xxv. 1, is the height, most conspicuous of all in the

neighbourhood of Jerusalem, immediately above the town of Gibeon, known to the Crusaders as ‘Montjoye,’ being the spot from whence they first saw Jerusalem, now called _Neby Samwil_, ‘the Prophet Samuel.’” Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Article _Ramah_, No. 2.

226 – See Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Article _Mantle_.

227 – According to some, it was now that Shiloh was destroyed. See Ps. lxxviii. 60 sq., and Jer. vii. 12.

228 – “Ashdod, as well as Ekron, have their name from their strength; Ashdod = _the mighty_, like Valentia; Ekron = _the firm-rooted_.” Pusey, _Comment. on Amos_ i. 8.

229 – A name which suggests an early worship of the Sun there. In Josh. xix. 41, it is called _Ir-shemesh_. It is now called _’Ain es-Shems_, about 2 miles from the great Philistine plain, and 7 from Ekron. Thomson, _Land and Book_, p. 535.

230 – For subsequent notices of such schools at Bethel and Jericho see 2 Kings ii. 3, 5; at Gilgal, iv. 38; vi. 1; on Mount Carmel, 1 Kings xviii. 30–42; 2 Kings ii. 25; iv. 25.

231 – See also Judg. vi. 8; 1 Sam. ii. 27.

232 – See Kurtz’s _Sacred History_, p. 176.

233 – It is to be remembered that God had promised to Abraham that _kings_ should come from him (Gen. xvii. 6); Jacob had prophesied that the _Sceptre_ should not depart from Judah till Shiloh came (Gen. xlix. 10); and Moses had distinctly anticipated, nay, provided for the election of a king by laying down specific directions concerning the kingdom (Deut. xvii. 14–20). The elders, therefore, of Israel might well have inferred that it was the Divine intention ultimately to give the nation a monarchical constitution, and consequently that it was their duty patiently to await the development of the Divine counsels. See Kurtz’s _Sacred History_, p. 177.

234 – According to the law as laid down in the above quotation from Deuteronomy, (i) The nomination of any Israelite king rested with Jehovah, whose Will would be made known through the High-priest, or the voice of a Prophet, or the sacred lot, a provision which could not fail to remind him that he was not an irresponsible autocrat, but the representative and viceroy of Jehovah: (ii) The monarch must be a native Israelite, not a foreigner, or even a proselyte: (iii) On his accession he must transcribe a copy of the Law, that he might know it and keep its Statutes: (iv) He was forbidden to maintain any large body of cavalry with a view to aggressive warfare: (v) He was to eschew the usual accompaniment of Oriental despotism, a numerous _Harem_, and the excessive accumulation of gold and silver, which could only be acquired by oppressive exactions from his subjects. Jahn’s _Heb. Comm._ 64, 65.

235 – See p. 232.

236 – See Calendar, p. 155.

237 – Now Jeb’a, see 1 Sam. xiii. 16 (_margin_); Robinson, _Bib. Res._ I. 441, _n._; Porter’s _Handbook_, p. 214.

238 – “East, and west, and north, through the three valleys which radiate from the uplands of Michmash――to Ophrah on the north, through the pass of Beth-horon on the west, and down the ravine of the hyenas, ‘toward the wilderness of the Jordan on the East.’” Stanley’s _S. and P._ 204; Robinson, _Bib. Res._ I. 441.

239 – The deep gorge of the Wâdy-Suweinît, or Harith. “Immediately on leaving Jeb’a we descend by a rugged, zigzag track, apparently intended only for goats, into Wâdy-es-Suweinît, here tolerably wide, though deep and rocky. A few hundred yards to the right it contracts to a narrow ravine, shut in by high, almost perpendicular cliffs, above which on each side the ground is tolerably level. This is doubtless the scene of Jonathan’s adventure.” Porter’s _Handbook_, I. 215; Robinson, I. 440, 441.

240 – Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Article _Jonathan_; Stanley’s _S. and P._ p. 205.

241 – See p. 156.

242 – See p. 132.

243 – Comp. (i.) Num. xiv. 45; (ii.) Judg. iii. 13; (iii.) Judg. vi. 3.

