their trun k s were tra nsporte d

by land and sea to Joppa thence to t h e city of David
, ,

thi r ty fi v e m iles up over the J u d e a n hi lls The lime

- .

stone ledge upon whi ch the town was built was quar
ried fu rnishi ng the material for foundation and wall s
, .

1 5 5 The palace and Temple were located on the

.

narrow ridge of rock runn i ng north and south which ,

was bounded on the east by the Ki dr on and on the ,

west by the T yr o p oea n valley Its na t ural strength .

and the presence of a Spring on i ts southern slope had

led the J eb u s i t e s to buil d their citadel upon it ( sect .

In the O ld Testament books which were wri t

ten whi le the palace and Temple were still standin g ,

there occur many references to going up from the pal

ace to the Temple or from the latter down to the
,

king s house ( I Kings V iii 1 II Kings xi 1 9

’
. . . . . .

Jer xxii 1 ; xxvi 1 0 ; xxxvi 9

. . . Since the palace .

was lower than the Te m ple it is clear that it coul d not

,

have been locate d on the traditional Mount Zion to the ,

southwest for this is far hi gher than the highest point

,

of Moun t Moriah on whi ch Solomon s buildings stood ’

.

The sam e references indicate that the site of the Tem

ple must be sought above that of the palace Israelitish .

as w e ll as Canaan i tish Shrines in that age were located

on t h e high places The evidence therefore poin t s to
.
, ,

the hi ghest rock on Mount Moriah whi ch is tod ay ,

crown e d by t h e Mohammedan Shrine known as the

”
“
D om e of the R ock A fountain connected with
.
,

underground wate r-condui t s also marks the spot and , ,

in an t iquity probably furnished the wate r for p u r i fi c a

tion which was S O necessary in connecti on wi th the
sacri fi ce Tra di tion also marks this as t he sacred spot ;
.

and its testimony is here valuable because there i s ,

 SIT E OF T H E T EM P LE A ND PA L A C E 19 1

’
little doubt that this was the site of Herod s te mple ,

whi ch was built in place of the humble one reare d by

the exiles who returned from Babylon The period of .

the captivity was so brief that those who rebuilt the

Temple would have little di ffi culty in fi nding the old
site Furthermore the con fi guration of the rock at
.
,

this point alone ful fi ls the conditions Inasmuch as .

the Temple faced the east it must have exte nded ,

westward from the rock ; while on the eastern side of

the area was found the entrance to the sanctuary the ,

great bronze altar and the open court Close to the

,
.

Temple and a little to the southeast as the c o n fi gu r a ,

tion O f the rock made necessary were located the ,

other buildings of the palace The present harem .

area was amply Su ffi cient to accommodate all these

and their encircling courts .

15 6 O n approaching t h e palace from the south the

.
,

fi rst e di fi ce was the House of Lebanon — s o called ,

becaus e its upper stones rested upon forty fi v e pill ars

-
,

arranged in three rows of fif teen made from the costly ,

cedars of Lebanon It s di mensions were one hun dr e d

.

cubits long fi fty cubits broad and thirty hi gh The

, , .

cubit i n use at thi s time was probably the king s cubit

'
’

( see E zekiel xliii corresponding

. to the larger old
E gyptian cubit which was equal to 2 0 %inches
,
1 Its .

di mensions in round numbers therefore woul d be one

hundr ed and seventy-fi v e feet long eighty-fi v e fe e t _ ,

wide and fif ty feet high The lower story whi ch was

, .
,

Op e n and well lighted furnished a large audi enc e ,

room for public assemblies ; the refe rences suggest

that the chambers abov e w e re used for storing w e a p
o ns and military equi pment (I Kings x 1 6 1 7 ; . .
,

1 Se e N w a k L h b c h d e H b a is c h A h a l gi e i 19 9 —2 0 1
o c : e r u r e r en rc o o . .
,
192 A HIST O R Y OF T HE HEB R EW PEOPLE

Isaiah xx n B eyond the House of Lebanon were

.

two hall s The fi rst which was about eighty-fi v e

.
,

feet in length and fi fty in breadth was a large ,

porch with numerou s p ill ars and was Open on one ,

side at leas t ; the second was probably j oin ed di

r ec t ly to the fir st and enclosed wi th cedar , There .

Solomon s throne O f judgment was set up and thi ther

’
,

the people brought their cases before the s u preme

tribun al of the kingdom The fi rst hall may have .

s e rved a s a waitin g-room for the peti t ioners for

justice B etween these public buil din gs and the
.

T e mple were locate d the private apartmen t s of the

kin g wi th adj oining quarters for hi s E gypti an queen
, .

These structu res li ke the Judgment Hall were made

, ,

of hewn stone and fin ished with cedar Thi s series of .

royal bu il di ngs was similar in many ways to the pal

aces of contemporary O riental monarc hs It is also .

Signi fi cant that thi rteen years were devote d to their

bui l di ng while the Temple required but seven

, .

15 7 For o ur knowledge of the details of the Temple

.

we are in part indebte d to E zekiel the prophet-priest ,

who had hi mself s e rved in the old sanctuary before he

w as carried away into exil e His V isions therefore .
, ,

of the n e w Temple whi ch was to be reared were ,

largely suggeste d by hi s memories of the O ld O f the .

many who have written upon Solomon s Temple P r O ’

,

f o ssor Stade has made the most careful analysis of the

1
sources and later investiga t ions have tended t o con
,

fi r m rather than modi fy h i s conclusio n s A lthough .

man y questi ons of detai l are answer e d only by late r

tra di tions whi ch in most cases are misl e a di ng the
, ,

general outlines of the Temple are distin ctly drawn

1
G e s c h i c h t e d es V o lk es Is r a e l , i 3 2 6—3 4 3
. .
1 92 A HIST O R Y OF T HE H EB R E W PEOPL E

Isaiah xxii B eyond the House of Lebanon were

.

two halls The fir st whi ch was about eighty-fi v e

.
,

feet in length and fifty in breadth was a large ,

porch with numerou s pillars and was open on one ,

Side at least ; the second was probably joined di

r ec tl
y to the fi r st and enclosed with cedar , There .

Solomon s throne of judgment was set up and thi ther

’
,

the people brought their cases before the s u preme

tribunal Of the kingdom The fi rst hall may have .

served as a wai t ing-room for the petitioners for

justice B etween these public buil d ings and the
.

T e m ple were locate d the private apartmen t s of the

king wi th adj oining quarters for hi s E gyptian queen
, .

These structures lik e the Judgm e nt Hall were made

, ,

O f hewn stone and fin ished with cedar Thi s series of .

royal bui l di ngs was Similar in many ways to the pal

aces of contemporary O riental m onarchs It is also .

Signi fi cant that thi rteen years were devoted to their

buil di ng while the Temple requi r ed but seven

, .

1 5 7 For our knowledge of the details of the Temple

.

we are in part indebte d to E zekiel the prophet-priest ,

who had hi mself s e rved in the old sanctuary before he

w a s carried away into exile His visions therefore .
, ,

O f the new Temple which was to be reared we re ,

largely suggested by hi s m e mories of the O ld O f the .

many who have writte n upon Solomon s Temple Pro ’

f o ssor Stade has made the most careful analysis of the

1
sources and later investigations have tended to con
,

fi r m rather than modify his conclusions A lthough .

man y questions of detai l are answered only by later

tradi t ions which in most cases are misl e adi ng the
, ,

general outlines of the Temple are dis t inctly dr awn

1 G e s c h ic h t e d e s V o lk es Is r a e l , L 3 2 6 -3 4 3 .
 F ORM A ND A PP EA R A NCE O F T IIE T E M P L E 19

in t h e old stra t um of narrative in I Kings At . .

the weste rn e n d o f t h e sacr e d structur e w a s a c u

bical e nclo s ure about thirty-fi v e fe e t s q u are ; thi s
w a s t h e h e a r t of the T e m pl e for it w a s s e t a p a rt a s ,

t h e d w e lling pl a c e O f J e hova h and w a s known a s t h e

-
,

O ra cl e B y late r gen e rations i t w a s a p prop r i a t e ly

.

call e d t h e Holy of Holi e s T h e A r k t h e s ym bol o f .

,
’
Jehovah s p r e s e nc e was plac e d in t h e c e ntr e ; a n d
,

0 11 e ith e r Sid e to w e ring s e vent e e n fe e t h igh sto o d t h e

, ,

ch e rubim m a de o f O liv e wood and ov e rl a id w ith gold

,
- .

Th e ir outs tretch e d wings w er e each about nin e f e e t in

width and touch e d t h e wall on eith e r Side m e eting i n
, ,

th e c e ntre over the A r k in form and signi fi canc e they

probably corr e spond e d to the great colossi — w ith t h e
body of an ox t h e face O f a m a n and the wings of an
, ,

e agle — which guarded the entra nc e s to the a nci e nt

A ssyrian palac e s The g e n e r al pl a n of t h e T e m pl e
.

made no arrange m e nts for lighting t h e O racl e and t h e ,

refe r e nces to Jehovah w h o dwe ll e th in thi ck dark

“

”
n e ss (I Kings viii 1 2) sugge st t hat it w a s light e d
. .

only as the oliv e wood doo rs w e re Opened which le d

-

into t h e larg e r room in front The latt e r corr e sponde d .

t o an audi e nce cha m ber in t h e p a lace of a n e a r thl y

-

king ; it w a s of t h e same width as t h e O racl e b u t

‘

about fi fty f e e t in h e ight and s e v e nty f e e t i n l e n gt h .

T h e walls of the T e mpl e were of hewn sto n e and a o ,

cording t o E z e ki e l about ten f e e t in t hickness on t h e

ground (E z e k xli and on the outs ide a cubic l ess
. .

fo r e ach hi gh e r story The walls on the int e rior w er e

.

c e iled with boards of c e dar SO that they w e re c om ,

p l e t el
y cov e r ed ; e laborat e m ural d e corations g a ve

th o m an adde d Spl e ndor T h e floors wer e of cypr e ss

'

wood Light was adm itted into t h e out e r sanctua ry

.

13
 1 94 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R E W P EOPLE

by windows on b o th sides placed close up unde r the ,

ceiling ; t h e roof was probably flat and proj e cte d so ,

a s to k e e p the rain fro m b e ati ng in th r ough th e s e a p

e rtur e s l n n n e d i a t e ly in front of the e ntrance to t h e
.

O rac l e s tood the littl e altar of c e dar wood on whi ch -

,

w a s plac e d the Sh e wbr e ad Gr e at square doors with

.
,

O live wood pos t s

- and cypress panels led fro m t h e ,

large au di enc e -r o o m to the porch which was of t h e ,

sam e width as h e T e m ple and about Sixte e n fe e t in

t ,

l ength A t t h e entrance sto od two hug e holl o w

.
,

bronze pillars a b out thirty f e et high and n e arly six

fe e t in diam e ter (Jer lii 2 1) th e s e w e re decorated
. .

with bronze work r e presenti ng pomegranate s and ,

lili es ; th e y w e re probably associated with the symbol

ism of the Te m pl e pos sibly bei ng re lated to the pillars
,

w hich onc e st o od b e side t h e altars of J e hovah .

1 5 8 Immedi a te ly in front of the T e mp le whi ch

.
,

faced the ea s t was plac e d t h e larg e bronz e altar whi ch

,

was u s e d fo r the sacri fi ces part if not all of it prob , ,

ably r e ste d on t h e broad rock whi ch still crown s the

T e m p l e m ount N e ar by to supply the wa t er needful
.
,

for puri fi cat io n sto od the gr e at braz e n s e a which was

, ,

n e a rl nin e f e et high and over fi fty feet in circ u m fe r

y
e n c e ; it w a s s u pp o rte d by twelv e bron z e ox e n On .

th r e e sides of t h e T e m pl e were built a s e ries of cha m

b e rs th re e sto ri e s in h e ight e xte n d ing up to the high
, ,

windows whi ch lighte d t h e s a nctuary ; th e ir oute r walls

probably c o rre spon d e d 0 11 the inside (s e ct 1 5 7 ) to t h e .

p e culiar pyramid like exte ri o r walls of the T e mple s o

-
,

that t h e ro o m s in t h e l o w e r sto ries wo uld be m uch

small e r than thos e in t h e upper ( s e e drawings ) T h e .

e ntr anc e t o thes e chamb e rs w a s fr o m the south Sid e .

Sta irs led up fro m t h e low e r to t h e higher rooms whi ch ,

 A R C H IT ECT UR A L D ESIG N OF T H E T EM PL E 19 5

were used for storing the wardro bes of the pries t s and
th e vessels e m plo ye d in t h e rituali s tic s e rvice
'

1he .

T e m pl e probably stood on a raised platform si m ila r to

that upon which t h e Dome of the R ock n o w sta nds ,

and w a s surr o unde d by an open court e ncircled by a ,

wall of h e wn stone co vere d by cedar ti m bers .

1 5 9 T h e ar c h i te ct u ral design and details of t h e

.

Te m pl e of Sol o m on h a ve be e n identi fi ed in t u rn with

E gyptian Syrian and B a bylonian m odels The va ri e ty
, ,
.

of O pinion m a y be e xplained by the fact that all th e s e

types had c e rtain general charact e ristics in co m m on .

T h e Ph oenician s who planned and directed t h e build

ing of Solomon s sanctuary w e re in close touch wi t h
’

thes e p e opl e s and as w a s th e ir wont undoubte d ly

,

adopted ideas fro m e ach T h e Syrian mode ls h o w .

,

e v e r were follo w e d m ost clos e ly

,
In facing toward t h e .

ris ing sun it share d the characteristic of ev e ry B a a ]

,

templ e It is distinctly stated that all the m e tal w o rk

.
,

including the making of the lav e rs and t h e utensils for

the sacri fi cial service was u nder the direction of a c e r
,

tain Hiram or Huram the son of a fa m ous Tyria n

, ,

work e r in m e tals (II Chron ii Cherubim pil

. . .
,

lars bron z e altars bra zen sea and bronze vessels w e I e

, , ,

all In u s e in co n n e ction with Ph oenician temples while ,

t h e lily and pal m -branch fr e quently app e ar on th e ir In

s c r i tio n s E v e n in the ritual which gradually gr e w
p .

up about t h e Templ e it is di ffi cult to s e lect a n y one

,

custo m which did not have its analogy among so m e

cont e mporary Se m itic p e opl e T h e potency O f the .

fl u e n c e which t h e T e m pl e e x e rcised U pon the r e li gi o us

d e v e lopment of the H e br e ws and of hu m anity was t h e
r e sult not of its form nor of its m agni fi c e nc e n o r o f its
,

ritual but simply O f t h e charact e r of t h e uns e e n God

,

to whom it was de dicate d .

 SOCIA L A ND L
R E IG IO U S CO ND IT IO N S U ND ER THE

U NIT ED K I NG D O M

16 0 . TH E c e ntury which interven e d b e twe e n t h e

acc e ssion of Saul and t h e death of Sol o mon was o n e
of unparall e l e d de v e lop m e nt fo r the Isra e lit e s Withi n .

th re e g e nerations t h e H e b r e w kingdo m had b e e n born ,

r e ached its z e nith and b e gun to d e clin e T h e social

, .

transformations w e r e corr e spondingly rapid T he .

e s tabli s h m e nt O f t h e kingdom crystallized t h e lat e nt

t e nde nci e s of t h e p e ri o d O f t h e judg e s The d i s i n t e

.

g ra tio n of t h e tribal o rganization w h ich h a d a lr e ady

,

b e gun unde r the co m bin e d influ e nc e of int e rm arria g e ,

t h e growth of citi e s and common dan g e r w a s acc e l

, ,

er a ted . When t h e H e br e w s cam e to fi ght tog e th e r

und e r a co m m on l e a d er for a common caus e national ,

l o yalty t o ok t h e plac e of a narrow tribal loyal ty In .

t h e e arlier d a ys t h e s u pr e m e pow e r h a d b e e n v e st e d in
t h e h e ads o f t h e trib e s ; u nd e r the ki n gd o m h o wev e r , ,

it was in t h e han ds o f t h e ki n g A bout him gre w up

.

a n e w nob ili t y w h o so o n al m o st compl e t e ly usurp e d

,

t h e authority of the tribal e ld e rs Un d e r Saul and

.

David t h e chi e f p e e rs O f t h e r e alm w e r e t h e re lativ e s

of the r e igning m o n a rch and his most pro m in e nt m ili
tar y l e ad e r s In acc o rd a nce with his p o licy O f O ri e n
.

’
t a li s m,
the nobl e s of Sol o m on s court w e r e eith e r
i m m e diate m e m b e rs O f his own fa m ily o r th o s e p o r
,

So n a ll d e p e nd e nt upon h i m for th e ir position T he

y
.

19 6
 L OT OF T H E IND IV ID U A L ISRA ELIT E 19 7

Ol d as s e mbly of the e lde rs of t h e tribes fell into dis

us e , and as a cons e q u e nc e th e ir p o we r wan e d Sol o .

m o n stru c k an o p e n and e ffe ctiv e blo w against t h e O l d

t r ib a l o r g a nization w hen igno r ing t h e anci e nt boun

,

d a rics he di v id e d t h e te rrito r y of Isra e l int o t w el v e

,
.

d is t ri c ts clas s ing together people from di ff e rent trib e s

,

a n d clans .

1 6 1 Un d e r the kingdom t h e lot of the individual

.
,

w a s als o m ateri a lly alte r e d B e fo r e this tim e h e had

.

been r e sp o nsibl e to al m ost no au t hori t y b u t it w a s ,

a fr e edom b eg o tt e n by a sta t e of anarchy the w e ak e r ,

a s a result was t h e slav e of the strong e r

,
The b u r .

d e n O f a fore ign yoke m a de it an o di ous bondag e ; con

s e qu e ntly the e st a b lish m ent of the kingship brought
,

r e al inde pend ence t o the ind ividual O riginally the .

H e bre w kin g w a s only a ju d ge whose autho ri ty h a d

b e c o m e h e r e dita ry ; h i s rel a tion to the nation corre
s p o n d e d t o th a t O f t h e chi e f to hi s tribe or that o f t h e ,

m odern Sheik to h i s cl a n ; he was th e ir l e ader in war ,

th e ir couns e llor a n d ju d ge in time of p e a ce ; in t h e

tru e st s e ns e th e re fore he w a s the servant O f the p e opl e
, ,

who had call e d him to b e th e ir head In r e a lity t h e .

H e brew state was a d e m ocracy and so it r e main e d ,

un d e r Saul ; du ring a period of peace b e re t u rn e d to

his own est a te wh e re h e lived with a fe w followe rs
,

about h i m The chief O bligati ons of the p e ople t o

.

their ki n g we re to rally around him fo r battl e in a

’
tim e of c o mmon d a nger Henc e und e r Isra e l s fi rst
.
,

king the peopl e enj oye d the most p e rfect fre e dom a n d
equ a lity The s e co n ditions continued during David s
'

r e i gn b e caus e t h e rich tribute whi ch pour e d in fro m

,

his conquests suppli e d t h e increased n e e d s of his grow

ing court Solomon howev e r co m pletely reversing
.
, ,
 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB R E W PEOPL E

the original H e br e w ide a O f a king proc e e de d on t h e ,

a s s u m pti o n t hat t h e p e o pl e w e re his s e r vants To b e .

su r e t h e n e w r egi m e afforded addition a l s e c ur ity to t h e

,

individu a l and in t roduced hi m to a higher m ate rial

,

civilization ; but t h e form of t h e introduc t i o n was s o

painful that it mad e little lasting i m pr e s s ion Meanti m e .

h e was d e prived of his old ind e p e ndence ; hi s lands ,

w e alth fam ily and person were treate d as the po s s e s

, ,

si o ns of the m onarch His en s lavem e nt was rendered .

n one the ea s i e r t o bear b the striking contrast

y
w hi ch he could not fail to observe b e t w e e n the want —

and poverty of his hom e and t h e magni fi c ence of Solo ~

’
mon s capita l and cou rt ; nor could h e forget that this
was purchas e d at t h e cost of his O W II freedom For t h e .

private ci t iz e n the di s solution of the e m pi r e a fl o r d e d a

most welc o m e reli e f Since it restored t h e si m pler con
,

d i t i o n s of t h e earli e r days under which he regained in ,

part his old rights and inde pendence .

1 6 2 The inauguration of t h e kingdom di d not

.

swe e p a w ay all t h e moral darkn e ss of t h e pre ce di ng

p e riod E n e m i e s were still tortured the truth was
.
,

h e ld n one too sacr e d wom e n wer e not e xe m pte d from

,

the cru e lti e s of war and polygamy was exc e e di ngly ,

comm o n N e verth e less th e re was also ta ngible evi

.
,

d e nc e of advance m e nt When a stabl e gov e rnment .

was e stablish e d t h e righ t s of life and property wer e

,

m ore cl e arl d e fi n e d and m ore carefully r e garded In

y .

this a ge the ste aling of the pri e st of Micah by the

Danites ( sect 6 9 ) would hav e been sum m arily pun
.

i s h e d ; Gideon s Slaughte r of t h e e ld e rs O f Succoth and

’

P e nu e l (s e ct 6 6 ) would also hav e arous e d a thr ill O f

.

h o rr o r A du l te ry was rec o gniz e d as a cri m e E ven

. .

t h e w e a k could hop e for justice before such j u d ges as

 SA NCT UA R IES A ND SA CR I IC E F 19 9

David and Solomon The law of blood reve n ge w a s

.
-

s till in v o gu e but it was gradually b e ing sup erse d ed

,

b y trial b e for e an authoriz e d tribunal A fri e n ds hip .

s u ch as was that b e tw e e n David and Jonathan and ,

grati t u de like that of the people of Jabesh Gil e ad -

,

lighte d up t h e m oral d arkn e ss In every departm e nt .

o f life t h e ru d e n e ss of barbaris m was giving place to

t h e a m e niti e s of civilization and the in flu e nce of a
higher co n c e ption of the demands of Jeho v ah .

The r e ligi o us life of the Isra e lite s was als o d e eply

a fi e c t e d by this n e w st e p for w ard The exte rnal reli .

gi o n s forms which had been so hete rog e n e ous in di ffer

e n t parts of the land b e c a m e uniform in proportion a s

t h e political organization of the nation becam e more

complete The people still worshipped at many di ffer
.

ent shrines scattered throughout the land but the

, ,

royal sanctuary at Jerusal e m enj oyed a pec ul iar pr e s

tig e ; b e in g fre e from o l d tra di tions and custo m s i ts ,

s ervic e w a s na t urally purer O n occasions sacri fi c e .

w a s o fi e r e d by any one irresp e ctiv e of priestly cal ing

,
l
.

T h e towns m e n of R amah sac ri fi c e d on their high place

( I
. S a m
. ix . S amuel t h e E phrai m iti sh seer
, fre ,

qu e ntly atte n d e d t o this function When h e brought .

t h e A r k to Jerusale m David danced befor e it clad in ,

the linen garment of a priest (II Sa m vi Soon . . .

afte r h i s accession Solom on sacri fi ced a thousand

burnt—offerings on the great altar at G ib e on ( I Kings .

iii at t h e cons e cration o f the Te m ple he offi ciate d

%

at the sacri fi c e performing his r o ya l duties as t h e

,

priest of his nation ( I Kings viii 22 6 52 . Thr e e

.
,

ti m e s a ye ar did Solo m on offer burnt-o fi e r i n gs a n d

p e a c e offe rings up o n t h e al t a r whi c h h e built unto t h e
-

”
Lord ( I Kings ix . A t t h e same ti m e the n u m
.
200 A H IST O R Y or T HE H EB R E W PE OPL E

b ers of the r e gula rly appoint e d pri e sts incr e as e d a n d ,

th e ir functions b e ca m e m or e cl e arly d e fi n e d ‘ Vh e n . v

t h e s a nctuary a t Shiloh w a s d e s tr o y e d t h e d e sc e ndants ,

of E li the pri e s t m i grate d to Nob a littl e to th e north ,

o f J e bus th e r e t hey r e m a ined until Saul in a fi t of ,

m adn e ss caus e d th e m to be slain b e c a use they had

,

h o s p ita bly receive d t h e o u tlaw D a vid (sect .

A bi a th a r who e scap e d follo w e d Davi d in his for t un e s

, , ,

a n d ul t i m a te ly was pl a c e d in charge of t h e royal sanc

t u a r y at J e rus a l e m ; his attachm e nt to t h e caus e of

A d o n ij a h h o w e ver cost h i m his posi tion soon afte r the
, ,

a cc e ssion of Solom on a n d his colleague Zadok a

, , ,

p r i e st of unkn o wn family was appoi n t e d in his place ; ,

t h e d e s c e ndan t s of Za d ok continu e d as guar di ans of

the Te m pl e until t h e fa ll of Jerusalem O ther royal .

p ri e s t s a r e m e nti o n e d I ra t h e J.a ir i t e s e rved in ,con ,

junction w ith A biathar a n d Zado k (II Sa m xx . . .

C e rtain of David s sons we r e pri e s t s (II Sa m viii

’
. . .

Unde r Solo m on A zariah a s o n o f h i s favorite nobl e

, , ,

t h e pr o phet Nath a n — w a s also e l e cted to the pri e st

,

hood (I Kings i v
. Th e s e ref e r e nces indicate that
.

t h e pries t s o f the ro ya l sanctuary a t least wer e a p , ,

point e d a t t h e will of the king and b e ing regarded ,

as r e gular o ffi c e rs of the court were dependent upon ,

t h e r e igning s o v e reign A s they w ere the avowed

.

cha m pi o ns of form and pr e ced e nt th e y proved m ost ,

sta bl e supporte rs of t h e monarchy T h e usag e of the .

r o yal sanctuary in d ic a t e s that s o n succeed e d f a ther in

taking charg e of a p u blic s hrin e ; so that the pri e s t
hood like t h e kings h ip in ti m e b e ca m e h e reditary
, , .

1 6 8 T h e chi e f functi o n s of t h e pri e st appear at fir st

.

to h a ve been t o d e term ine the will of Jehovah The .

Danite Spie s for exa m ple consulted the priest of Micah

, ,
 T IIE D UT IES o r T ILE r i m a s r s 2 01

to ascertain wh e the r they should be prosp e red in th e ir

s e arch for a new ho m e a n d ga in e d a fa v o r a bl e r e s p o n s e
,

( Judg e s xviii 5 Sa u l h a.s t,e n e d to c o n s ult t h e

oracle through A hij a h h i s p r i e st b e fo r e following the

, ,

fl e e ing Philistines w h o had b e en put to flight b y J e n a

than s prowess ; the e vid e n c e of t h e gen e ral r o ut how
’
,

e v e r was soon s o conclusive that t h e impul s ive king

,

did n o t a w ait furth e r con fir mation (I Sa m xiv 1 8 . . .

David during his outlaw days never took an impor

, ,

tan t s t e p without co n sulting t h e oracl e of Jehova h

(I .S a m xxiii 2 .
; II Sa m ii. . . .