244 – The family belonged to the greatest house in Judah, the descent being as follows: _Judah_, _Pharez_, _Hezron_, _Ram_, _Amminadab_, _Nahshon_ (Num. i. 7), _Salmon_, who married Rahab the Canaanite, _Boaz_, _Obed_, _Jesse_. (Ruth iv. 18–22; 1 Chr. ii. 5–12.)

JESSE. ┌─────────┴─────────┐ _Eliab._ ┌ ABISHAI. _Abinadab._ _Zeruiah._ ┤ JOAB. _Shammah._ └ ASAHEL. _Nethaneel._ _Raddai._ _Abigail._ ─ AMASA. _Ozem._ [_One not given._ 1 Chr. ii. 15.] DAVID. [Comp. 1 Sam. xvi. 7–10 with 1 Chr. ii. 13–17.]

245 – Article _David_ in Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

246 – Identified by Robinson with the _Wady es-Sŭmt_. “It took its name Elah of old from the terebinth, of which the largest specimen we saw in Palestine still stands in the vicinity; just as now it takes its name _es-Sumt_ from the acacias which are scattered in it.”――_Bibl. Dict._ II. 21.

247 – In all ages the favourite weapon of the shepherds of Syria. See Thomson, _The Land and the Book_, p. 572.

248 – “We do not know how long a period intervened between the return of David to his father’s house and his appearance before the king on the morning of the _duel_ with Goliath. If it were two or three years, it is possible that David had, in the meanwhile, suddenly shot up from boyhood to youth, tall and robust, and his personal appearance might have so changed as to bear little resemblance to the ruddy lad who played skilfully on the harp. It is a fact that lads of this country, particularly of the higher classes, are often very fair, fullfaced, and handsome, until about fourteen years of age, but during the next two or three years a surprising change takes place. They not only spring into fullgrown manhood as if by magic, but all their former beauty disappears; their complexion becomes dark, their features harsh and angular, and the whole expression of countenance stern, and even disagreeable. I have often been accosted by such persons, formerly intimate acquaintances, but who had suddenly grown entirely out of my knowledge, nor could I, without difficulty, recognize them.” Thomson’s _Land and the Book_, p. 569.

249 – Used as a protection from gnats.

250 – See _Naioth_ in Smith’s _Bib. Dict._ It was now, probably, that he became acquainted with the prophets _Nathan_ and _Gad_.

251 – See Matt. xii. 3; Mark ii. 23; Luke vi. 3, 4.

252 – Compare the histories of Coriolanus and Themistocles.

253 – See titles of Psalms xxxiv. and lvi.

254 – Thomson, _The Land and the Book_, p. 148.

255 – See Robinson, I. 481, 2; Van de Velde, II. 156.

256 – Comp. the story of Alexander in the Desert of Gedrosia.

257 – Compare Psalms cxl., cxlii.

258 – Robinson, _Bib. Res._ I. 492.

259 – See Psalm liv.

260 – Its original name was Hazazon-Tamar (_the pruning of the palm_), on account of the palm-groves which surrounded it (Gen. xiv. 7; 2 Chr. xx. 2). Wilton’s _Negeb_, 120. “We were now in the ‘wilderness of Engedi,’ where David and his men lived among ‘the rocks of the wild goats’.... The whole scene is drawn to the life. On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might then serve as lurking-places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day.”――Robinson, _Bib. Res._ I. p. 500.

261 – See Psalm lvii.

262 – Psalms liv., lvii., lxiii. by their titles relate to this period, and it has been remarked that “probably these Psalms made the Psalter so dear to Alfred and to Wallace during their like wanderings.”――Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Art. _David_.

263 – See Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Article _Hachilah_.

264 – “I noticed, at all the encampments which we passed, that the sheikh’s tent was distinguished from the rest by a tall spear stuck upright in the ground in front of it; and it is the custom, when a party is out on an excursion for robbery or for war, that when they halt to rest, the spot where the chief reclines is thus designated.... The cruse of water is in exact accordance with the customs of the people at this day. No one ventures to travel over these deserts without his cruse of water, and it is very common to place one at the ‘bolster,’ so that the owner can reach it during the night. The Arabs eat their dinner in the evening, and it is generally of such a nature as to create thirst, and the quantity of water which they drink is enormous. The _cruse_ is, therefore, in perpetual demand.”――Thomson’s _L. and B._ 367.