T h e e xact m anner in which t h e priest d e t e r m in e d

the divine will is not indicated T h e sacr e d lot w a s in .

common u s e at th is per iod In the illustration s cite d .

,

t h e questions asked were capabl e of e ither a n e ga ti v e

or an a ffi rm ative ans w er In t h e light of th es e fa cts .

it is not improbable that Jehovah was consul t d by a e

form o f lot rendered peculiarly sacred becau s e p r e

,

sided over by the pri e st and cast before som e sym bol of
t h e D e ity as t h e A r k or an ephod Like most o f t h e .

e xt e rn a l r e ligious practices of the H e brews a t t his

ti m e it had i t s an a logy among oth e r Semitic na t ions
, .

1 6 4 The additional duties of t h e priest were m or e

.

perfunctory Since th e y wer e the custo di ans of the

.

Temple and of local shrin e s and their treasures the ,

cere m oni es connected with sacri fi ce wer e by d e g r e es

confi de d to their ke eping until at a later ti me no o n e ,

e lse was allowed to p e rform them T h e ex a mpl e .

which hav e b e en cite d a r e su ffi cient to de m onstra te

conclusiv e ly that t h e custo m was now only in the ma
ing A t this ti m e howev e r the s t a n di ng and func
.
, ,

ti o ns o f the pri e sts gave th e m a position of c o m m a n di ng

in fluence They w ere the revered counsellors of king
.
20 2 A H IST O R Y o r T HE H E B RE W P E OPL E

and p e e p le ; by all th e y were r e cognized as the minis

ters o f J e hovah So m etim e s doubtl e ss by words but
.
, ,

m or e often b y r e ligi o us s ymb o li s m they i m pressed ,

upon the mind of t h e Israelites t h e great truths which

were the poss e ssion of the H e brew race at that stage in
th e ir develop m e nt Since at this tim e p u b li c annals
.

b e gan to b e kept and certain song books like T h e

,
“ -

“ ”
Wars of Jehovah and The B ook of the Upright
we r e in existe nce it is not improbable that the more
,

comm on laws were also being comm itte d to wri t ing .

1 65 A mong t h e A rabs t h e prophet bor e a nam e

.
,

corr e sponding to the H e brew designation for pri e st .

In the earlier days of Hebre w history t h e functions of

t h e p r iest and seer were only i m perfectly di fferentiated .

Sam uel t h e seer perform ed the rite of sacri fi ce and

, , ,

t h e son of Nathan the prophet was a ro yal priest To .

ascertain t h e w ill of J e hovah one resorte d either to the

seer or t h e priest This fact is cl e arly state d in a pas
.

’
sage refe rring to Israel s fi rst king : A n d w hen Saul
inquir e d of the Lord the Lord answere d hi m not , ,

n e ith e r by dreams nor by Uri m nor by prophets , ,

( I. S a m xxviii
. The Hebrew
. prophets at fi i s t ,

therefor e w e re properly seers ; t h e passage in I Sa m

, .

u e l ix 9 con fir m s this conclusion di stinctly stating that

.
,

“
h e that is now called a Proph e t was beforeti m e called
”
a Seer . The s e e rs were in turn di stinct from the sons
of the p ro phets to wh o m reference is fi rst made during
,

the days of Saul The latter living tog e ther in guilds

.
, ,

usually in c o nnection with som e sanc t uary se e m to ,

have corresponded in Hebre w life to t h e Baal prophe t s

of Ph oenicia Th e y were r e ligious e nthusiasts who
.
,

g a v e e xpression to th e ir e motions by throwing the m

selves into a wild ecstatic state — sometimes by the ,
 ‘
C H A R A CT E R o r T H E E A R LIE R P R OP IIE I S 203
’

aid of arti fi cial means (I Sa m x 5— 7 ; x i x 2 0

. .as . .

di d t h e proph e t s o f B aal on Mount Car m e l ( I K ings .

xviii 2 6
. Whil e they we r e an un m istakable i n
,

d ex of t h e intensity of t h e faith of Israel and mu s t ,

have kin dl ed the religious and patr iotic f e eli n gs of

”
th e ir countrym e n ye t the d e signation proph e t in
,
“

t h e peculiar sense in which it cam e to be used among

the Hebrews cannot properly b e applied to th e m .

1 6 6 The character and work of c e rtain of the H e

.

brew se e rs during this period indicate that t h e later

conc eption of a J e h o v a h —prophet was beginn ing to
unfold ( s e ct Samuel ceas e d to be a m e re seer
.

when he found Saul and inspired h i m to the act which

placed him on the throne ; although the records are
late they sugg e st that h e also fi gur e d prominently i n
,

t h e subs e qu e nt histo ry of the nation Nathan certa inly .

was l e ss a s e e r than a states m an The o n e re corded .

m ess a g e of the royal seer G ad was concerning a qu e s

, r ,

ti o n of national interest ( II Sa m Solomon

. .
,

wh ile favoring the priests appears to have ignored ,

t h e s e ers The el e venth and t welfth chapte rs of

.

I Kings contain re ferenc es whi ch show that they o p

.

pos e d his O ri e ntalism in a manner v e ry sim ilar to that

of late r proph e ts like A mos and Isaiah who cour age ,

o u s ly fought the sa m e evil .

The t e rm prophet may with reason therefore be , ,

applied to certain men who stood forth promi n e ntly

during the days of the u n i ted monarchy to interpret
the will of Jehovah conc e rning the political social , ,

and religious qu e stions of th e ir a ge .

1 6 7 A t t h e sa m e ti m e it is m an i f e st that the most

.

enlighte n e d H e br e ws still conceived of J e hovah v e ry

imp e rfectly Mich a l t h e daughter of Saul and wife
.
,
 A H IST O R Y OF T H E H EB R E W PE O PL E

of David had a teraphim or family idol in her h ouse

, , ,

( I .S a m xix . T h e T e m pl e its e lf w ith its braz e n

.
,

ox e n and cherubi m c o nta in e d m uch which r e called the

,

current Canaanitish sym b o lism Jehovah was n o t ye t .

r e gard e d as t h e God of the univ e rs e but onl y of the ,

land and peopl e of Isra e l E v e n David is re presented .

as c o m plaining wh e n hunte d b y Saul ,

“
They hav e ,

dr i ve n me out this d a y that I should not cleave unto

the inheritanc e of the Lor d saying Go serve other , , ,

gods ( I Sa m xxvi . S olomon. reared. te m ples

to t h e go ds of t h e alli e d nations IVh e n king and .

peopl e unite d in off e ring innoc e nt human beings as a

sac r i fi c e to app e ase J e hovah and left their bo di e s a ,

pr e y to beas t and bird (II Sa m it is evident that

. .

th eir kno w l e dg e of hi m w a s still very incomplete ;

th e y even thought of him as beco m ing angry with hi s
p e o p l e and for no apparent reason lea di ng David
,

on to a deed of fo lly which was in turn puni shed by ,

a grievous pestilence ( II Sa m . .

The H ebre w ide as respecting t h e life afte r d e ath

were as ind e finite as among other e arly nations .

IVh e n m e n di e d they w e r e thought of as sl e e ping

'

w ith th e ir fath e rs in Sh e ol the abod e of shade s , ,

wh e nc e th e re w a s no re t u rn (I Kings ii 1 0 ; II . . .

Sa m xii . The b e lief that t h e spirits of those

.

w hose bo di e s w e re l e ft unburi e d were peculiarly u n

h a ppy proba b ly e xplains the heroic conduct of R izpah
,

in watching ov e r t h e bodies of h e r sons (II Sa m . .

and the action of t h e p e opl e of Jabesh gil e ad -

in burying the bo di es of Saul and Jonathan (I Sa m . .

xx xi ) .

1 6 8 Mean t im e th e re was progress

. T h e basis of .

morality among the Isra e lites w a s th e i r conc e ption of

 P
D EE ENING FA IT H IN JEHOVA H

Jehovah When they did wro n g th e y f e lt that th e y

.
,

had sin e d against h i m ; and if punish m e nt ca m e it

n ,

was from th e ir G o d C ons e qu e ntly the re m arka ble

.
,

advanc e i n e thical standar d s w hich appeared under the

kingdo m i s the b e st possibl e proof that the Isra e lites
conceived o f Jehovah e ver m or e d e fi nitely as a G o d
who d e manded righteousn e ss in his p e ople because h e
h imself was right e ous .

T h e e stablishment of an ind e pendent Hebrew stat e

l e d them to recall th e ir past history and e specially t h e ,

te achings of their gr e at l e ade r Moses who had l e d ,

the m to the land of their abode In a sens e ther e .

,

fore it re pres e nted a r e naissance of Mosais m

, Ideas .

which had suffered eclipse during t h e unsettled period

of the judges again came to the ascendancy just a s ,

the A r k again cam e into promin e nc e It has already .

b e e n note d (sect 7 1) that the ide a of J e hovah s unity

.
’

was inseparably connecte d with that of the unity of h s i

people The union of all the t rib e s under o n e hu m an

.

king by a simple analogy inte nsifi ed th e ir faith in o n e

, ,

Divin e King and counteracted in a most effec t u al

,

mann e r t h e temptati o ns w hi c h persistently beset the m

to worship t h e local Canaanitish deities Sinc e th e ir .

th o ught was always concrete this new conc e ption of ,

a king r e pr e s e nte d an important advance in their idea

of Jehovah ; it included their f o rmer concepts of coun
s e ll o r d e liverer and judge and ad d ed thos e of ma
, , ,

jesty and suprem e po w e r When success reward e d

.

th e ir struggl e s for independenc e they w e re impress e d ,

again by the old truth which had be e n often illustra ted

in th e ir history that J e hovah was able and willi n g t o
,

d e liv e r th e m ; wh e n th e ir arm i e s met thos e of other

nations J e hovah d e m o nstrate d conclusively to th e ir
,
2 06 A H IST O R Y o r T HE H E B RE W P E OPL E

m inds by e very victory that he was sup e ri or to the gods

of th es e other p e Op le s C o ns e quently as nev e r b e fO Ie
.
, ,

t h e hearts of the Israelite s w e re fil led with an n u

bounde d admiration and gratitude to w ard J e hovah .

T h e atmosphere was favorabl e for the growth of pop

ular faith ; storms w e re destined to com e which would
d e e p e n and broaden it but from Dan to Beersheba
,

the G o d of th e ir nation was fervently worshi pp e d by

e v e ry loyal Isra e lit e .

In this earli e r period half enveloped in the mists of

,

heathenism fi lled with deeds of rude barbarism s t u p e n

, ,

dous folly heroic struggles and glorious conqu e sts the

, , ,

roots of later Hebrew life and thought are found fir m ly

e mbedded .The conqu e sts of David and the glory of
Solo m on also gave J e hovah a presti ge and place among
t h e nations which further crystallized t h e faith of his
p e opl e A midst t h e vicissitudes and misfortun e s of
.

succeedi ng years it was k e pt alive and stre ngthened

by the memori e s of this gol d en epoch W h e n their .

e nlightened prophe t s b e held afar t h e Splendors of a

more glorious day they dre w the language and fi gure s

,

wh e re with they heralde d it from t h e annals of t h e

unite d monarchy David who was i t s c e ntral fi gure
.
, ,
’
beca m e t h e type of the Lord s anointed who was com ,

ing to bring lasting deliverance peace and joy to his , ,

people , not by t h e sword but by the far more potent

,

power of di v in e truth .
AU TH ORI TI E S UP ON
HISTO RY
 A P P END IX

T H E A U T H OR IT IES U P ON H EB R EW H IST OR Y

IN t h e m o d er n t
s udy o f h is t o r y a lib r a r y i s
ly s a t i 5
the on 4

fa c t o r y t e x t -b o o k T h i s i s p e c u l i a r ly t r u e o f H e b r e w h i s t o r y
.
,

w h e r e t h e f a c t s m u s t b e gl ea n e d f r o m m a n y d i ffe r e n t s o u r c e s .

T o d a y w h e n t h e n u m b e r o f b o o k s o n b i b li c a l a n d r e l a t e d
-
,

s u b e c ts i s s o g h u e s t io n h i h h
j r ea t t e
q , w c t e s t u d e nt c on

s t a n t ly a s k s i s n o t w h a t a r e h e l fu l b u t r a t h er w h a t b o o k s
, p ,

a r e t h e m o s t h e l p f u l a n d t r u s tw o r t h y In t h e f o l l o w i n g
.

a g e s t h e a tt e m p t i s m a d e t o a n s w e r t h i s q u e s t i o n d e fi n i t e ly
p
a n d p r a c t i c a lly U n d e r t h e c h a p te r h e a d i n g s e m p l o y e d i n
.

t h e H i s t o r y t h e b i b li c a l p a s s a g e s w h i c h a r e o u r fi r s t a n d
,

g r e a t s o u r c e a r e s ys t e m a t i c a l l y a r r a n g e d T h e n fo l l o w p a g e
,
.

r e f e r e n c e s t o t h e w r i t e r s w h o h a ve t h r o w n t h e c l e a r e s t l i g h t

u o n t h e s u b ec t s t r e a t e d
p j P i m a r
.
y r a th er t ha n s ec o n d a r
r
y
a u th o r i t i e s a r e i n m o s t c a s e s c i t e d Fo r t h e c o n v e n i e n c e o f
.

t h o s e u n fa m i l i a r w i t h t h e G e r m a n t h e r e fer e n c es t o t h e
,

En g l i s h b o o k s a r e i n t r o d u c e d fi r s t T h e ex p l a n a t i o n o f t h e
.

a bb r e v i a t i o n s a d o p t e d w i l l b e f o u n d o n p a g e 2 13 w h e r e t h e ,

b o o k s o f r e f e r e n c e a r e a r r a n g e d u n d e r t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e h ea d s .

W ith m a n y o f t h e s e w o r k s t h e r e a d e r i s a l r e a d y f a m ili a r .

Ne v e r th e l e s s a v e r y b r i e f c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n m a y b e fo u n d
,

h e lp f u l t o s o m e .

O f t h e m a n y b o o k s i n En g l i s h w h i c h t r e a t o f t h e a u t h o r
s h ip , d a t e a n d c o n t e n t s o f t h e Ol d T e s t a m e n t w r i t i n g s
, ,

n one r es en t t h e r es u l t s o f r ec en t c r it i c a l r es ea r c h i n m o r e
p
c o n c i s e a n d u s a b l e f o r m t h a n t h e In t r o d u c t i o n b v P r o f e s s o r,

D r iv e r . F o r t h e s t u d e n t w h o w i l l fa m ili a r i z e h i m s e l f w i t h
t h e t e c h n i c a l t e r m s e m p l o ye d a n d fa i t h f u lly l o o k u p t h e
,

14
2 10 A H IST O R Y O R T H E H EB R E W PE OPLE

b i b l i c a l r e f e r e n c e s w i th w h ic h t h e v o lu m e i s fi l l e d i t i s a n ,

i n va l u a b l e m a n u a l . P r o f e s s o r M o o r
’
e s c o m m e n t a r
y on
J u d g es
p r e s e n t s i n
g r e a t e r d e t a il t h e l a t e s t c r it i c a l c o n c l u

s i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h i s i m p o r t a n t s o u r c e o f H eb r ew h i s t o r y .

The da t a r e s
p e c t i n
g t h e s o c i a l a n d r e l i g i o u s l i f e o f t h e I s r a e l

i t es d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f t h e j u d g e s a r e e s
p e c i a l l y v a l u a bl e .

l
A th o u h W g e ll h a u s e n s
’
P r o l e g o m e n a t o t h e H i s t o r y fo I s r a e l

h a s a r o u s e d b i t t e r a n ta g o n i s m l a r g e ly b e c a u s e o f i t s t o n e
, ,

a n d a l t h o u g h s o m e o f i t s c o n c l u s i o n s a r e t o o e x tr e m e t o d o

ll h f t i t t b g n i ed a s a n e o c h
us tic e
j t e e c o p
z
t o a e a c s ,
m u s r

m a k i n g b o o k ,
a n d o n e w h i c h s ti ll a m
p yl r e w a r d s p a t i e n t
s tu dy .

I nh i s A i d s t o t h e D e v o n t S t u d y fo C r i t i c i s m ,
P r o f e s s o r

h
C y e n e o u t li n e s i n a h a l f - o
p p u l a r m a n n e r a n a n a l y s i s o f t h e

D a v i d -n a r r a t i ve s i n Sa m u el, a n d t h e n i n t r o d u c e s t h e r e a d e r
to the Da ivd o f t h e o l d r e c o r d s G e n e r.a l q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n

in g t e h o r i g i n a n d a i m o f t h e O ld T e s t a m e n t b o o k s a n d t h e

r a c t i c a l r e s u l t s o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l a n d l i t e r a r y s tu d y o f t h e
p
B i b l e a r e a b l y d i s c u s s e d b y R e v e r e n d M r H o r t o n i n h i s R ev .

e la ti o n a n d t h e B i b le . In t h e Wi s e fil m
f
o A n c i en t I s r a el
a n d t h ei r P r o ver bs te r a ft e r s t ud yi n gt h e t h r e e
t he p r es e n t wr i ,

g r e a t c l a s s e s o f H e b r e w t e a c h e r s i n v e s ti g a t e s t h e q u e s t i o n
,

o f t h e d a t e a n d a u t h o r s h i p o f t h e B o o k o f P r o v er b s a n d t h en ,

r e a r r a n g es t h e c o n t e n t s o f t h e H e b r e w a n t h o l o gy .

P r o f e s s o r B u d d e s e x h a u s t i v e a n a l ys i s o f D i e B u c h er
’

R i c h t er a n d Sa m u e l h a s j u s t ly b e c o m e t h e fo u n d a ti o n fo r
a l l s u b s e qu e n t c r i t i c a l s t u d y o f t h e i r s t r u c tu r e a n d a u th o r

s h ip . A m o n g t h e m a n y G e r m a n E i n lei t u n gen i n d a s A lt e
T es t a m en t t h a t o f P o f e s s o r Co r n i ll i s e s p e c i a lly s e r v i c e
,
r

a bl e ,
s i n c e i t i s c o n c i s e a s w e ll a s c r i t i c a l .

In t h e d e p a r t m e n t o f H e b r e w h i s t o r y t h e r e i s a r e m a r k
a bl e l a c k o f w o r k s i n E n gl i s h w r i t t e n w i t h t h e h i s t o r i c a l

s ir it T h o s e o f Ed e r s h e i m a n d Sm i t h a r e b a s e d u p o n t h e
p .

o l d t r a d iti o n a l v i e w o f t h e s o u r c e s T h e s a m e o b j e c ti o n i s
.

o n l y p a r t i a l l y t r u e i n t h e c a s e o f St a n l e y s H i s t o r y of t h e
’
 A UT H O RIT IES U PO N H EB R EW H IST OR Y 21 1

J e w i s h Ch u r c h , w h i c h i s st i ll v e r y u s e f u l in c o n n ec tio n
w ith c er t a in p er o i ds o f the h i s to r y D ur i n g
. t he p a s t t hr ee

d e c a d e s , h o w e ve r , b i bl i c a l r e s ea r c h ha s a d d ed so m uc h to
o ur k n o wle d ge tha t we ha ve p a s s ed b ey o n d t he r ea lm o f t ha t

p ro h
p et
’
i
s v s io n .

R en a n
,
in his H is to r y f
o t h e P eop l e o
f Is r a e l, s o O f te n
a ba n d o n s the p
sc ie n t i fic
i n c i l e s w h i c h h e c la i m s t o c h a m
p r

n d s t a t e s h i s o w n b r i l l ia n t c o n ec t ur e s a s if t h e
p i on , a j y
w e r e e s t a bl i s h e d fa c t s t h a t h i s w o r k i s a s u n t r u s t w o r t h y a s
,

t h a t o f Ed e r s h e i m T h e s a m e c r i ti c i s m i s a p p l i c a b l e i n a
.

l e s s e r d e g r e e t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l n a r r a ti ve c o n ta i n e d i n D o c t o r
Oo r t B i b le f L ea
’
s or r n er s .

A l t h o u g h w r i t te n h a l f a c en ta l w o r k
t ur y a o
g, the m o n u m en

o f E w a l d s h a r e s w i t h t h a t o f St a n l e y c h w a s l a r g el
( w h i y
f o u n d e d u p o n i t ) t h e t i t l e o f b e i n g t h e b e s t s i n gl e H i s t o r y
of Is r a e l i n En gli s h T h i s m e a n s h o w e v e r t h a t th e s e
.
, ,

b o o k s c a n b e p r o fi t a b ly e m p l o y e d o n l y a s t h e y a r e c o n s t a n t ly
s u p p l e m e n t e d b y t h e r e s u l t s O f s u b s e qu e n t d i s c o ve r i e s .

P r o f e s s o r M c Cu r d y i n h i s H i s t o r y P r op h ec y a n d t h e
, , ,

M o n u m en t s h a s o p e n e d t o g e n e r a l B i b l e s t u d e n ts a n e x c e e d
,

i n gly r i c h m i n e o f m a t e r i a l T h e fi e ld w h i c h th i s t r e a t i s e
.

c o v e r s i s s o w i d e t h a t t h e r e a d er ga in s a n im p r e s s i o n r a t h e r

o f t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o f t h e H e b r e w s t h a n o f th e i r n a t i o n a l

li f e i t s e lf T h e f o r m e r i m p r e s s i o n h o w e v e r i s a b s o l u t e ly
.
, ,

es s en t ia l t o a tr u e a p p r e c i a t i o n o f Is r a e l i t i s h h i s to r y a d ,
n

t h er e fo r e t h e w o r k i s v e r y u s e f u l fo r r e f e r e n c e .

T h e b i bl i c a l a r t i c l e s i n t h e E n c yc lop te d i a B r i t a n n i c a a s ,

i s w e l l k n o w n w e r e c o n t r i b u t e d b y t h e l e a d i n g Ol d a n d Ne w
,

T e s t a m e n t s c h o la r s o f t O d a y a n d c o n t a i n t he o u t l i n e s o f t h e
-
,

m o s t r el i a bl e h i s t o r o f t h e H eb r ew e o l e a c c e s s i bl e t o
y p p
t h e g e n e r a l En gli s h r e a d e r .

T h e l a t e s t a n d i n s o m e w a ys m o s t s a t i s fa c t o r y h i s t o r i a n
o f t h e H e b r e w p e o p l e i s P r o fe s s o r K i t t e l W hi l e h i s m eth .

o d s a r e h i s t o r i c a l a n d c r it ic a l h i s p o s it i o n s a r e a l w a ys a s ,

c o n s e r va ti v e a s t h e f a c ts w ill p e r m it In t h e l a tte r r e .
 2 12 A H IST O R Y O F T H E H EB REW PEOPL E

s
p ec t h e d i ff e r s r a d i c a l l y f r o m Sta d e w h o s e w o r k i s t h e m o s t
,

e x h a u s t i v e G es c h i c h t e d es Vo lkes Is r a e l w h i c h h a s a p p e a r e d

s i n c e t h e d a ys o f Ew a l d B o t h K i t te l a n d Sta d e b a s e t h e i r
.

c o n c l u s i o n s u p o n a c a r e f u l a n a ly s i s o f t h e s o u r c e s a nd co ,
n

s e qu e n t l y a g r e e i n t h e b r o a d o u t l i n e s Mu c h v a l u a b le h i s
.

t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l i s a ls o t o b e f o u n d i n R e u s s G es c h i c h t e d es
’

A lt e n T e s t a m en ts .

A i c h li t e r a t u r e u p o n t h e r e l i g i o n o f t h e H e b r e w s h a s
r

s p r u n g u p s i n c e t h e h is t o r i c a l m e t h o d s o f i n ve s t i g a t i o n h a v e

b e e n g e n e r a ll y a d o p t e d T h e w o r k s b y t h e l a te P r o f e s s o r
.

W R o b e r t s o n Sm i t h a r e e s p e c ial ly s u gg e s ti ve e v e n th o u gh
.
,

o n e d o e s n o t fi n a l ly a c c e p t a ll h i s c o n c l u s i o n s Fo r t u n a t e ly .

fo r t h e En gl i s h p u bl i c t h e a d m i r a bl e w o r k b y P r o f e s s o r
,

Sc h u l t z h a s r e c e n tly b e e n t r a n s l a t e d f r o m t h e f o u r t h G e r m a n
e d it io n .W h i l e i t s s p i r i t i s t e m p e r a t e i t i s a l s o p r o gr e s ,

s ive a n d e m bo d i es t h e r es ult s o f a r i e s c h o la r s h i T he
, p p .

s a m e p r o g r e s s i ve c o n s e r v a t i ve t o n e c h a r a c t e r i z e s t h e v o l u m e
-

o f H i bb e r t L e c t u r e s b y M o n t e fi o r e o n T h e R e li gi o n of t h e

A n c i e n t H e b r ew s T h e t w o l a t e s t v o l u m es u p o n O ld T e s t a
.

m e n t t h e o l o g y b o th r e s t o n h i s t o r i c a l a n d c r i t i c a l f o u n d a t i o n s ,

a n d a r e f u ll o f r i c h s u gg e s t i o n In th e i r g e n e r a l p o s i t i o n s
.
,

t h a t o f D ill m a n n m a y b e p la c e d s id e h v s i d e w i t h t h e h i s to ry
o f K i t t e l W hile t h e t h e o lo gy o f Sm e n d i s b a s e d u p o n t h e
,

c o n c l u s i o n s o f W e ll h a u s e n a n d St a d e .

Ne x t t o D r i v e r s In t r o d u c t i o n n o b o o k h a s a pp e a r e d w i th i n
’
,

t h e p a s t d e c a d e w h i c h i s a s u s e f u l fo r a ll c l a s s e s o f B i b l e
A Sm i t h s H i s t o r i c a l G e o gr a p h y of P a les
’
s tu d en ts a s G
~

. .

tin e . No w a c h ’
s L e h r bu c h d er H e br a i s c h en A r c h d o lo gi e
c on ta in s a w ea th l o f va b le f a c t s
lu a wh ic h u nfo r u n a t tely a re
,

n o t y et a c c e s s i bl e in E n gli s h .
 B OOKS OF REFER ENCE

L IT ERA T UR E
A b b r evi a t i o n s .

Dr L O. . . T .
6
D r i ve r — In t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e Li t er a t u r e of

t h e O ld T es t a m en t ( 6th e di t i o n ) .

Mo o r e , J . Mo o r e — Cr i t i c a l a nd Ex e ge t i c a l Co m m en

t a ry on J u d ge s , 18 9 5 .

Ch eyn e , A D S C Ch e yn e . . . . A i d s t o t h e D e v o u t St u d y o f Cr i t i
c is m ,
189 2 .

H o r to n R . B . Ho r t o n R e ve l a tio n a nd t h e B i le b (2d ed i

t i o n ) , 18 9 3 .

K en t , W M . . A I . . Ke n t T he W i s e Me n o f An c i e n t Is r a e l
a n d t h eir P r o ver b s 18 9 5 , .

W e ll . P . H I . . W ell h a u s e n P r o l ego m e n a t o t h e H i s to r y
f Is r a e , 18 8 5
o l .