265 – Compare the story of the Persian king and Themistocles.

266 – Wilton’s _Negeb_, p. 207.

267 – “A lasting memorial of this battle was the law, which traced its origin to the arrangement made by David, formerly in the attack on Nabal (1 Sam. xxv. 13), and now again more completely, for the equal division of the plunder amongst the two-thirds who followed to the field, and the one-third who remained to guard the baggage” (1 Sam. xxx. 21–25). Smith’s _Bib. Dict._

268 – See Robinson, _Bib. Res._ II. 325. “Shunem (_Sulem_) afforded an admirable camping-ground for a large army, _Jebel ed Dûhy_ rising abruptly behind, and the top of it commanding a perfect view of the great plain in every direction, so that there could be no surprise, nor could their march be impeded, or their retreat cut off.”――Thomson’s _Land and the Book_, 451.

269 – Probably the same as the Spring of Harod or _Trembling_, at which Gideon’s three hundred lapped (see p. 247), and “identical with the fountain of Jalûd, a few miles to the east of the modern village of Jezreel.” Hewitt’s _Scripture Geography_, p. 33.

270 – “The rock on which Endor is built has been hollowed out by the hand of nature into large caverns, whose dark and gloomy entrances brought involuntarily to my mind the witch of the days of Saul.” Van de Velde, II. 383.

271 – Beth-shan (now _Beisan_) was one of the Canaanite strongholds which the Israelites had never taken. (See p. 225.) Situated on a _tell_ or hill, about 200 ft. high, on the slope of the range of Gilboa, it was a very strong position, with nearly perpendicular sides, and was abundantly supplied with water. Thomson, 455. Stanley, _S. and P._ 346.

272 – Jabesh-gilead “was on the mountain-range east of the Jordan, _in full view of Beth-shan_, and these brave men would creep up to the _tell_, without being seen, while the deafening roar of the noisy cascades leaping through the deep ravines dividing the city would render it impossible for them to be heard.” Thomson, _The Land and the Book_, p. 445. Van de Velde, II. p. 360.

273 – See pp. 283, 284.

274 – See p. 44.

275 – See p. 215.

276 – See p. 53.

277 – Compare the combat of the Horatii and Curiatii. _Livy_, I. xxiv., xxv.

278 – See p. 210, and Art. _Ishbosheth_ in Smith’s _Bib. Dict._

279 – See p. 219.

280 – “The situation of Jerusalem is in several respects singular amongst the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is remarkable, occasioned, not from its being on the summit of one of the numerous hills of Judæa, like most of the towns and villages, but because it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron, indeed, is higher still, by some hundred feet; and from the south, accordingly, the approach to Jerusalem is by a slight descent. But from every other side, the ascent is perpetual; and, to the traveller approaching Jerusalem from the west or east, it must always have presented the appearance, beyond any other capital of the then known world――we may add, beyond any important city that has ever existed on the earth――of a _mountain city, enthroned on a mountain fastness_.” (Comp. Ps. lxviii. 15, 16; lxxxvii. 1; cxxv. 1; lxxvi. 1, 2; lxvi. 4.) But besides being thus elevated, Jerusalem was separated from the rocky plateau of which it forms a part by deep and precipitous ravines on its south-eastern, southern, and western sides, out of which the rocky slopes of the city “rose like the walls of a fortress out of its ditches, so that from them it must have appeared quite impregnable.” “Something of the same effect is produced by those vast rents which, under the name of ‘Tago,’ surround or divide Ronda, Alhama, and Granada, on the table-lands which crown the summits of the Spanish mountains. But in Palestine, Jerusalem alone is so entrenched, and from this cause derived, in great measure, her early strength and subsequent greatness.” Stanley’s _Sinai and Palestine_, p. 172. Robinson’s _Bib. Res._ I. 258–260.

281 – Stanley’s _Sinai and Palestine_, p. 176.