B ud d e , B R S . .
. B ud d e — Di e B uc h e r Ri c h t er un d Sa m ue , l
18 9 0 .

Co r n E A T . . . . Co r n i ll Ei n l e i t u n g i n d a s A lt e T e s t a m en t

e A ufl
( 2 t 189 2 .

H IST O R Y

Ki tt H H . . . Ki t t e l — His to r y o f th e H e b r ews , I, H
. .

( En g . tra ns l . 18 9 5,
Me H . . P . M . M c Cu r d y H i s t o r y, P ro
p h e c y, a nd t he

Mo n u m en t s , I , II , 1 89 6
. . .

Co r n H . . P . I . Co r n i ll — H i s t o r y of t he Pe o p l e of Is r a e l ,

18 9 8 .

Ew H I Ew a l d His to r y l
. . .
o f Is r a e ,
I —III
. .
( En g .

tr a ns l . 18 8 3
Re H . . P . I . Ren a n — H i s t o ry of th e Pe o p le o f Is r a e l I, .
,

II .
( En g tr a . ns l .
2 14 A H IST O R Y O E T HE H EB R E W P EO P L E

A b b r e vi a t i o n s
R e us s , G . A . T . R e us s — G es c h i c h t e d es l
A t en T e s t a m en t s

( 2t e 18 9 0 .

St . G V . . I . Sta d e Ge s c hi c h t e d es V o lke s Is r a e l , I .

1 8 87 .

W i n ek G . . I . V i n c kle r
V
Ges c h i c h t e Is r a e s l i n Ei n ze ld a r
s te ll u n ge n , I . 18 9 5 .

R E L IG ION

Sm . P . I . W . R Sm i t h
. T he Pr o p h e ts of Is r a el ( n ew

e d itio n 18 9 7
) , .

Sm . R S . . W . R . Sm i t h T h e Re i i o n lg of t h e Sem i t es

(2d ed i t i o n ) ,
18 9 4 .

Sc h ul t z O T . . T . Sc h u l t z O ld T e s t a m en t T h eo l o gy , I , II
. .

E
( g
n t r a . ns l .

Mo n t . R A H . . . Mo n t e fi o r e — T he R e i io n lg of t he A n c i en t
H e b r e ws , 1 89 2 .

D i ll H A T . . . . D i llm a nn Ha nd bu c h d er Alt t es t a m en t

li c h e n T h eo l o gi e , 18 9 5 .

Sm en d , A . T . Sm en d — l
A t t es t a m en t li c h e T h eo lo gi e , 18 9 3 .

A NT I Q UIT IE S A ND H IST ORICAL G EO G R A PH Y

Sm . H . G . H L . . G . A . Sm i t h _ T h e Hi s t o r i c a l G eo gr a p h y o f
th e H o y L a l nd, 18 9 4 .

Ma c Co n n H L , . . Ma c Co n n _
T h e H o ly L a nd in Ge o gr a p h y
a n d Hi s t o r y, I .
, II 18 9 7 . .

No w L H A No w a c k Leh r b u c h d er H eb r a i s c h e n Ar
'

. . . .

c h a o lo gi e, I , II 18 9 4 . . .

B enz H A . . . B en z i n g er H e b r a i s c h e A r c h a o lo gi e , 18 9 4 .

ENC YCL O PE D IA S .

En c yc lo p eed i a B r i t a n n ic a .

H a s t i n gs — A D i c t i o n a y o f t h e B i bl e , 18 9 8
r .
 R EFERENCES

P ART I — INT R O D UCT O R Y ST UD IES

SCO P E A ND IM P O RT A NCE OF HEBREW H IST O R Y

Ki t t H H . . .
,
I . 1— 5 ; Co r n . H . P . I 14 ; R e H
. . . P . I .
,
I . Pr ef
; R eu s s ,
a ce G . A T 2—7 , 34 ; St
. . . G . V
I 1—12 ; . . W in c k G . . I,
.

I 1—5
. .

II

T H E SO URCES OF HEBREW H IST ORY

He r . R 9 1— 1 18 ; K e n t , W M A I 11— 31 ; Ew H I , I
. B . . . . . . . . .

1 1—6 1, 1 5 7 — 16 3 ; M e H M , I 13—15 ; Ki tt H H , I 2 7 —3 6 ; . . P . . . . . . .

En . B . III 6 34—6 40 , X IX 8 14—82 1, 7 2 6 —7 2 9 , 8 8 0 — 8 82 ; Sc h u t z,

. . l
O . T . T , I 14—3 1 ; R e u s s , G A T 8—30 ; St G
. . I 12 -41 . . . . . V . .

W i n ek G . . I 6—11
. .

III

THE L A ND OF THE HEBREW S

Sm . H . G
H L 3— 2 8 , 45— 90 , 12 7 — 57 1 ; Sm P I 2 1- 2 5 ; Co r n
. . .
. . . .

H . P . I 9 - 16 : Ma c Co u n H L , I 1— 52 ; M c H P M , I 15 6 ,
. . . . . . . . .

‘
157 Ew H I , I 21 2 9 4 ; K i t t H H , I 8 —1 8 R e u s s G A T
. . . . . . . .
,
. . .

47 - 49 ; St G . . v . I 100— 113 ;
. Ne w . L . H A . .
, I 2 5- 90 ; B e n z
. .

H A 154 0
. . .

IV
THE A N CIE N T T R IBE S IN H A B IT IN G P A L E ST IN E

Me H . . P . M , I 2 2.
-2 5
, 4 3-4 7 7 3
,
.
, 7 4 , 1 5 2
.
- 20 4
,
2 4 3—24 5 40 6
,

40 8 ; En R . . IV 7 6 3, 7 6 4,
. III 8 0 1— 8 10 , II 82 2 , III XV . XX . XV .

7 55- 7 57 , X VI 53 3— 536 , I 7 42, 7 43, X II 6 9 9 ; Ew H I . . . . . .

, I 2 24 .
2 16 A H IST O R Y O E T H E H EB REW P E O PL E

2 5 5 ; Sm . P
I 2 6—2 8 ; Ki t t H H , I 18—2 6 ; H a s t D B , I 82 , . . . . . . . . . .

8 3, 13 8 , 13 9 , 6 44— 64 6 ; St G I 1 13—12 4 ; B en z H A 5 6—6 8 ; . . V . . . . .

W i n ek G . . I 18 9 — 2 0 3
. .

T HE G E N E SIS OF TH E HEBREW P E O PL E
En . B . X III . 3 96—4 0 0 , X X I . 6 41— 6 43, X VI 8 60 , 8 6 1, X IX .
.

H er . R B . . 60 — 9 0 ; W el l P
. . H .
—3 62
; Ew H . . I
.
,

I 6 23—13 2 , 30 0—4 2 3,
. II 1- 2 2 8 ; M c
. . H . P . M .
, I 224— 22 6
; Sm . .

P I 2 8— 37 ; Sm
. . R S 1— 2 2 , 2 8— 139 ; Sc h u . . . l tz, O T T , I 86 . . . .

139 ; M o n t R A H 8—5 4 ; Co r n H I 1 6 —4 6 ; Ki t t H H ,
. . . . . . P . . . . .

I 13 6 — 2 6 2 ; R e H
. I , I 1— 190 ; H a s t D B , I 8 02— 8 1 1 ; . . P . . . . . . .

R e us s , G . A . T 3 5—4 6 , 54— 6 6 , 7 1- 10 4 ; St
. . G V . . I 47 - 6 4, 124
.

1 33 ; Di ll . H A T 45— 13 1 . . . Sm en d, A 12-4 8 , 9 4- 122 ;

. T .
NO W .

L H A. . .
,
I 2 2 3— 2 2 8 , II 1— 7 ; B e n z
. . . H A 76, 77
. . .

P A RT II — SET T L EM ENT . IN CA NA A N A ND T HE

P R EP A R A T IO N F O R T H E UN IT ED
K ING D OM

H IST O R ICA L SO URCES F OR T H IS P ER IO D

Jud g . a n d I Sa . J o s h u a a n d Ru t h
m . i .
— vi i s up p e m e n t e d l by
Dr . L . O T .
fi
10 3— 116 16 0 — 17 4 4 5 3—4 5 6 ; E B X III 7 6 3 7 6 4 ; , , n . . .
,

W ll P H I 2 2 ; M o o e J In t o d
8 —248
Ho r . R . B . 9 1— 10 0 ; e . . . . r , . r .

xi ii i i ; Ew H I , I
— x xx v 13 9 —
147 ; K i tt H H , I 2 6 4— 2 7 5, II . . . . . . . . .

1 21 ;
— B u d d e , B R S 1- 1 6 6 ; C o r n E A T 8 6— 10 6
; St . . . . . . . .

G I 6 4—7 1
. V . . .

II

S ET TL E M ENT A ND FI N A L L O C A T IO N OF T HE HEBREW T R IBE S

J dgu . i . 1 7 , 19 2 1
— -
, 10 — 18 , 22 — 3 6 ; x v ii . 1—x viii 3 1 .
( c om p e
a r

J osh . x i ii . K i tt . H . H .
, I I 2 7 5 — 3 11
; Me H
. . . P . M .
, I .

2 2 4— 2 3 0 ; En B . . X III . 40 0 , 4 0 1, III 17 6 ; Ew XV . H . I .
, II
2 7 4— 3 10 , 3 15— 3 57 : Co r n . H . P . I 4 6 — 50 ; R e H
. . . P I I 19 0 . .
, .

2 17 ; R e us s , G A T 6 6 - 7 1, . . . 10 4-117 ; St G . . V I 13 3—17 3 ; . .

W i n c k G I 2—2 8 , 17 1— 17 3 . . . .
 R E ER ENCES F 2 17

III

HEBREW C H A M P IO N S A ND WA R S OF D E L IV ER A N C E
Ju d g . i ii . 7 —31 ; X 1 5 ; x i 15 ; x i i i 2 - x.vi 3 1 ; i v -4 -v
. l —x ii . . . . .

31 ; Mc . H . P . M, I 5 5 ,
2 30 — 23 3
.
; E n B I I
.
I 4 0 1 ; C o rn H . . X . . . P .

I 50 , 5 1
. Re . H I, I 2 4 1— 2
. 5 8 ,
2 7 P
3 — 30 0
; E W
.
H I ,.
II 3 5 7 . . . . .

3 7 9 ; Sm . H . G H L 3 8 1 397 ; K i t t H H ,
.
-
.
II 6 77 ,
0 - 8 9.
— 92 . . . .

Re us s , G . A T . . 125—12 8 ; St . G V . . I 17 3—1 80
. .

IV

O R IG IN A ND H IST O R Y OF THE K IN G D O M OF G ID E O N
J dg u . vi i i . 4 ix — . 57 ( co m pa re vi . l — vi ii . En . B .
X III .

40 1 ; Co r n . H . P . I . 51—54 ; Re . H . P . I, . I 2 5 9 —
. 27 2 ; Me . H P . .

M , I 5 6 , 23 1, 2 32 ; Ew
. .
II 37 9 — 392
; K i t t H . . . . H .
, II .

—
7 7 89 R e u s s , G A T 12 1
8— 3 1 ; St G I 1 8 1- 19 6
. . . . . V . . .

V
THE P H IL IST IN E Y O KE

I Sa. m . i . 1—v11 . 1 ; Jer 12 , 14 ; x x vi 6 ; Co r n H

. vii . . . . P . I .

54, 55 ; Me H M . . P . .
, I 2 3 6 - 2 38 ; En B
.
III 4 0 1 ; E w H . X . . . I,
.

II 4 13—4 19 ; Mo o r e ,
.
J . In t r o d . x xx vii — . x li i i .
; K i tt . H .
H, H . .

10 3— 10 6 ; St . G V . . I 19 7 —20 6. .

VI

SO CIA L A ND RE L IG IO U S CO N D IT IO N S D U R IN G THE P ER IO D
OF T H E J UDG ES

J dg u v ii i . 24 ix 4 ; x ii i 5 ; . 31 ; I Sa m i ii . x vi i . 1 —x v111 . . . .

1— v i i . 1; Ju d g . i . 7 ; i ii 15—23 ; v iii 3 1 ; i x 1— 5 ; 56 , 57 ; x i
. . . .

3 0 — 40 ; x vi . 1; xix . 1- x x i 2 5 ; I Sa m ii 12— 2 6 ; ud. ii i 2 8 ; .

—
. . J g . .

v.2— 8 ; i x xi . 23 ; . 2 1— 2 7 , 2 9 ; M c f H M , I 3 1— 3 8 52— 55 ; . P . . . ,

En B . III 40 2 ; Sm X . I 3 1, 37 — 7 4 ; R e H . P
I , I 2 18— 2 40 ;
. . . . P . . .

Sc h u t z, O T Tl . . .
, I 13 9 — 15 1 ; Sm R S 140— 2 12 ; M o n t R A H
. . . . . . . .

5 5—7 2 ; Ki t t H H ,
II 9 3—1 2
0 ; R e u s s G A . T 137 — 143
; Di , H
. . .
,
. . . ll .

A T 13 1— 142 ; Sm e n d , A T 4 8 — 5 5, 6 1— 6 3 , 7 0 — 7 4, 13 0— 15 1 B e n z
. . . . .

H A 3 6 4- 3 82 , 40 5—40 9 43 1— 4 37 ; Ne w L H A , I 2 28—2 50 ,
. .
,
. . . . .

300—30 5 ; II 7 — 2 5 , 8 7 — 9 4, 20 3- 216 . .
2 18 A HIST OR Y o r T HE H EB R EW PEOPL E

P A RT III — H IST O RY O F T H E UNIT ED KING D OM . .

H IST O R IC A L SO U RCES
I . Sa m . V II . 2 —x xx i . 13 ; II Sa . m .
; I Kgs . .
, i . 1 .
—x i . 43 ; I .

G hr s ; I.I C hr s i.
—i x
x - x xi x ; So n . . . . g o f So n gs ; Dr . L . O . T .
6

1 7 5—19 3 , 4 3 6— 453 , 5 16— 5 35 ; H e r R B . . . 10 1—10 8 , 119 - 144, 2 0 5,

2 0 6 ; K en t , W M . . A . I 4 1 , 42
. W e ll P H I 17 1—18 7 , 249 - 2 8 5 ;
2
. . . .

Ch eyn e , A D . . S . C 3— 15 ; Ew H
. . . I , I 136 — 139 , 147 — 15 3 , 16 4
. .

168 ; En B X X I 2 52 , 2 5 3 , VI 8 37 , X IV
. . . . . 8 3- 8 5 ; K i t t H H . . .
,

II 2 2—59 ; Co r n E A T 10 6— 12 5 ; St G
. . . . . . . V . I 7 1- 7 5 . .

II

THE E ST A B L ISH M E N T OF T HE HEBREW KIN G D O M

I Sa. m . ix .l — x 16 ; x i 1- 15 ; x iii 1—7 , 1 6—2 3 ; xi v 1—4 8 , 52 ;
. . . .

Co r n . H . P . I 56— 6 2 ; En B
. III 40 2, 40 3 ; Ew H I , III 2 . . X . . . . .

8 ; 15- 28 ; Sm . P . I 45 , 47 , 8 5 , 3 8 9- 3 9 1 ; R e H
. I , I 30 1 . . P . . .

3 2 1 ; K i tt H H . . .
,
II 10 6— 118 ; R e u s s , G A T 18 1—184 ; St G
. . . . . .

V . I 2 0 7 —22 3 ;
. W i n ek G . . I 15 8 , 159
. .

III

THE D E C L IN E OF SA UL A ND THE R ISE OF D A V ID

I Sa. m . xv . 1— 35 ( com p a r e xm . 7 — 14) x vi . 14—2 3 ( c om
p a r e x vii .

l — x vi ii 5 ; II Sa m x x i . x viii 6 —x x x 3 1 ; Co r n H I 62 . . . . . . . P . .

6 9 ; En B V I 8 38 , 83 9 ; Ch e yn e , A D S C 7 4— 12 6 ; Ew H I ,
. . . . . . . . . .

III 2 9 —4 8 , 5 4— 10 3 ; R e H
. I , I 322— 346 ; H a s t D B , I . . P . . . . . . .

5 6 2— 5 6 5 ; K i t t . H H . .
,
11 119 — 13 1 ; R e u s s ,
. G . A . T . 1 84-187 ; St .

G V . . I 2 2 3— 2 52
. .

IV

TH E BA T T LE OF G IL B O A , A ND THE D EA T H O F SA UL
1 Sa . m . xx x . 1— 13 ; En . B . X III; 4 0 3, 40 4 ; Co r n H . . P . I 69.

7 1 ; Re I , I 3 46 — 349 ; Ew H I , III 4 8—53 ; Sm H G

. H . P . . . . . . . . . .

H L 40 0 -40 3 ; Ki t t H H , II 131—137 ; St G V I 2 5 3—2 57

. . . . . . . . . . .
 R E E R ENCES F 2 19

D A V ID KIN G OV ER J U D A H A ND T H E F A LL ,
OF TH E

H O U SE O F SA UL
II Sa m i .12 ; Co r n . . 1— i v . . H . P . I 7 1— 7 3 ; En
. . B . X III . 40 4
EW H I , III 10 7 - 1 19 ; R e
. . . . I 3 5 0— 3 56 ; H a s t D B , I . H . P . . . . . .

5 6 6 ; Ki t t H H . . .
, II 138 —150 ; R e u s s , G A T 18 8—190 ; St G
. . . . . .

V I 2 57 — 2 6 4
. . .

VI

D A V ID KIN G OV ER A LL IS RA E L
II Sa m v . 2 9 ; x x i 18 —22 ; x x ii i . . 1— vi i . . . 8—2 3 ; Co r n . H . P . I .

4
7 7 ;
— 6 E W H I ,
III 12 0 — 13 7
; Re H . . . . . . P . I , I 3 57 -36 2 , II 4 3
. . .

52 ; H a s t D B , I 5 67 , 5 6 8 ; K i t t H H . . . . . . .
, II 15 0- 16 0
.
; Reu s s ,
G A T 1 19 0 ; St G V
. 8 8 - . I 2 6 5—
. 27 0 ; . . . . W i n ek G I 7 0-7 7 , . . .

17 3—17 5 .

V II

D A V ID ’
S F O RE IG N WA R S A ND CO Q
N U E ST S
II Sa . m . vi i i 1— 8 ; x i - x i
. . . 1; 26- 3 1 ; I K gs
xii . . . xi . 15—17 ;
Co r n H . . J P . . 7 7 8 ; En B
6 — . . X III 40 4 , 40 5 ; M o H
. . . P . M, I . .

2 41- 2 48 ; EW H I , III 137 - 16 0 ; R e . . . . . H . P . I , II 15- 34 ; Ki t t

. . .

H H , II 16 0—16 4
. . . .

V III

TH E O R G A N I%A T IO N OF D A V ID s
’
KIN G D O M
II Sa . m . v . 11 ; vi ii
9 , 10 , 15- 18 ; x x . . 2 3— 2 6 ; x x i i i 8 —3 9 ; .

xx i v . 1— 2 5 ; En . B V I 8 39 , 8 40 ; M o H
. . . . P . M , I 2 48 , 2 49 ; Ew
. . .

H I , III 1 6 0—163 ; R e H
. . I , II 1— 14 ; H a s t D B
. . . P . . . . . .
, I 568 ; .

K i tt H H , II 16 4- 16 8 ; St G
. . I 2 7 3— 2 7 9 ; Ne w L. . . . V . . . . H A , . .

I 30 5—314, 3 437 — 3 7 5 ; B e n z H A 40— 5 5 , 30 3- 313

. . . . .

IX

D A V ID S F A M ILY H IST O RY ’

II Sa
. m . i ii . 2— 5 ; x i 1 x x 2 2 ; Co H P .
- . rn . . I 7 8 —80 ; En B
. . . .

V I 84 0 , 8 4 1 ; Ew
. . H I, III 16 3— 19 5 ; R e
. . . . H . P
I , II 5 3— 68 ; . . .

Ha st . D . B .
,
I 5 69 , 5 7 0 ; K i t t H
. . . H .
, II 168—17 5 ; St
. . G V . . I .

27 9 - 29 2 .
22 0 A H IST O R Y OF T H E H EB R E W PEOPLE

X
THE C H A R A C T ER A ND W O RK OF D A V ID
Co r n H
I 8 3- 8 5 ; En B V I 8 3 6 - 8 4 1 ,
. . P . . . . .
X III 40 5 .
Ch eyn e ,
A D S C 1 6 - 7 3 ; E w H I , III 19 5-20 3 ;
. . . . . . . . Re H P . . . I II 5 3 .

68 ; Ha st D B . . .
,
I 5 7 1, 5 7 2 ; K i t t H H
. . . .
, II 17 5 , 17 6 ; St
. .
G V . .

I 29 5— 2 9 9
. .

XI

T H E A CC E SSIO N OF SO LO M O N
I K gs i - II ; Co r n H P I 8 1—8 3 ; E w H I III 2 0 4—2 16
;
. . . . . . . . . .

Re H P
. I ,
II 6 9 — 7 5 ; K i t t H H II 17 7 - 183 ; St G V I
. . . . . . .
,
. . . . .

2 9 2- 2 9 5 .

X II

TH E F O RE IG N A ND HOM E P O L IC Y OF SO LOM ON
I Kgs x i 1 4— 2 5 ; i i i 1 ; v 1— 18 ; i x 10 — x 2 9 ; i v 1— 3 4
. . . . . . . .

i i i 16— 2 8 ; So n g o f So n gs i i i
. I Kgs x i 1— 8 ; Co r n H P I . . . . . . .

8 6 - 9 4 ; En B X III 4 0 5, X IX 8 8 0 ; K e n t , W M A I 5 8 — 6 2 ;
. . . . . . . .

Re . H . P . I .
, II 7 6 — 10 1 ; . Me H . P . M .
, I 2 50 ; Ew H I , III
. . . . .

2 16 —2 2 5 ; 2 5 1— 3 19 ; Ki tt . H . H .
, II 183—18 9 ; St
. . G V . . I 29 9 .

3 11 .

X III

THE PA LA C E A ND T E M PL E OF SOLO M ON
I K gs . . v i 1— 3 8
.
; v n . 1- v iii 6 6 .
(c o m
p a re Ezek x 1 . . En .

B . XXIII
166 , 16 7 ; Ew H I , . . . . III 22 6 - 25 1 ; R e
. . H . P . I , II
. .

10 2 — 123 ; K i t t H H , II 18 9 — 19 6 ; St G . . . . . V I 3 11— 343 ;

. . Ne w .

L H A , II 2 5-50 ; B e n z H A 38 3- 3 8 8
. . . . . . . .

X IV

SO C IA L A ND RE L IG IO U S N D IT IO N S U N D ER
CO THE UN IT E D
K IN G D O M
Sc hu lz ,
O T . . T ,
I 1 5 1
.
— 15 7
,
1 6 1— 22
. 0 ; W e H I 13 1— 13 3 ll P. . . .

Mo n t R A H . .
. 7 2— 83 ; R e H I , II 124— 13 5 ; K i t t H H . . P . . . . . .

11 19 6 — 2 0 4 ; Di
. ll . H A T 142- 16 2 ; Sm
. . . en d , A T 5 5— 59 7 9 — 12 9 ,
. .
,

No w L H A , H 9 4—10 1 ; B e n z H A 7 8 , 7 9 ; W i n ek G I
. . . . . . . . . . .

59 —65 .
 IND EX OF NAMES A ND SUB JECT S

A A R O N, 9 . Ara bs ,
3 4 ,
4 1 —43 59 61 6 6
, , , .

l
A b e , c i t o f, 160 y . Ara m e a n s , 2 8 , 30 , 3 1, 149 , 1 50 .

A b i a t h a r , 12 7 , 1 5 3, 157 , 17 0 , 17 3, 17 4, A r k, 5 7 , 6 0 , 8 6 , 8 7 , 9 4, 1 0 7 , 146 , 1 57 ,
2 00 . 1 66 , 19 3 , 199 , 2 0 1, 2 0 5 .

bg l
A i a i , 128 , 137 , 154 . y g
A r m , o r a n i a t i o n o f, 1 47 , 148 z .

b l
A i m e e c h , 8 2 , 83 , 9 1, 16 9 A r n o n , 69 .

A b i e z er i t e s , 5 5 , 5 6 , 6 4, 7 9 , 8 0 . l
A s a h e , 1 39 .

b
A i s h a i , 159 . A s h d o d , 30 .

b
A n e r , 138—141, 1 6 5, 1 7 3 . b
A s h e r , t r i e o f, 5 5, 6 2 , 6 7 , 7 6 .

b
A r a h a m , 11 . A s h t o r e t h , 28 .

b
A s a lo m , 1 1, 154, 156 -159 , 16 3, 16 4 Askl e on , 30
A y i
ss r a ,
17 . 2 5 , 147 .

A c h i s h , 10 6 , 129 , 130 , 1 6 2 . Az i h
a r a ,
17 4, 2 0 0 .

A c h o r , 11 .

A d o n i- bez k e , 60 .

A d o n i j a h , 1 54, 17 0 —17 3, 2 00 . B A A L 2 8 9 4, 20 2 , 20 3
, . .

Adora m ,
17 5 . l
B a a a t h , 17 7 ;
Adu ll a m ,
12 7 , 143 . Ba al b i t h 6 3 82
- er
, , ,
8 3, 9 4 .

A h ij a h , 20 1 . Ba al H z 15 6
- a o r, .

l
A hi m e e c h , 12 7 , 1 53 . Ba b yl i 2 5 35
o n a , , .

A h i n o a m , 154 . Ba byl i i fl on a n n ue n c e in Pl a e s t in e, 27 ,
A h i t h o h e , 15 8p l . 28 .

A i 11 6 2 63
,
Ba ra k , 5 3, 54, 69 , 7 2 , 7 5, 7 6 , 7 9 .

A i ja l 62
on 68 . Ra d i a n, 68 .

Am a l kit
e es , 3 1, 37 , 123 , 130 , 131 B a t hs he ba ,
1 55 , 17 0 , 17 2 , 17 3 .

148 . B e er h c b a
~
,
1 1, 9 4 20 6 .

Am a sa , 1 59 , 16 0 . B e n a i a h , 148 , 17 1, 1 7 3 1 7 4 , .

Am m o n it e s , 3 1, 32 3 5 3 6 , 3 9 , 42 , 6 9
, , B e nj a m in , t r i b e O f, 6 2 6 3 , 7 6 , 1 45
. .

Benj a m in it es , 51 6 7 , 8 7 . .

A m n o n , 154 1 56 , 1 8 5 ,
B et he l ,
11, 94 .

A m o r i t e s , 32 3 9 , 5 9 , 6 7 , 6 8 9 7, , . B e t h h o r o n , 17 7 .

p p
A m o s , t h e r o h e t , 1 1 4, 16 5 , 2 0 3 . B e t h l e h e m 1 4 3 16 3 1 6 4 . . . .