282 – See p. 225, and Kitto’s _Daily Bible Illustr._ III. 340.

283 – Joseph. _Ant._ VII. 3. § 1. See Article _Jerusalem_ in Smith’s _Bib. Dict._ Kurtz’s _Sacred History_, p. 183.

284 – “It was necessary for the commerce of Phœnicia that she should enjoy the friendship of whatever power commanded the great lines of inland traffic, which ran through Cœle-Syria and Damascus, by Hamath and Tadmor, to the Euphrates.” Rawlinson’s _Bampton Lectures_, p. 97. Kenrick’s _Phœnicia_, pp. 201–205. Heeren’s _Researches_, II. pp. 116, 117.

285 – See p. 124. Blunt’s _Coincidences_, p. 130.

286 – i. _The Army._ In early times all males above twenty and under fifty years of age were required to serve in the wars, and formed a kind of national militia (Deut. xx. 5–9). A standing army, as we have already seen, was first formed at the early part of Saul’s reign (1 Sam. xiii. 2; xiv. 52). Under David the national forces were divided into twelve divisions of 24,000 men, each division commanded by its own officer, and liable to be called on to serve in their respective months (1 Chr. xxvii. 1–15). Unlike the armies of the surrounding nations, that of the Israelites was composed only of infantry, and but few chariots were as yet introduced (2 Sam. viii. 4). Over the entire force of the nation JOAB was commander-in-chief by right of his services before Jebus, and whenever the king was absent, he led the troops to battle.

ii. _The Royal Body-guard_, or _the Cherethites and Pelethites_. To defend the person of the king a force was now for the first time organized, consisting of foreign mercenaries, the command of which was entrusted to the Levite BENAIAH, the son of the high-priest Jehoiada. (For whose exploits, see 2 Sam. xxiii. 20, 21; 1 Chr. xi. 22–25.)

iii. _The Heroes_ or _Mighty Men_. Round the king when a fugitive in the cave of Adullam had gathered, as we have seen, a body of six hundred men. This number David always preserved, but elevated it to a sort of military Order, with the special title of the GIBBORIM, _Heroes_ or _Mighty Men_. This body was divided into 3 divisions of 200 each, and 30 divisions of 20 each. The lowest rank in this order consisted of the captains of the 30 divisions, who were known as _the Thirty_; then came the captains of the three larger divisions, who were known as _the Three_; and lastly, the commander of the whole force, who was known as _the Captain of the Mighty Men_, and was at this time ABISHAI, David’s nephew (2 Sam. xxiii. 8–39; 1 Chr. xi. 9–47). See Articles _David_ and _Army_ in Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._ Kitto’s _Bibl. Illustr._ III. pp. 301–304.

287 – See note 215.

288 – See pp. 49, 50.

289 – See p. 304.

290 – See p. 192.

291 – See p. 256.

292 – Already mentioned as the place where the bedstead of the giant Og was deposited (see p. 186). It was on the road between Heshbon and Bosra, on the edge of the desert, near one of the sources of the Jabbok. Afterwards from Ptolemy Philadelphus (B.C. 285–247) it received the name of _Philadelphia_, and in the Christian era became the seat of a bishop and one of the 19 sees of “Palestina Tertia.” Smith’s _Bib. Dict._, Article _Rabbah_.

293 – See p. 271.

294 – See p. 165.

295 – To this sad period belong Psalms xxxii. li.

296 – “The ruins which now adorn the ‘royal city’ are of a later Roman date; but the commanding position of the citadel remains, and the unusual sight of a living stream, abounding in fish, marks the significance of Joab’s song of victory――_I have fought against Rabbah, and have taken the city of waters_.” _Sinai and Palestine_, p. 323.

297 – See Kitto’s _Daily Bibl. Illustr._ III. 395.

298 – A village about six miles to the south of Bethlehem, the birthplace of the prophet _Amos_ (Am. i. 1).

299 – See p. 238.

300 – See the dates in margin, 2 Sam. xv.

301 – What was Ahithophel’s motive for this defection is not stated; but it is to be remembered that he was the grandfather of Bath-sheba (Comp. 2 Sam. xx. 3 and