A n a t h o t h 17 3 ,
. B e t h s h e a n 2 2 6 3 , 1 33 . . .

p k
A h e , 5 7 , 8 5 - 8 7 10 6 , 130 , . B eths h e m es h, 87 .

b
A r a i a , 2 5 , 34, 17 8 . Bl oo d c o v en a n t , 63 .

b
A r a ia n d es er t , 2 2—24, 31, 35, 3 8, 7 9 , Bl oo d r ev en ge , 55 , 7 9 , 8 0 , 9 3, 199 .

16 8 . Bo o k of the U p ight r ,
1 37 .
 2 24 IND EX O F NA M E S A ND SU B JE CT S

CA L E B I T E S , 6 1 6 3, 12 8 ,
. De u t er o n o m i c e d i to r , 52 , 53, 57 , 7 1,
l
Ca n a a n , a n d o f, 3 5 ; c o n q ues t o i , l 1 , , 10 2 , 108 , 1 10 , 11 1 .

3 4—36 , 6 0 - 6 3 ; p r e-H e b r e w ,‘ 1 6 , 5 9 , Dis r u pt i o n , c a u s e s o f, 74 .

60 ; l g g
a n ua e o f, 3 1 . Do e g ,
127 .

Ca na a n i te s , o ri gi n o f 28 , 3 5 ; re l ig i on

o f, 2 8—30 , 41 , 9 4, 9 5 ; ru e l O f, 40 , ECC L E S I A S T E S , Bo o k o f, 1 4, 15 , 18 7 .

5 1, 52 , 6 1—6 3 , 7 4-7 6 ; c o n q ue s t o f, Ed t o h i p o f b
i rs l b li c a l b k oo s , 10 -14, 3 3,

5 3, 7 6 —7 8 , 1 45 ; i n fl u e n c e o f, 18 2 , 3 4, 4 9 —5 8 , 8 4 .

18 3 . Ed o m i t e s 3 1, 3 2 , 35 , 36 , 42 , 6 1, 148 ,
.

l
Ca r m e , 18 , 22 , 23 , 2 5, 7 6 , 2 03 . 16 2 , 17 6 , 1 7 9 .

Ce n s u s o f t h e H e b r e w s 1 5 1, 1 5 2 , . E gl 7 3 on
,
.

l
Ch a d e a , 1 7 . E gy p t i a ns, 16 , 2 5 , 30 , 36 , 37 , 5 9 , 147 ,
Ch em o s h , 3 1, 43, 9 7 . 17 7 .

C h e r e t h i t es , 1 48 . Egypt ia n i n fl u e n c e , 2 7 , 2 8 , 38 , 19 5 .

Chr o n ic es , Fi r s t B o ol o f 1 3, 1 5 , 1 11 k , Egy p t i a n m o n u m e n t s , t es t i m o n y o f,

1 12 .

l
Ch r o n ic es , Se c o n d B o o o f, 1 3, 15 k . Eh ud , 7 2—74, 9 2 .

l
Ch r o n i c e s s t a t e 1 1 , 1 0 9 , 1 1 0
, ,
. k
E r o n , 30 .

Ch r o n o o ,
l gy
3 8 , 8 4, 101, 108 , 1 2 0 . l
E d er s , 9 1 .

Co a s t pl
a in s , 1 8 , 1 9 . El z ea a r, 87 .

Co m m e r c e 17 8 —18 0 , . El h a na n ,
10 4, 1 0 5 .

pl
Co m i a t i o n o f O ld T e s t a m en t b o o k s E li , 8 7 , 1 02 , 12 6 , 1 7 3, 20 0 .

1 0 — 15 . l
E ij a h , 43 .

Co n q ue s t o f Ca na a n , 11 . En d o r , 1 3 1 .

Co v e n a n t, 42 . gl
En -r o e , 1 7 0 , 17 1 .

p i
E h r a m , a n d o f, 1 56, 159 l .

DA M A S CUS , 23, 2 5 , 3 0 . p
E h r a i m , t r e o f, 5 4, 56 , 6 3, 6 6 - 6 8 , ib
Da n , c i t y o f, 1 1 , 206 . 76 , 8 1 .

Da n , tri be o f , 5 6 , 6 7 — 6 9 , 7 6 , 8 5 , 9 3, 9 5 Es d r a e o n , l pl
a i n o f, 19 , 2 2 , 2 3, 2 5 , 6 3
,

19 8 . 6 7 , 7 4, 7 6 , 7 9 , 8 1, 8 5, 1 0 6 , 1 3 0 , 1 7 7 .

Da v id , n a r ra t i v es r es p ec t in ,
g
1 0 4-10 9
; Es t h e r , B o o o f, 1 5 k .

f ea ts o f, 1 0 5 ; a t c o ur t o f Sa n ] , 12 5 , Et h ic a l s ta n d a r d s ,
9 2, 9 3, 1 6 1- 16 3,
1 2 6 , 1 33 ; a s a n o u t a w , 1 0 6 , 12 l ”
1 9 8 , 19 9 , 2 0 4, 20 5 .

1 2 9 , 200 , 2 0 1 ; i n c o u r t o f A c hi s h , p
Et hi o i a n s , 3 4 .

12 9 , 130 , 13 1 ; a s K in g
o f J ud a h , p
Eu h r a t es , 2 5 , 2 7 , 3 0 , 3 1 , 3 5, 36 .

1 36- 1 42 ; a s K in g o f a ll Is r a e , 1 43 l Ex o d u s , 3 7 , 7 7 .

146 ; f o r ei g n wa rs a nd c o n q ues ts o f, E z ki le e , the p ph

ro et , 192 , 19 3 .

1 47 —1 50 , 2 0 6 ; or g a ni z tia on o f ki n g Ez i o n -Ge b e r , 17 7 , 1 7 8 .

do m o f 15 1- 1 53 , 196 ;
, f a m i l y his t o r y E z ra ,
Bo o k o f 13 15
, .

o f, 1 5 4— 16 0 ; s o n s o f, 1 55 , 1 56 ;
c ha ra c t er O f, 12 5, 1 6 1, 16 4 ; f a it h o f, FI N A N CE S ,
1 8 2- 18 4 .

1 6 4- 16 7 , 19 9 , 20 4 ; a s a p l sa m Fo o t h i ll 19 s, .

w r i t e r , 1 6 5, 166 ; w o r o f, 1 35 , 1 6 6 k Fo r c e d l b a o r, 18 2 , 18 3 .

16 8 , a s t da l
s o f, 1 6 9 — 17 2 ; d ea t h y
o f 17 6
, . GA A L, 8 2 .

D e a d Se a , 2 1, 2 2—2 5, 3 1, 6 0 , 6 9 , 148 . Ga d , t h e s e e r , 2 03 .

b
De i r , 6 0 , 6 1 . G a d , t r ib e o f 6 9 7 0 , , .

b
D e o r a h , s t o r ie s r es e c t i n , 11, 7 2 7 6 ; p g , ll
G a i e e , 1 9 , 2 2 , 6 7 , 1 78 .

p l
r o c a m a t i o n o f, 40 , 6 9 , 7 5 : v i c t o r y G a t h , 3 0 1 0 6 , 1 2 9 , 130 , 17 4
, .

u n d er 5 3, 5 4 7 6 , 7 7 ; s o n
, o f, 40 , . g z
G a a , 30 .

6 7 ; d e a t h o f, 7 9 . Ge b a , 8 6, 120 , 12 1 .
 IND EX OF NA M ES A ND SU B JECT S 2 25

z
G e r i im , 8 2 . Is r a e l it f, 3 ; i n Eg t a n d
e s , o r i gi n o yp
G e s h ur , 15 4, 156 . w il d
e r n e s s , 3 5— 38 ; o n Ea s t - o r d a n , J
z
G e er , 6 2 , 144 , 1 7 7 , 17 9 , 182 . 39 ; s o c i a l
o r a n i a t i o n o f, 89 — 9 1 g z
G ib e a h , 9 3 , 12 1, 16 7 . u n i o n o f a l l, 15 1 ; r e i i o n o f, 9 2—98 lg .

G i b e o n , 6 2 , 139 , 144, 152 , 153, 182 . Is s a c h a r , t r i b e o f, 5 4, 6 2 , 6 7 , 7 6 , .

G i d e o n , c h a r a c t e r o f, 9 3 ; v i c t o r y o f, It t a i , 157 , 159 .

54—56 , 7 9 , 8 0 , 9 3, 19 8 ; k i g hi p f
n s o ,

8 0—83 1 13, 1 19 ;
,
sa nc t y f 95 J
ua r o ,
°
AB B OK , 1 38 .

d ea t h o f, 8 6 . J bea sh g ile a d , 119 , 12 0 , 1 33, 1 38, 19 9 ,

G ih o n , 17 1 . 204 .

lb
Gi o a , a t t b le o f ,
10 , 107 , 131—134, 136 Ja b i n, 54, 6 2 .

Ja c b o ,
11 .

l
G i b o a , Mo u n t , 2 2 . Ja e ] , 5 4, 7 4, 77 .

l
G i e a d , 2 2- 24, 6 9 , 7 6 , 158 . J a ir , 72 .

lg l
G i a , 6 0 , 9 4, 1 19 . Jbe u s , 5 1, 6 2 , 1 44, 145 .

l
Go i a t h , 10 4, 10 5 . J eb u s i t es , 5 1 , 1 9 0 .

G o s h e n , 36 , 41, 43 . J e h o s h a p h a t , 1 5 3 , 17 5 .

J e h o va h , p
r i m i t i v e c o n c e t io n s o f, 37 , p
H A DA D , 111, 17 6 . 41—45, 9 6 - 98 , 1 52 , 2 0 3- 206 ; c o v e
H a d a d e er , 17 6 z . n a n t w i t h , 38 , 42 ; a o d e o f, 43 , 44 ; b
H a gg i t h , 154, 17 0 . Da v i d s c o n c e t i o n o f, 166 , 16 7
’
p .

H a m a t h , 150 . J ep h t h a h , 12 , 7 2 , 93, 9 6 , 9 7 .

z
H a o r , 54, 6 2 , 177 . J er a eh m e e li t es , 6 3, 1 31 .

H eb r ew s , o r i g in o f, 3 , 35, 36 ; is s io n m Je r em i a h , t h e r o h et , 8 6 p p .

o f, 5 ; W r i t i n o f, 11 ; g
a n d o f, 18 l Je r i c h o , 39 , 6 0 , 6 2 , 7 3 .

g b
2 4 ; n ei h o r s o f, 2 4 —2 6 , 2 8— 32 °
J b
er o o a m I , 8 1 , 9 5 , 111, 1 8 4 . .

g z
s o c i a l o r a n i a t i o n o f, 8 9 —9 1 . J er u b b a a l ( G i d e o n ) , 7 9 , 94 .

b
H e r o n , 11 , 6 0 , 6 1, 6 3, 138 , 141, 143, J l
er us a e m , c i m a t e o f, 2 3, 2 4 ; c a l tur e p
145 154, 15 7 , 17 0
, . o f, 144 , 145 ; D a v id s c a i t a , 1 5 7 ,
’
p l
ll
H e en i s m , 5 . 16 9 ; b r i gi n g
n Ark t 1 46 ; p l
o, a a ce

H er m o n , 18—2 0 , 2 4, 30 , 6 8 , 9 5 , 150 . i n , 18 1 ; t e m e in , a s o f, pl 19 9 ; w ll
b
H e s h o n , 39 . 17 7 , 1 7 8 ; fa l o f, 4 l .

Hi hg pl a c es , 199 . J es s e , 12 6 , 143, 1 6 4 .

k g
H i r a m , i n o f T r e , 150 , 17 8 , y J e zree l, 4, 22 .

H i s t o r ic a l s o u r c es , r o m r o h et s , 7 f p p J b oa ,
1 3 9 —141 1 47 —149 1 5 1 1 56 157
, , , , ,

12 , 33 , 3 4, 1 66 ; r o m r i e s t s , 12 — 14, f p 159 , 1 60 16 3, 17 0 , 1 7 3, 1 7 6 , 1 8 5
. .

f
3 3 , 34 ; r o m w i s e , 1 4 ; r e a t i v e v a u e l l J o b , B o o o f, 14, 1 5, 1 52 k .

o f, 1 5 , 1 6 ; e x t r a - i ic a , 1 6 , 1 7 b bl l . J o n a h, Bo o o f, 1 5 k .

y b
Hi s t o r , H e r e w , 4, 5, 7 —17 , 24 . Jo n a t h a n , 93 , 1 20 -122 , 1 2 6 , 1 32 , 13 7 ,

H itt i t e s , 2 7 , 30 , 59 , 17 9 . 153, 163, 165, 169 , 19 9 , 2 01, 2 0 4 .

H i vi t e s , 2 9 . J pp
o a , 19 , 29 , 190 .

b
H o r e , 37 . Jo r d a n , 20 —2 3 , 2 5, 2 6 , 32 , 6 0 , 6 3 , 6 7

p p
H o s ea , t h e r o h et , 40 , 41, 9 4, 165 . 6 9 , 7 3, 7 9 , 80 , 12 0 , 153, 1 59 .

H u s h a i , 1 57 , 1 5 8 . J p
o s e h , h o u s e o f, 6 6 , 1 42 , 145, 1 59 ,

16 8 .

T T
IM M O R A L I Y , e i e i n , 2 0 4 b l f . J o s h ua B o o o f, 9 , 11, 50 , 5 2
,
k .

In d i a , 1 7 9 . J o th a m , 82 .

Is a i a h , 16 5, 20 3 . J l
u d a h , a n d o f, 19 , 23 , 1 37 , 1 38 , 143

b
Is h o s h e th (Is h b a a l ) , 1 38 , 140 , 1 41 145, 16 8 .

16 4, 17 3 . J b
u d a h , t r i e o f, 6 0-6 5 , 7 6 , 139 , 1 5 1,

l
Is h m a e i t es , 31 . 1 59 , 1 60 .
2 26 IND E X o r NA M E S A ND SUB JECT S

J d g es
u ,
B o o o f,
9 ,
1 0 , 1 5 , 4 9 - k
58 , 7 2 Mo a b it e s to n e 16 , , 31, 43, 7 0 .

8 4, 9 2 , 9 7 , 10 1 , 102 . Mo n o t he is m 42 ,
.

J g
u d es , o r i i n o f , 7 1, 7 2 ; g
u n c t i o n s o f, f Mo s e s t r a i n in g o f
, 36 , 37 ; a s a ea d er , , l
7 2 ; a ut h o r i t o f, 5 3 , 7 1 y . 37 , 38 ; a s a r o h e t , 9 , 37 , 40 —45, p p
1 14 ; a s a la w - i v e r , 40 , 44 , 45 ; i n g
K EDE S H -B A R N E A , 38, 44 . fl ue n c e o f, 9 2 20 5 ; d e s c en d a n t s o f ,
.

l
K e i a h , 127 . 9 6 ; la w o f, 1 6 5 .

K e n i t e s , 38 , 6 0 , 6 1, 6 3, 77 , 131 . M u s i c , 114 .

K en i zz i t 6 0, 6 1
es , .

K id r o n , 144 , 17 0 , 190 .
NA B A L , 1 28 .

K in g p p o m t m e n t o f, 80 , 8 1, 83, 11 3,
,
a
Na h a s h , 1 19 .

16 7 ; H e r ew i d ea l o f, 10 3, 1 9 6 ,b Na p h t a l i , t r i b e o f, 54, 5 5, 6 2 , 6 7 , 7 6 ,
197 .
17 5
g bl
.

K i n d o m , es t a i s h m e n t o f, 113—122 .
Na t h a n 1 53, 155, 156 , 16 7 , 17 0—17 2,
g
K i n s , Fi r s t B o o o f, 13 , 1 5, 10 9 —111 k .
,

2 0 0 , 20 2 , 20 3 .

K in gs , Se c o n d B o o k o f, 9 , 13 , 1 5, Ne h em i a h B o o k o f, 13, 15,
.

16 .
Ni l e , 2 5 36 ,
.

K i s h , 1 16 .
No b 12 6 , 16 2, 2 00 .
,
K i s h o n , 2 3, 7 6 , 77 , 8 6 .
No b i li t y , 19 6 1 9 7 , .

No m a d ic l i fe , 36—3 9 , 59 , 89 , 98
LA M E NT A T IO N S B o o k o f 14 15
.

.
, , ,

La d o f H eb ew s 18—26
n r
O L D T E S T A M E N T , 7 —15, 33, 34
.
,

La w o i g i o f 44
.
r n
p l
.
, ,

Leb a o H o s e o f 191 192

n n u
O h e , 144 .

p
.
, , ,

Leb a n o n o n t a i n s o f 18—20 24
m u 1 50 O h i r , 178 .

16 8 , 18 1, 189
, , , ,
p
O h r a h , 8 0 , 82, 9 5 .

l
.

L b
e v i , t r i e o f, 6 5 , 6 6
Or a c e , 128 , 137 , 166 , 19 3, 2 0 1 .

l
.

Levi t es 9 3 9 5 9 6 Or i en t a i s m , 1 0 2 , 103, 180 -18 4, 2 03 .

l
.
, , ,

Lite a t ur e H eb ew
r r 7 —16 4 9- 5 8 .
O th n i e , 6 1 .

, , ,

MA A C H A H 149 , . PA L A CE,
f S o o om o n ,
1 89 -192 l .

M a c h i r 6 4 69 7 6 , , , . Pl
a e s t i n e , l o c a t i o n o f, 2 4—26 ; h s ic a l p y
Ma h a n a im 138 158 , ,
. c o n t o u r o f, 18 -23, 8 5 ; fl o ra o f, 23,

M a n a s s e h t r i b e o f 55 , , , 6 3, 6 4, 66 , 6 7 , f
2 4 ; a u n a o f, 2 3, 2 4 ; c m a t e o f, 2 3, li
6 9 , 7 6, 8 1 . 2 4 ; r i ve r s o f, 2 5 ; i n d u s t r i es o f, 2 7
Me d it er r a n ea n Sea 18—20 24 29 , , ,
. 32 , 35 .

M e g i d d o 6 3 17 7 , , . P l
e e t h i t es , 148 .

M e ph i b o s h et h (Mer ib a a l) 9 4 , ,
1 53 Pe n t a t euc h , 13 .

159 . P l
e n u e , 5 4, 8 0 , 9 3, 9 4, 19 8 .

Me s h a ,
16 . P eri zz ites , 29 .

Mic a h ,
the p
E h r a i m i t e , 9 3-9 5, 19 8 P li
h i s t i a , 19 , 150 .

20 0 . P il
h i s t i n e s , o r i i n o f, 2 9 , 3 0 ; s e t t e g l
Mic h a l 126 140 20 3 , , ,
. m e n t o f, 30 ; o r a n i a t i o n o f, 30 ; g z
M ic h m a s h 12 0 12 1 , , . v i c t o r i es o f, 57 , 8 4—8 8 , 130—133 ;
Mi d i a n 36 , . l
h o s t i i t i e s o f, 6 8 , 7 2 , 10 5, 115 ;
M id ia n i t e s 31 38 , , , 7 9— 8 1, 9 5 .
’
l
Da v i d s r e a t i o n s t o , 106 , 12 9 ; r u le
Milc o m 32 , . o f, 1 16 , 1 2 0 , 1 38 , 1 39 , 16 8 ; d e e a t f
Mi zp a h 94 , . o f, 12 0 — 123 , 144 ; w a rs w i t h , 12 3,
M b oa , 2 , 3 1, 69 , 9 2 , 148
2 . 1 2 5, 12 7 , 142 , 16 3 ; i n D a vi d s a r m y
’
,

M b oa i te s , 31, 35, 36 , 39 , 42 , 73 1 48 ; t r e a t w it h , 1 50 y .

7 4, 9 7 , 139 , 161, 17 9 . P h ce n i c i a , 16 , 150, 2 02 .

 IND EX O F NA M ES A ND SUB J ECT S 22 7

Ph oen i c i a ns, p
i n s c r i ti o n s f, 16 ; o r i
o 137 ; h o u s e o f, 138 , 140 , 141 , 1 52,
gi n o f, 2 9 , 35 ; a s t r a d e r s , 2 5, 30 , 1 53 , 158 .

7 6 , 17 9 ; c i v i a t i o n o f, 17 8liz u i d er s b l Sc r i b e , r o a , 15 3 yl .

o f t em e , 19 5 pl . Se ir , Mo un t , 3 1, 17 6 .

P y
h s i c a l c o n t o u r o f a e s t i n e , 18-2 3 Pl . p pl
Se m i t ic eo e s , 3 4, 35 .

Pr i 8 , 12— 14, 124, 126 , 12 7 , 16 7 ,

es t s , p g
Se t u a i n t , 10 4, 105 .

20 0 -2 0 3 . Ser a ia h , 1 5 3 .

P p y
r o h ec ,
8 -12 . Sh a a b i m , 6 2 , 6 8
l .

Pr o p h t m i e s, f, 8- 10 , 2 0 2 , 20 3 ;
s s io n o Sh a m ga r , 7 2 .

m e t h o d s o f, 8 , 1 2 ; r in c i e s o f, 12 4 p pl . Sh a r o n , 18 , 19 , 23 , 8 5 .

P r o v er s , B o o b k
o f, 14, 15, 33, 16 5 , 18 6 , Sh e b a , 160 , 17 9 , 18 5 .

18 7 . Sh e c h e m , 6 3 , 6 5, 8 2 , 8 3, 91, 9 4 .

Ps lm s
a , Bo o k o f, 14, 15, 165, 16 6 . l
Sh e o , 2 0 4 .

l
Sh i o h , 5 7 , 86 , 9 4, 116 , 2 00 .

Sh i m e i , 1 59 , 16 3, 17 3
T
RA B B A H -A M M O N , 149 .

Sh i s h a , 1 80 k
.

R a c h e , 11 l .

Sh un e m , 22 , 10 7 , 130 , 131
.

R a m a h , 9 4, 19 9
Si m e o n , t r i b e o f, 6 4—6 6 , 7 6
.

R ec o r d e r , 15 3 .

Si n a i , 37 , 40 , 43 7 6 , 9 8 , .

R e d Sea , 2 5, 3 1 , 34, 37 , 1 49 , 150 .

Si s er a , 5 3, 54, 7 4 , 7 6 , 7 7
lg J
Re i i o n o f e h o va h , i m o r t a n c e o f, p So c i a ll
a w s , 6 , 19 6 , 1 9 7
.

5, 6 ; in E gyp
t a n d w i d er n e s s , 36 l l
So o m o n , n a r r a t iv e s r es ec t i n
.

p g 10 9
45 ; c r i s i s i n h i st o r o f, 7 5 ; d ur i n y g 111 ; a c c es s i o n o f, 1 6 0 , 1 7 0 — 17 2 ,
,

p
e r io d of ud es , J g
9 2- 9 8 ; un d er
20 0 ; p li y
o c o f, 8 1, 144, 16 3, 16 4,
u n i t ed k g
i n d o m , 2 03—2 0 6 .

17 2- 18 4, 2 0 3 ; ru e l o f, 52 ; wi s d o m
b b
Re u en , t r i e o f, 6 4, 69 , 7 0 , 7 6 .

o f, 18 4—1 88 ; c h a r a c t er o f, 1 7 4, 1 7 5 ,
z
R e o n , 1 11, 17 6 .

1 88 ; m i s t a e s o f, 18 4, 188 ;k ligi
R iz p
a h , 140 , 2 0 4 .

fu n c t i o n s o f, 2 00 ; a a ce pl
re

o f,
o us

18 9
Pl
Ro a d s o f a e s t i n e , 23 .

19 2 , 20 6 ; r e h gi o n f, 2 0 4 o
R uth , B o o k o f, 9 , 1 5, 57 .

So n o f So ng g s , 1 4 , 15 112 , 1 8 2
.

So n s of p p ro h et s , 114 115 , 118 , 202 ,

SA C R I F I C E S , 199 , 2 0 1, 2 0 4 . 2 03 .

Sa m a r i a , 23 . Sta t e a n n a s , 11, 10 9 , 110l .

Sa m s o n , 7 2 , 7 3, 84, 9 2 , 9 3 . St o n e s , m e m o r i a , 11 l .

l g
Sa m u e , t r a i n i n o f, 57 ; c h a r a c t er o f, Suc c o t h , 54, 80 , 9 1, 9 3, 19 8 .

102 , 115, 1 16 ; w o r o f, 1 0 1 , 10 3, k
114—1 19 , 19 9 , 20 2 , 203 ; r e a t i o n s t o l Ta a na ch, 63 .

Sa n ] , 10 , 123, 124, 132 , 1 34 . Ta bor , Mo un t , 22, 55 , 7 6 , 7 9 , 80 , 9 4,

l
Sa m u e , Fi r s t B o o o f, 9 , 10 , 1 3 , 1 5, k 131 .

5 7 58 , 8 4 10 1- 10 7 , 114
, , . Ta l m a i , 1 54 .

l
Sa m u e , Sec o n d B o o o f, 9 , 13, 15, k Ta m a r, 1 56 , 17 7 .

10 7—109 . k
T e o a , 185 .

l
Sa u , c h a r a c t er o f,
10 7 , 1 17 , 1 18, 12 4, T em e, pl
h i s t o r o f,
1 3,
1 08 -1 10 ; y
s it e

1 2 5 , 1 33 , 1 34 ; c a o f, 1 15— 1 1 9 , 2 0 3 ; ll o f, 1 45 , 19 0 , 19 1 ; u i d in o f, 1 7 4, b l g
v o w o f, 9 3 ; v i c t o r i e s o f, 1 19 -12 3, 189 ; pl
a n o f, 19 2 , 19 5 ; c o n s e c r a t i o n

1 44 ; re a l t i o n s t o Sa m ue l , 10 , 10 2 , o f, 199 ; p
r i e s t s o f, 2 0 0 , 20 1 ; s y m

103 , 123 , 12 4 ; r e a t i o n s t o D a v i d , l li
h o s m o f, 2 04 .

1 25—128 , 16 2 , 1 6 3 ; d ea t h o f, 1 30 p
T e r a h i m , 20 4 .

133 , 13 6 ; b i
u r a l o f, 2 0 4 ; a m en t a l g
T i r i s , 2 5, 3 5 .

t i o n o v e r , 16 5 ; r o v er r es ec t i n , p b p g T h o t m e s III , 2 3 , 2 7 . .

1 2 , 10 6 ; W o r o f, 10 1, 133-1 35, k T o b , 1 49 .
2 28 IND EX o r NA M ES A ND SUB JECT S

T o i , 150. W rs n o u ,
1 8 4—18 6 .

l
To a , 7 2 . W is d o m of l
So o m on, 165, 187 .

b l g z
T r i a o r a n i a t i o n , 42 , 9 1
. Wi se m en , 14-16 .

y
T r e , 18 , 1 50 , 1 7 8 , 18 5, 189 .

Ty m p oeo n , 145, 190 %A DO K , 153,

l
%e b u o n , t r i b e o f, 55, 6 2, 6 7 , 7 6 .

%i b a , 158 .

kl
%i a g, 10 7 , 129,
 IND EX OF R EFER ENCES

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